Monday, December 27 2010

HEY FAMILY!! I just gotta say that dads present rocked!! HAHA i got a good laugh out of that one, thats pretty cool. It was really fun to talk with you guys, i didnt recognize any of the kids voices! Man time has gone by. Anyways sounds like christmas was pretty awesome, and everyone got cool stuff for christmas, my comp gave me a snickers bar, which was an awesome gift haha.I havent had a snickers bar in 14 months. This week has been super tuff with the work, the people were so focused on their beers and parties that they didnt want anytime for Christ, so it was a testimony builder for me, i realized this week that i really do just love testifying to everyone, to be super bold and tell everyone why im here, the way that most people stare at me afterwards makes me happy, because im sure its the first time they have ever meditated about the gospel in their lives.!The people in formosa are so freakin awesome, christmas eve we woke up to start working and everyone gave us this cheesy onion cornbread, so we ate like 5 pounds that day so at night when we went to the bbq we didnt have alot of space to eat the delicious meat. I really have never seen so much beer in my life! everyone was drinking, kids and all, super crazy! But luckily we didnt have any problems.Christmas i got to talk to you guys and then we ate lunch with our landlords, she is a univeristy psycologist but she truly believed that the chinese came from outerspace because they are nothing like us, so kind of wierd haha but they want to learn more about the church and im sure they are going to get baptised in february. Sunday we had a tuff morning, not one investigator came to church and there was no air conditioning, on top of that i was sweating up a storm because i had to give a talk, dont worry, it was the best talk ive given in my life, about the book of mormon, super awesomeI never sweated so much as yesterday, going so long in the heat gives a huge head ache, but i sure do love it here in Formosa, i was super homesick after talking to you guys but here all i ahve to do is go out and work and i go right back into the mood of the missionary, its super hard here because i dont feel progress, but at least im not homesickI actually feel like this is my life.That the other missionaries are my brothers and all, its a great feeling. I love the mish, the only worry i have is the heat, what a blessing. The heat is conquerable, there are alot of problems in the world that arent as easy to overcome, the spirit helps alot. Im learing alot, im becoming a missionary who actually recognizes the spirit, something that i thought was a myth before, i truly believe now the spirit is trueI feel it on a daily basis and i recognize it as more than just my thoughts, thats my blessing for the week. Even though this is the tuffest thing yet, im loving the forced growth that im recieving. I feel sick when i think about college or dating or anything that comes after the mish, so im content with my life. The only thing i want is variety, im sick of eating hamburgers on a daily basis haha, so lifes good.! Thanks friends for writing me! I got some super awesome friends!! And thanks family for always caring for me! I am sure lucky to have the fam that i got! Love ya all! PEACE! Oh hey, i found my evil twin here in Argentina, hes a super awesome, yet super mean guy haha, it was alot of fun to get to know him, wink wink..!

Monday, December 20 2010

Hey family hows it going! Im doing fine, todays weather is alot calmer than this weekend. This past weekend was true summer heat, like 113 with a whole bunch of humidity, and i was sick so that was pretty tuff, not the greatest weekend, a few of our investigators literally ran away from us when we passed by, and we had to let all of our investigators go because they arent progressing, so we have to start over all again, so its been a pretty downer week haha, but at the same time i have loved it because i have worked harder than i ever have before, ive been focused and the first time i got trunky was when i saw the pics of hannahs baptism, so this week was good, i was focused on the work until saturday, the heat still destroys me, but something that ill have to learn to overcome, super hard. The weather here is how it was in feburary in posadas so it will be interesting to see how this summer passes. Anyways, life with my comp is getting better, were becoming good friends. This week we found a family that is super prepared by god, in our first lesson i had what i felt was like dejavou three times in the lesson, when i saw like a vision and then i just said what i saw, so it was a super spiritual lesson, the first lesson that i have truly felt the spirit work through me in my mission. I was given what to say many times through these visions, super sweet. So im super excited to get to know them better, They have three kids, two are in the university studying engineering and a 13 year old girl. We passed by the next day to see how they were going and they were going out to have their own type of family night, they go on family dates like twice a week, something that i have never heard of here before, they literally are mormons without baptism haha. So that made my week, and whenever anything else bad happened i just thought of them and everything got better. So they are literally our only hope right now, the only investigators we got. I got an envelope from grandma jacobsen like the first week of november when i was in Reconquista, idk if that is the same one she sent, but anyways thanks grandma for that! When im in front of the computer screen i usually freak out and panick and can never focus, thats why i usually dont ever answer questions or say anything that you ask, just understand im under pressure haha. And ya i got a letter from derick and maria and from grandpa and grandma cow yesterday, thanks a whole bunch! And i forgot about collins birthday, happy late birthday collin! And happy early birthday mom! Im on a role remembering stuff, ill call like at 10 here, so be prepared! HAppy christmas to everyone and ill see ya all next week!
I would like to say that through all of these trials i am having, i do know with every fiber of my heart that this church is true and that its the only way to be happy forever. I love telling everyone about the good news of the gospel, i plan on staying member for the rest of my days on this earth, im grateful that my savior loves me, even though i do not understand the atonement, and im far from being close to him i feel his love and his mercy in my life every day. There is nothing better than living the gospel. LOVE YA!

Monday, December 13 2010

Hey family! Mom i told you not to worry, we were just having so much fun that we didnt have time to write, the dog didnt do anything to my actual body, i thought it did, because my pants were shredded but in the end the dog didnt even pierce my skin. Ive tried to kill that dog ever since, every time i see it. Anyways this past week has been super crazy, it started off super hot, oh my gosh it was rediculous, im so sick of the heat haha, but it didnt affect me at all, Elder Myrer and I are great friends and its a super help to be with someone so positive like him, he reminds me alot like andy and judd, we got along super well, i was loving the start of the week and working really hard, then thursday we recieved a call and Elder Myrer left in an emergency transfer, a new elder from south Carolina came, Elder Moore, so now im the older elder or whatever its called, anyways now that im there i dont want to be haha, i was so used to just following, anyways Elder Moore is pretty cool. He can teach and talk super well in spanish, even though he only has 11 months in the mission. Its been pretty tuff since he has come because i lost alot of my desire with Elder Myrer leaving and now i have to build it all up again its tuff, but like you said its all in the attitude, yet again it seems like i can have only a couple of days of enjoyment haha, i really do feel like i have lost a good friend, i havent felt like ive had any of those in the mission, but really its all good. Well the work here is at a stand still, i can talk with alot of people, everyone accepts to get baptised, but noone comes to church, i need to learn how to do the work more effectively or something, but im trying my best, and thats all i can give. Yesterday we watched the christmas devotional and it really made me miss home haha nothing new. I have no clue when ill call, in the morning whenver you want, we have a phone in our house. Sounds like the perfect weather at home, and sounds like everything is going well. Well love you all, i am really trying to love the mission, one day! Loves.

Monday, December 6 2010

fam thanks so much, i do love your emails, but i cant write this week, so next week ill let you know all about this week, it was awesome, super hot, then rain, we walked in our ankles in water for 4 days, i got bit by a dog and im doing fantastic, thanks and love you all!

Monday, November 29 2010

Man i forgot that Thanksgiving was this week, i forgot it was November haha, because this is not November weather i am living. But man Disneyland sounded way fun, pretty suprisingly short but fun nontheless, vacations are the best!Im glad that you all had a great time and that you all got home safe, sounds like a crazy trip home, but its sweet that all is well. Man the family has changed so much, its hard to recognize you all, and its hard to imagine that ill be there one day, it seems like so long ago, and still seems far away haha, but im used to these feelings. Formosa is great, really, ridiculously hot, its not even December and its about the weather of Posdadas in the summer, so i cant imagine what its going to be like in February, but i have it in my head, four months of fire and then the physical part will be overcome, the water cuts out here always, ive showerd twice this week because we havent had water, so its been quite the week, i was only with my comp one day this week because of meetings so i have been with different elders every day, which has been awesome to work with other guys. But ive felt pretty lazy this week, its been a struggle to work, as always, but my desires havent been that great, ive been praying for quite some time now, over two months, to see if the book of mormon is true and if the church is true, i believe it is, for that reason im here, but ive never recieved a spiritual confirmation that clicks in my head that its true, so ive been trying that for so long and i think i just got tired of trying, but i pulled my self out of that hole, i know one day ill know its true. So thats been my problem for a while. But other than that this week has been awesome, ive gotten to know alot of members and made alot of friends. Our church building has a ward and two branches that attend so it was fun to go to church and have all of these people acknowldege my existence, it makes me feel great haha. My comp Elder Myrer, is freaking awesome, we get along super great and its great to be with an American, sometimes we get distracted but we teach a whole lot more powerfully and our personalities help the people alot. Ill take more pics of us and the apartment and all of that, and send them in the future. Mom im just going to call from our house because we have a phone, our apartment used to be the owners house, so it has furniture and decorations and everything, so its just like a house, pretty awesome haha. We even have a washer to wash clothes, when we have water of course. But ya, as usual im having trails overcoming my attitude but im getting there, hopefully before my mission ends ill figure it all out haha. Frustrating. Well i love you all, im greatful for my family and for all the love they show, im really not great at all, but im greatful that my family thinks that i am. Love ya all!

Heres a couple pictures of the wild elephant and dragon we found here in Formosa, dont worry i killed it, so it wont cause any more harm!

Tuesday, November 23 2010

Well hello again family!! So now im writing to you from the hottest area in the mission, FORMOSA!! It gets up to 130 here, so when i got the call i was pretty scared to get here, i was used to the weather in Reconquista and now im going to have to try and live in the oven haha.It was really hard to leave Reconquista since i was helping so many of my friends, they were great. We all got together to watch a movie tuesday afternoon and after the movie i got the call, so it was great that all of them were there. So now im with my new comp, Elder Myrer from Provo UT! Hes a sweet kid, an awesome comp, so were going to do miracles together. We live in a nice house in a pretty ghetto neighborhood but im used to that. This area is a lot more roudy than my old one, the air smells like pure beer for how many people drink, but its a pretty humble place, everyone talks with us so its a whole lot easier to talk with people here, which makes the work alot funner than walking. Its a small area also so its alot different from the last. The elders in my zone are awesome!! We all share the same church building, which is huge, there are 6 elders in the same ward and then there are two branches, its pretty sweet. They are all happy and uplifting, and even though its super hot they are always making it fun. There are literally clouds of mosquitos above our heads, and each is about the size of a nickle or dime, huge! This area is a whole lot more physically challenging but the work seems to be a whole lot easier, as of right now we are finding alot of people who are wanting to get baptised. The members are great and its the first time in 5 months that i havent participated in the church haha, im loving it here so far, but its not that hot yet, 100 or so during the day, we will see how it goes.Well i dont have much more to say, i super miss the snow right now it seems haha. But we do have air conditioning for the first time in my mission!! So i sleep peacefully at night, awesome! Im loving it here, my comp is teaching me alot. It sounds like collin is doing awesome!! Keep it up man! Well love ya guys! I finally did the pic mom but i dont know how it turned out, didnt have that much time, or materials. But at least i remembered haha, peace! oh here is some pics of right before i left Reconquista also.

Monday, November 15 2010

Hey family!!
That was pretty sweet to see andy and judd able to meet together, but ya that would be a bit wierd at first haha. After being on the mish for this long i would act the same. Thanks for emailing me, i dont have much time this week, its been a busy pday, its the last one before transfers this wednesday so i was cleaning up some stuff, im absolutely dreading this wednesday, i cant leave here, this week has been an awesome week and i am finding the love of the mission, i love finding friends that want to hear the gospel. We have alot of people that are looking for the truth and they will be baptised soon, so quickly this week has also been one of the worst, because so many of our baptisms fell through, we werent able to baptise daniel because Reconquista is super lazy, i was pissed off, it really was because of laziness andill explain it better next week, also the twins that i was going to baptise also had a few problems and they cant get baptised now and we had alot of setbacks, but i got this going again, we had a bunch of investigators at church, it was district conference and they were all loving it, President was there so we got to listen to him, it was great, we also had zone conference tuesday, that was a good learning experiance, i realized that i dont have that many friends but i have good quality ones. Well ill have to tell you more next week, im loving it, even though it super hard im finding out the solution. Wow ive forgotten what home looks like, that just blew my mind. Well have fun my family, i dont have much time. Sorry mom, ive been super busy and a super big flake, i dont know when ill send the picture, but ill try, but its only a picture anyways ;) plus i dont have any supplies but ill try to find some paper and write something. Ill try to give a good effort this week! Love you all!!

Monday, November 8 2010

HEy FAMily! So ya im going to explain, this is no ordinary paintball picture that i took before the mission. That pic was taken here, today in argentina, haha as a zone we went paintballing today, and i showed all of the latinos how an american plays paintball, haha it was a blast! Im super exhausted right now but so satisfied with my pday activity, we woke up early this morning, went and took a roof off of a house, like the time i did it in Posadas that one hot summer day, but this morning was a bit more cooler. (i feel wierd writing in english so if i dont make sense understand.) The roof collapsed while i was ontop but luckily i was quick footed and was near the wall. It was pretty sweet.So the other photo is the baptism of Catalina, ya it was a great baptism, she is awesome. But sunday she didnt come to church, after the baptism she moved! Not out of the city limits but way out in the country, so she couldnt come and we didnt even know it! so were going to try and find her this week.The next picture is a picture of me cutting my friends hair, i know its a shaver but ive learned how to cut hair with scissors also, so im pretty proud of myself.And the other pic is of our dress code for summer, haha nah we cant have shorts, but it would be cool. Well this week, like i said in my last email, i have been working really hard to find the happiness, and how cool is it that i found the same scriptures and everything, Mosiah 2:20-21 was my turing point for the week. I have been trying the fake it until you make it, but ive never been able to fake myself haha, but now im going to try and put it to the test. This week has been a great week, not because i have been focused on myself, but on my friends who dont know the gospel. Dont be suprised if i dont send alot more photos of baptisms home in the next few weeks because the lord is definitly pouring out his blessings over me even though i havent been such a great servant, but even with that, Heavenly Father has blessed me with 10 friends who are really wanting to be baptised, of course they have their trials but once we can overcome them they will enter the waters of baptism. It was such an awesome experiance for me to baptise again this week, during the baptism i had to do it twice because i get nervous, but because of this i got to feel like i was alma baptising in the waters of mormon, i felt like one of the missionaries from the book of mormon and it was an awesome experiance. Like andy and judd even though i have alot of problems i am loving the mission for the moments of happiness and learning that i have. Daniel is about to become a member, we fasted for him this week, so that everything would go well with his marriage and that he would stop smoking, saturday morning as i was finishing my fast we helped a member redo his terrain, or lawn or garden, i dont remember the word. But we moved alot of dirt, and now its super hot, it got to 100 this week. So at the end of the service i really felt like i couldnt lift my chair, i was so weak haha, not a good idea to work and fast, but i felt the fruits of the fast, daniel also fasted and he hasnt smoked since! And we will see how his marriage is friday! IM so stoked!! Thursday night we had cold pizza and i wanted to heat it up, so i turned on the oven, well it uses gas, not like our oven but propane, and i dont know what i did or what i was thinking, but somehow the fire exploded out of the oven, running up my right arm, buring off ALL of the hair, we all screamed as we watched it haha, it was a pretty hilarious moment, but dont worry it didnt burn my arm, only my fingers but its all right, the photo with the haircut was the same night after the explosion so i was able to cut hair. So dont worry, it was just a funny experiance. I forgot to do the pic mom, sorry, but dont worry ill do it this week! Youll love it! Wow collin!! Smashing it up as a freshman in the swim meet! Im quite impressed!! Cool beans my brother keep working hard! Hell month is about to start! I loved that month!! Well i dont have much else to say this week, sounds like dad is a working machine! I hope to be a little bit like him! Well i love you all! PEACE! oh send pics mom!!

Monday, November 1 2010

Hey family, sounds like its been a week full of news. Thats too bad to hear about Lindsay and Joe, and also about mike and rebecca, ill keep them in my prayers. Sounds like mom had a fun trip to NYC, but a bit tiring. Wow collin, 56 in the 100 free as a freshman, and your also on Varsity! Dude way to go, your going to be a champion soon. Im glad to hear that everything was great down at the university with steph. That makes me super happy to hear about Bishop Johnson and my letter, i never thought that would happen. Hes such an awesome guy. Before i forget, if you havent sent my package i would love for you to send gold bond! That stuff is gold haha. This week has been hard as usual, but i dont know if i was that clear, ive always tried to be obedient because i do realize its the only way to be happy I guess im just losing my patience, all of the other missionaries around me are happy and i really havent felt happy here, i promise peace to my investigators yet ive never felt it personally. I knew i would find challenges but also happiness, since thats the promise that "Preach my Gospel" gives, but maybe that will come after my mission. Anyways im really really struggling but i hope to find a way out soon, i really just want to be happy. To wake up wanting to be here thats all. Anyways, this week was a decent week with my investigators, all of them are super excited to get baptised, really. They all loved the church meetings and are all excited to see the baptism of Catalina this saturday. So im quite satisfied with the progression of all of my investigators, really there are only 4 who are going to get baptised in november as of right now, and they are all going to be really stong members, we have two more who are so so and alot of people who have the capability to progress. Daniel is going to get married the 12th of November so im happy about that. umm, ya not much else is up, today we played soccer, and it was me and two argentinos against 4, i wasnt that excited to play because it was way unfair teams, well i, the only white kid there,beat them all, scoring 7 of our 9 goals, and they only scored 3. They were all suprised, and even more as the game continued. So i guess i do have talent when i can conquer my mind. We also got permission to watch charley, what a cheesy chick flick but i totally cried, oh man ive changed. I also realized how selfish ive been thanks to that cheesy movie. I feel like maybe thats why im not happy, so thats my goal for the week, ill let you know how it goes next week. I dont ask you to pray for me because other people need your prayers, well i love you all. PEACE!

Monday, October 25 2010

Hey Family, hows it going? It sounds like life is going great at home. Nick Smith is turing 19? Wow hes going to be a great missionary, im super jealous of his mission!! I would do anything to serve in the middle east haha, Karl Fleishel served there. Did collin go out toliet papering the day before the meet? Im excited to see how collin does in the coming years, he will be a whole lot better swimmer than i was! Sounds like steph is having alot of fun down at snow, and that ward dinner thing sounds interesting. Im glad that the dinner with Tommy was great, i miss that kid more than ever. Ya im learning how to play alot of fun songs and im learning how to make my own songs now. Its great. Im excited for my grandmas package, luckily ive learned patience so i am able to wait. This week i got to be interviewed by the Mission President, it was a good interview, he expects alot more out of me. He asked how i was with the family and i told him i was still pretty homesick, he asked how much time i had in the mission and i told him i had a year and he laughed and told me that i had to be over that 6 months ago. I told him i was a little wierd and not like the other missionaries. This week has been super super hot, it was like january weather, and since we work during the siesta (nap time) we just walked underneath 95 degree weather, it sucked. But i lived. This week has seen alot of challenges, ive felt pretty discouraged and not really wanting to work, thats been really hard, im really frustrated with myself and im not sure what to do. Its been hard. Ive been trying to forget myself but i dont know how. I hope ill be able to turn this around. But other than that, theres not much new, Daniel couldnt get an appointment to get married, so we had to postpone his baptism, but hes growing alot, hes going to be a great member. Pretty much all of the other investigators i had we had to drop, they are not progressing. So its back to step 1. Well, i hope all is well at home, i love you all. Thanks mom for the support, i know you think im the greatest, its hard for me to feel the same but ill trust you ha. I miss home alot still, i cant wait for the day when i feel like staying here, i have faith that ill feel that way one day soon. I love you all!

Monday, October 18 2010

Hello family, hows everything going? Well this is my first email after i have completed one year, and man it feels like time has flown by really fast, but at the same time pretty slow also haha. But thanks for the letters last week, they helped alot, its not only about responsibilty, thats a very small part of it, its about my personal progression, i really havent felt like i have wanted to do the work, ive never woken up saying, Ya! im excited to work today!, and thats whats frustrating me, when i talk about the Players i really just want to have the fire and the excitment that they have for the work, so thats been something that i have been seriously trying to achieve for quite sometime. But dont worry about me, this is just who i am and as long as i try ill achieve it one day. This week has been a super quick one, i felt like it was two days long. Ive spent every waking moment reading the Book of Mormon, because i feel like if i can strengthen my testimony maybe that will help me find a stronger desire to help the people here. But this week i have felt quite satisfied with the work i have been given, ive been "purifying" myself from everything that has to do with home so that ill be able to focus on here, so ive been pretty excited that im starting to plant my foot in the ground and make some necesary changes. I do trust in my patriarchal blessing so i know that all i have to do is give it my all and the lord will complete with the rest. This week i have been quite excited for our investigators, as of right now ill have a baptism every weekend from the 30th of October to the start of December, so im seeing some great progress here in Reconquista, a great friend who came with me from Colombia when i started the mission is in my zone and he has helped me alot to figure things out. This week at Church we brought a lady who never really seemed to pay much attention to our lessons but as she left church she was literally exploding with happiness and excitement, she loved the church so much and she couldnt stop saying how much she loved it, she repeated it like 20 times, so im excited for her, shes getting baptised the 6th of November, Daniel is going to get married next week, right now hes pretty much a member haha, the Pividori family is taking a beating from the world, it seems that alot of people are not that friendly with Mormons and the only thing that is helping them hold on is our example as missionaries, so we will see if we can plant a firm foundation with the book of mormon this week. The book of mormon is the greatest missionary, once the investigators know its true, they do everything to do whatever they are asked, which is so awesome! So in my package, i really just want some new drilux garments and alot of skippy peanut butter. I just want to make peanut butter sandwhiches! Oh i havent had one for a year... Sounds like life is all great at home, no i didnt hear about the Morlies dad, mom didnt tell me, but man 36 hour work... and i thought that i am tired. It just clicked in my mind that ive never seen a picture of stephs car... OH and mom i just thought id let you know that i play the piano every sunday at church, and miraculously i can play almost every song, its a talent i have gained here haha, so i thought id let you know that your years of wrestling with me to play the piano is paying off, and the church here in reconquista now knows how to sing on tune :) haha, thats great that your taking care of Tommyboy, but man he should have asked for Chicken Enchaladas or a huge Christmas Roast!! haha oh man i miss Enchaladas...Alright well family, thanks for always supporting me, i know im always hard of myself, but i dont know any other way haha. Ill try to figure out how to think in the other way. Well i love you all, goodbye.

Tuesday, October 12 2010

Wow! Man i was super super happy to hear from my cousins and the sweet news that has come to them! I always knew they were the greatest, they always had the ability and the knowledge on how to suceed! Man im super jealous of both! Ha im still the junior companion here in Reconquista, so nothing new happened here. But when i first heard i was quite disappointed, pretty sad also, because i have a year and i havent been given a new responsibilty, but after pondering for a while the talk from Elder Holland came into my mind from this conference, about the old lady who never had a lidership calling and felt quite she was just a helper, and that Elder Holland said if we could all be more like her, well that hit me and i felt better, and then i realized that im here for the people and that someone here needs me, so i learned i need to stop being a baby and get to saving some lives hehe. Even though there is only two of us from my mtc group who havent been given responsiblities i have learned a little bit more about my purpose as a missionary. But really i am so happy for Judd and Andy, they have learned how put Doctrine and Covenants 4 in practice! Im struggling with that, i feel like i have reached my limit, as hard as i try to push past it i havent been able to overcome it, as much as i have tried to overcome my weaknesses i feel like i havent been able to overcome them, but i guess ill have to keep on trotting, one day ill be able to break these barriers. I dont feel like im totally in the work and im trying my hardest to forget about myself but i dont know what else to do, so i would love some more prayers haha, because im in a huge struggle. Even worse than the heat of Argentina, which its been pretty hot here lately. But as i have learned here in Argentina, patience, but i feel like a year is long enough haha. Kind of frustrating.But anyways, my investigators are doing great! Daniel and Fabiana are going to get married next week! So im pretty excited for that. Maybe ill be able to see my first wedding here in Argentina. THen they will be baptised the following saturday. The Pividori family has had a huge struggle, pretty much the whole world is fighting against them getting baptised, even thier own family is fighting against it, but the only thing helping them advance is the spiritual experiances that we have with them. We couldnt talk much with them this week because they were gone but we passed by last night and were able to help them out. I do believe i found the family that was waiting for me to come save them, the oldest daughter is a member for 3 years but went inactive because of the huge amount of lidership problems that are here. But we ate lunch with them and man, i felt so great with them, im pretty sure if i do my part that they will all get baptised! They are a pretty grown up family, the oldest has 26, Rocio, and the youngest has 20, Hermanuel, they are 4 brothers and sisters and they all are attending the university and studying, a rare trait for an Argentine haha. SO they understand perfectly, now i need to help them have spiritual experiances and they will make it! Well sounds like life at home is pretty awesome, congrats lindsay and joe, the next boy will be even crazier than jake and maximus. Well i am sending some pictures of me at the riverside, we went to a swap meet and ate at a riverside restaurant it was great. well love ya!

Monday, October 4 2010

Hey family!! Hows its going? Ya im getting pretty close to the down hill mark, and its been quite a ride so far! Well goods news first, i had a baptism between conference sessions. Thursday night it didnt seem ike it was going to happen, she found a few doctrines that she wasnt in line with and she was wanting to wait for her baptism, well we taught her about the devil and the feelings he puts into us, that nothing good comes from the devil, well she listened to us and put her trust in us and in god, well it turned out great! Shes in love with the gospel and truly will become one of the great members here in Reconquista. Also Daniel and his wife will get married one day after my year mark! So that will be a good present for me! Then they will get baptised saturday. So i got to listen to all of the conference sessions. I didnt pay full attention because i am not used to sitting down for more than 40 minutes so i felt really sick the whole day, with huge migrains. But i will read it when i get it, i like that better. But i did love all of the talks, especially the priesthood session rocked! But the confrences put me a bit trunky, or homesick, which i have never liked, but as always the solution is work, which i wasnt able to do saturday and sunday, so for me it wasnt the greatest week but hey, i got alot more weeks to get better, the key is to keep progressing. So wednesday is transfers again so we will see what happens. I am kind of hoping that ill be able to be given some kind of responsiblity, since ive never had any since the mission began but i know that gods in charge and im alright with that. Nothing else has really happened this week. Thanks for the pics mom, could you send some more, thanks for the memories! So the greatest news of the week is that i finally found brown sugar here in this country! So i went right to work making pancakes!! So here is a photo of the deliciousness! and we also found food coloring, which was heaven, we put it in everything, green eggs, water, pancakes, milk, icecream, everything we can find, a great way to make your day! Well i love you all so much, oh and just for you to know, the date of when ill be coming home is like the 22nd of October 2011, so sadly i wont be able to goto conference at home. But hey its a long way off,so sounds like everything is good at home, congrats abbey, i have never been able to take notes, i think i wrote one sentance about this conference so your better off than i am, congrats collin on the swim meet, and steph if you want to get asked ask to be asked, dont be a baby haha. Guys dont know what girls want, true story! Hannah plays soccer? since when? i also play soccer haha, butonly once a week! Well i love you all, good bye! Thanks mom and dad for being the example i need, and for showing your pure love!

Monday, September 27 2010

Yahoo! haha man i woke up this morning with that same thought, that holy crap a year ago i gave my farewell talk, oh man what a great day that was haha, but what a difference i have felt from that day to now. A year ago i didnt want to do this, i was scared, more scared then i have ever been in my life and now i do love this, alot more than a year ago but i have alot of room to grow haha, but i am so grateful for this experiance, i really have changed so much. This week was by far the fastest week ever. I thought we had just hit thursday when i woke up and realized that it was sunday. The days were like 4 hours each haha. I think i know why also, i didnt have time to think about me this week, ive been so excited with the new preach my gospel that i have been teaching everyone i can, and its so much better! I feel so much love for when im teaching haha, now during nap time i dont love it as much, its been super hot here, reminds me of summer, and we work through nap time and noone answers the door so we have like 3 hours of melting in the heat, but its good practice for summer, im not as scared as last year, which is super cool, but i still dont like it, but i really didnt remember my discomforts when it was time to teach, Ramona, who is like 40 is going to get baptised in between conference sessions! I found her trying to find a contact and she said we could teach her, she thought we were false prophets and wouldnt believe us, but now a month later i can testify about the power of the book of mormon, anyone can be converted if they only read it and follow the promise of moroni! And i am seeing that with not only her but about 8 more other people who are going to be baptised in the next month!! I found another family here, i dont know if i have said anything about them but the family Pividori, shes a single mom with a 14 year old boy, 10 and 4 year old girls, dad died of cancer a year ago, well we taught them and they will do anything to get baptised! So im pretty excited, oct 9 will be their date. We ate lunch with them friday and i gave them pop rocks, i filmed it so dont worry, you will get to see their reactions haha, it was great! We watched the Joseph smith movie friday night as a branch and we brought an investigator named Daniel who has been trying to get baptised the past few weeks but his pair wont marry him. So we are trying our best to figure that problem out. But we are having alot of success here, i had a few difficulties with my comp, hes way super depressed, lost all desire to work but ive been working on it, and hes getting better, this baptism with lift his spirits. Well i cant think of much else, i dont remember anything much about me haha, as i have read andy and judds letters i have really wanted to become like them, they are the greatest examples i have, i never looked forward to going on a mission, i never remember wanting to be here, but as i see their examples it gives me such a drive to give it my all, to become the best i can be and to enjoy all i can, so thanks cousins. And also this week i have had a couple experiances that i have had the opprotunity to ponder about my grandparents, all of them, and the exampels they have been for me, and i just want to say thanks. In reality im super grateful for all my uncles, aunts, cousins. What a great family i got! Oh and i feel like i have become alot like dad, this year is argentinas 200th birthday so they have new money but its hard to find, so i have like 20 deals going around throughout the city so that when they recieve some they keep it for when i pass, haha im learing from the best, thanks dad! Oh and thanks for the talk, i remember him talking about that in a conference, its pretty great. Well i super miss everyone, but at the same time i cant imagine myself at home, i still have some souls to rescue hehe, plus the real world is full of stress... haha i love you all!

Monday,September 20 2010

Oh man it is a small world! That is pretty cool to hear about that i am helping people, thats been something that i havent felt like i have been doing here, so its good to hear that i am doing some good here. And its so great to hear about the ward, we do have the greatest ward and i really do miss it so much, i love hearing about anyone from the ward, and just like you said, ill only have to go one more year without them, ya it feels like time has flown by! As i have been pondering about these past 11 months its amazing the growth i have had, and also the ablitily to see the challenges i have overcome, i have realized how little the heat really mattered, its just a part of life, and how i enjoyed my months here, even if the whole time i was homesick, ive always had the feeling of wanting to be home but im enjoying being here also, and even more every week, im pretty sure alot will change when i hit the year mark also, this mentallity that i have alot to go will leave, and ill be able to fall in love with Argentina, and what really makes me love it is the ability to be able to progress, to improve, to overcome, i love these challenges i have, i really do. This week the Assisstants to the President stayed with us and we got to be able to work with them, that was alot of fun, i was able to learn alot. This week has flown by! Two weeks until conference! Im pretty excited for conference, it will be great to spend it here in Reconquista, the members here are awesome! So my investigators are doing awesome! Daniel only needs to get married to his wife and hes good to go! So were helping her understand, but shes a tuffy! The Pivirodi family is going to be baptised the 9th of October! They want to do everything they can to be baptised! Oh and Ramona is going to get baptised between conference sessions on saturday so that will be an awesome spiritual day! I only had one super hard day this week, homesickness really is the pits. But as i learned from Andy and Judd the cure is simple, work work work. Speaking of them i havent heard a single email from them in like a month, idk if you stopped sending them or what, but can i get them againg? thanks! Im really starting to change and its been really subtle and sneaky, my desires are changing to what our Heavenly Father wants and i havent even noticed it, i dont remember the last time i sang a Linkin Park song or thought about videogames or movies. Its been a great change to be able to feel the spirit in my life, to actually get to know him as my friend, its something that i never thought existed. Even though i hate the heat i love the mission! Well i dont know what else to say, i miss you all so much! Im always thinking of ways to make my whole family proud! And my friends and ward also, because i have the greatest friends, nothing comes close to them! Well i love you so much! Oh and Reeses Pieces, send those things!!!!!! And some carmel apple suckers!! Shock tarts!! OH YA! I want to hear from dad and collin and abbey and hannah also! Loves!

Monday, September 13 2010

Well hello once again family!! Yet again this week has flown by! The weeks get faster as time goes on i guess. Tomorrow i complete 11 months! One more month and its all down hill. Man that weird to think. Well this week has been pretty awesome. The zone leaders have been in Resistencia all week getting trained so elder Hinostroza and i have had the apartment all to ourselves. Really it just means that i have been going to bed early because im so tired from the work. Its been super hot this week, and since we work during the siesta, or offical nap time, from 2 to 5 we are pretty much in the streets dying from the sun, its reminding me of the past summer and its not something that im looking forward to at all. Its not a feeling i like to have but im not sure how to overcome it, the fear is tremendus. But oh well. This week i have really been trying to focus on the work and the people and all of the mission. And i have seen some really cool experiances, there have been a few times that i have actually felt like the lord was using me and i have been able to help two of our investigators get to church and to overcome their doubts, we have another baptism in two weeks of a man who is 25 years old named daniel, hes a sweet guy. He will be a perfect man for the branch, since there is hardly any man in my branch. And the other person that is about to get baptised in 2 or 3 weeks is a woman named Ramona, she has been praying and praying and never could recieve and answer, we worked with her and i believe she will recieve an answer really soon. My comp is good, he just gets really discouraged really fast, its been an interesting time with him. But we work good together and never have any problems. The members have always washed my cloths, i have only washed my clothes once since i got here in Argentina. They cook for us everyday and always give us water, they are super awesome. They dont have money so they cant buy stuff for us like dad does, but they do what they can. Well sounds like life is normal and great at home, ive been having some dreams lately of home so its been pretty tuff to focus here, home is such a weakness sometimes haha, but i wouldnt change it for anything. The homesickness has never gone away, i wake up with that aweful feeling every morning, but i have learned to put it behind me, to forget about myself and try and help the people here, i have been fighting so hard to find the joy here, i feel like i havent found it yet but im trying, and thats what makes me happy, that at least im trying my best, one of my friends from the mish wrote me this week and that really helped me, i realized that i am trying. It is funny how we always recieve a letter right when we need it. OH i got the package!! Man it was sweet thanks!! Im pretty excited to film the kids here eating pop rocks, they have no idea the suprise their getting!! Hey steph thanks for the letter, just keep going and it will all go away soon, patience is a great skill to learn, and ive learned a whole bunch of it here in the mission. Wow hannah you have grown so much, 2nd grade! did you skip 1st? Thats sweet about collin, haha whatever it takes to do well in school haha, hows the team going? and hows collin, about three weeks to the blue and white meet i presume? Dad always did buy food for the missionaires, and always buys food for everyone haha, i had a dream about the christmas eve dinner and oh man that roast tasted so good in the dream haha. Well i dont have anything else to say, lifes great here, it has its ups and downs, but the heat has gone away today so i have nothing to complain about! I LOVE YOU!

Monday, September 6 2010

Well hello my dear family! I really couldnt believe that its already Monday, when i woke up this morning i didnt believe it. This week has flown by! First it rained Monday to friday, so i dont want to even explain how dirty i have been, they dont have paved streets, its all dirt, so its been muddy muddy muddy! Im walking up to my ankles in mud haha. So ive gone through all my pants this week, the sun came out saturday so the members have had a great time washing our clothes haha. Well tuesday i got to go to Resistencia, which was a fun little trip, i met Elder Bradley Foster, who is a seventy and i got to learn a bunch from him, mostly we learned from the Book of Moses the power of being a child of God, and that was amazing to sit and ponder about that stuff. They talked about the literal power of satan and it was pretty interesting stuff, his wife couldnt even give her talk she was so distressed, it was very clear that god let her feel the feelings that satan has on the wicked, all in all it was a very powerful lesson.They have totally redone how we teach as missionaires and its amazing the difference that there is! I got to see my old companion there, Elder Soclle, and it was amazing how much i missed him, we were comps for a long time and it was great to hear from him, THe gomez family in posadas who were going to get baptised got in a huge fight with the zone leaders there during their interviews and they couldnt get baptised, but they are still pushing forward to become members. The family that i baptised right before i left there are super strong! They are definatlely a chosen family, the dad has the melchesidik priesthood and everything! I got to see a few of my comps from the MTC which was so awesome! It made my whole week to be able to visit with them! Wednesday it continued to rain, and ive never felt so exhausted in my life! Because of the trip i didnt get much sleep and i totally screwed up my neck, so it was a pretty painful day haha. Thursday was even more exhausting and my comp didnt really put much effort into the work so i felt like it was all on my shoulders, and man it was tuff. I spent most of the afternoon praying in my heart for strenght and desires, because i was beat! Friday was about the same but i felt the spirit really lift me up during the afternoon and that made a night and day difference, from that moment on the week was freakin amazing!Guess what i got to eat friday night, ROOTBEER FLOATS!! Elder Hogge had rootbeer extract so we made some rootbeer and showed these latinos what a good drink is! oh man it was delicious! And i finally have found brown sugar! Its taken me since may but i finally found a little store that sells it, so now i can finally make syrup! Ive been making omlets all of the time and im getting pretty good at that! Saturday we talked with a couple from Vera, a little town, they now live here but listened to the missionaries there, well he is awesome! his name is daniel and he came to church with us and actually wants to get baptised! So he will get baptised around General Conference, also we have had a tuff time talking with the parents of the twins, the dad is super tuff and never wants to talk with us, the kids come to church every week but the dad wont give them permission to baptise, but i have felt very strongly, as has my comp and our leaders here, that the dad is about to give in, the spirit is telling me we are going to see a miralce! Also sunday afternoon, we were going to do splits with two of the recent converts here but one didnt show up, now my comp gets discouraged super easy, so when this happened he lost all hope, well we started to work and it was tuff for him to do anything but follow, well the last house of the night that we clapped i testified that familes can live forever and she let us in, we had a super spiritual experiance, she told us of her difficulties in her life and it was the same as my comp had passed through, so we testified and my comp was so excited to help her, they definitly are going to be baptised and it was pretty sweet that my comp was able to help them like that! Today on p day my comp and i chilled in front of an ice cream shop drinkin milkshakes then watched all of the new Preach My Gospel dvds which are so awesome!It sometimes makes me jealous, they have this huge support from the ward, with tons of members ready to help, air conditioning, cars and all of that stuff. But my Mission President told me something that changed how i look at these perfect missionaries, he said "They live in fancy aparments with airconditioning, and we die of heat, they have fancy airconditioned cars, and we walk through the mid day heat, they work in beautiful houses and walk down nice clean streets, and we get to work in mud houses and walk through the mud, were all missionaries of the lord but we sacrifice a bit more to spread the word." I loved that quote, it makes me feel a bit more tough! Haha well it sounds like all it good at home, thanks for the news from home and for the help that you guys give me, sounds like steph is loving it now, thats great! Man i forgot a little about the house, thanks for the pic! Mom, thanks for sending the letter! You could also send some chewy gobstoppers... yum! And did you ever recieve the letter i sent to the house? Well i love you all, and ya its flying by! The only thing bad about it flying by right now is that its getting closer to summer haha, im not looking forward to those feelings but im hoping ill be a little bit more prepared, a bit more focused, and have the spirit a bit more with me this summer, that should help alot! Well i lvoe you! BYE

Monday, August 30 2010

Wow it seems like alot has happened this week, and first of all im so glad that our prayers were answered for steph! Its too bad that stuff like that has to happen but man im glad that all is better! So I heard Camryn came home! Man time flies by! That is so sweet! Oh chunks! If only i could grow curly flowing hair down to my shoulders like he can! Haha i so would! ANd Lyndon got sent to Guatemala! Sweet! I hear that its a beautiful area! Not too hot but pretty humid! Man what a great opprotunity! And Brent Barker! Thats sweet, thats going to be such a sweet experiance for him!Ya Josh Ruckert is a cool kid, super wierd, haha, hes a great support for me in the mish, writes me every week and tells me how he wishes he was me! haha no hes a great man! Im glad hes trying to steal my family from me when i cant do anything haha. Another Chick Fillet run! Man im so freakin jealous! If chick fillet keeps making these there wont be any left for when i get back! Oh man i want to do that kind of stuff but dont worry, here in Santa Fe the work moves on. Slowly, super slowly, but surely, alot of the problems we are having here is because of me, im stil learning how to use the spirit and how to work and all of the stuff i need to remember, sometimes i feel like a robot which is not a good thing, so ive been fighting to try and become a better missionary, we just started my 7th transfer which will take me into the year mark! Thats pretty crazy!Time passes by way fast, but at the same time super slow, the key really is to stop thinking about time and just focus on what needs to get done, and im doing alot better with that. But it takes time to get over bad habits, so i have a bunch of patience and training to get doing. But man i love it here in the mission, I have a companion from Peru, we speak spanish and were in Argentina together, its just so wierd! Today we were 5000 miles from home playing monopoly! Its just so great! I really just want to improve myself, and thats what im trying to do! We are having troubles with bringing people to church but dont worry i have emergency investigators that come every week, they are twins and little brothers and sisters to Natalya, who was baptised a few weeks ago, the Investigators are not progressing that much and im having a tuff time helping them progress, im pretty much stuck, but dont fear ill get things into gear, its not so much talking with people anymore, its trying to get them to progress, to recognize that they need this, its tuff.But not impossible! Well im glad everything is great at home! Here are some photos of my life here in Santa Fe! Tell the family i miss them and thanks for the letters from Lindsay and Robin! Also from Grandma and Grandpa Horrocks! I love youall! Tell Dad, steph, collin, abbey and hannah hi! And where are some pics?! I would like one of the house and the nieghborhood with the mountains behind it so i can show people here my town! With loves!!

Monday, August 23 2010

Hey Family!! Hows life going!? Im here in Reconquista, but this week has felt like ive been on Tatooine, the desert planet on starwars, because the sky here is the color of sand, its pretty cool, i havent seen blue skys for a while. This week has been my most exhausting week of the mission i believe. Its amazing how hot it got so fast! Its really humid and super hot, like 93 degrees right now, and were still in winter!! But really it hasnt bugged me alot, im used to the head ache and the dreanched clothes, but man the people are really tuff here, everyday of the week i have just speant my time walking around, but with sacrifice comes the blessings, i have found four people that seem to really be great investigators, and they are trying to find their testimony so that makes me happy, im used to the back pains and the aching feet so i say that everything here is fine and dandy, through all of the tiredness and heat and all of the problems i have really come to find a desire to overcome everything! I really believe that god is with me all of the time because no matter how hard the day gets now i fight harder to find the happiness and to put a smile on my face, im finding joy in the scriptures like Andy said, i cherish them above all the world, and i am constantly trying to improve my knowledge. The homesickness has never left but i have learned how to over ride it haha. Im just starting to find the joy here, my biggest worry is how i will feel the spirit, because i feel like its so hard to recognize it. But im working on it. Well it sounds like one of the biggest changes back at home, collin starting 9th grade and abbey is starting 7th! And Steph went to college, and im sorry to hear that its been so tuff for her, ill definitly pray, just remember that i also had tuff roommates, i think thats just part of the Horrocks life, but ill defintily write her to help her. Thats pretty sad about the Nordahls, ill probably never get to see them again, but who knows. And wow thats really sweet about Tjs experiance, how cool is that! Well i dont have much more time this week! Thanks dad for your letter, i always love your help and consel. Next week im going to talk with Elder Foster, who is the 70 who talked about mothers know best in the last conference so im excited to learn from him! Well love you all and goodbye!

Tuesday, August 17 2010

Hey family!! So yesterday was a holiday here so we had to work so my pday was today, so the week felt way long! But really it flew by! This week has pretty tuff mostly because i felt so stressed about the lack of progress i am having, i feel like its really slow, i havent been able to visit with any of the investigators that have baptismal dates because they werent home, but i did give it my all with all of the troubles i had this week, but best of all i had a baptism!I kind of forgot to say that last week but ya, we finally got permission from the father of the three kids we are teaching to baptise the oldest girl, who is 15, so that was awesome i was pretty excited, it was a really spiritual baptism, the strongest one yet. And the father who didnt want anything with us is now listening to us and im sure that he will start to change, thats the effect the spirit has on people! So i am really seeing a difference from when i got here, there are days that we dont enter one house but somehow we are finding those that need the gospel. slowly but surely, once i start getting my planning down im sure that i will be able to see alot more blessings, we are finding the elect, but man it takes my patience, thats really been a help to live with the zone leaders because they can help me with my defects, my comp lacks alot of initiave, which we are working on, hes really gotten better and ive grown alot also, which is awesome!So i am attaching a photo of a picture that looks like its nighttime, but its really 9 in the morning, it was super sunny and it seemed like it would be a pleasant day, and as i was studying it started getting darker and darker until we couldnt even see our books of mormon! So i ran outside to see what was wrong, i kind of felt like the sun turned off! But the clouds came so fast and they were so thick that the light couldnt penetrate at all! ive never seen anyhting like it! Man! it was cool, but man it was so muddy afterwards, well i dont have much to say, its been tuff but ive grown a super lot, its starting to warm up again and my nerves from remembering the last summer are starting to jump, but i think ill be able to handle it alot better! Well i love you all! Steph have fun! its the greatest time of life if you make it! Be safe and choose the right! BYE

Monday, August 9 2010

Well first off before i forget, because its always so stressful to write home, so much is on my shoulders haha. The church that is in centro in the other missionaries, and we live three blocks south, on the road named lobato, which has a divider down the middle, we live two blocks east from the main highway. I think, if that helps let me know whats there. This week has been tuff, because i wasnt really focused on my goals, i just worked all day but not really effectivly, but i did find a few people that are way cool, i have seen a few miracles here, the people seem to be changing just a little, not everyone but less people are rejecting us, and we have a baptism this week, the first of many, because we have the goal to baptise every week, we have 7 people that have agreed to be baptised and we have 14 people who are looking forward to it, the 7 are amazing! The girlt hat is baptising this week is Natalya, a 15 year old who has waited forever to get baptised and her dad just gave here permission, so were pretty excited! Than we are working with a 21 year old named Ever, hes tight and has a huge testimony of Jesus Christ, he told us he would do anything for christ so i asked if he would get baptised for him and he said yes! Our mission president is teaching us how to help people recieve an answer from the book of mormon that is super powerful and helps the people want to read the book, its so simple but it works so well, the whole mission is changing, Preach My Gospel has changed as well, everything is so much better and im seeing a huge difference in people! HUGE! Dont worry i got to go to chruch this week, i know how to work and to have faith, the only time i dont have an investigator at church is when im unrighteous. And then ill be humbled haha. There is not many new stories, i love living with the other elders, after a super tuff day its always good to go back and laugh it off, its a huge blessing. Im now a master at omlet making, i might be a competition for dad, hehe. Ive been working out every moring a bunch so im always starving! So what better way to crave hunger than by omlets!! Today i had a strawberry milkshake for the first time in my mission! oh man i was sooooooo excited! Then i cut my hair but its lopsided so ill have to try again... hehe. Wow sounds like a way fun week!!! I really missed out! But i wont believe that you went until i see some pictures! What happened! i havent recieved any for a while now! haha. Well collin its like you read my mind, i was going to tell you to buy that game, man ive missed you kid, ive dreamed alot about you. But dont worry, im almost half way hehe. Well family i love you so much! I have been blessed so much! Oh one quick story, today we were walking from the icecream store and i saw a house that was huge! HUGE! and we stopped to look at it! and i realized that it was the size of our house, ive really forgotten that we had a house that had more than one room! Man ive gotten used to living here, and were so blessed! Well i love you!! Im so happy!

Monday, August 2 2010

Well hello family! It feels like yesterday that i wrote this letter, this week has been a fast one, and the most exhausting of my life. So i have what most people call a little bit of a gut, so everymorning i have been running stairs for a half hour to try and get that fat off of my body, because its draggin me down! haha so ive been walking with stiff and sore legs all week. And not only that, this week has definitly been the hardest week of my mission, yet there was not one time that i actually felt depressed or let down or any negative feeling, it was the wierdest thing of my life. 4 of the 6 days of work we just walked all day, and no one let us in, i had one sit down lesson where we actually taught once a day. And that just killed my back and my feet, i couldnt really walk that well this morning, i feel like i broke my foot haha. But not to worry, i really pulled out the hard worker in me, we completed with all of our goals and more, im really satisfied with this past weeks work but i know i can do better, we only have 3 progressing investigators who are kids, so im not happy that noone else is progressing, but im trying to figure things out, its been a different experiance with my new companion, if one of our teaching appointments drops, he looses all desire and falls into depression, so i think thats why i havent had a hard time here yet, because im here to help him, and its really helping, even though he is my leader ive been teaching him and stuff hehe, i kind of turned the tables. The people here are really stubborn, super closed and dont want nothing to do with us, so i have been trying many different ways to try and spark their interest and the best thing i have found is to talk about the things they need and are important to them, and i have seen a huge difference, the other religions cant satisfy the thirst of the gospel. Even though its super tuff here i am in love with the work, i am loving helping my companion, the people, the members, i love it love it love it. Sunday brought a huge wave of homesickness more powerful than i have felt since i got here but i ignored it and got to work, something that was so hard to do in Posadas! To answer your questions mom and dad, there are dogs everywhere, everywhere, more dogs than ants haha. Dead dogs, living dogs, crazy dogs, big and small. But dont worry all have a fear of shoes and stones. And no i wasnt in danger at all, thats why i was laughing! About the sacrament, i cant be in the church without an investigator. If there is not a investigator in the church i cant take the sacrament, the president is super tired of people not making progress, and like i said before he knows we can complete, since God said we could bring 4 every week. So im not worried, president says we need to take it once a month if we can never bring an investigator. And to close a branch there needs to be less than 10 members and no priesthood. And here in Reconquista there is a curse or something, they just dont have the priesthood power, every branch president goes inactive and wants nothing with the church, the same with all of the district presidents. I dont know why its like that here, we have 70s come here all the time to help, like once every 4 months, but i dont understand why the priesthood isnt strong here. Well today i played alot of soccer, and i can say that ive improved from running up and down the side lines, im not near as good as the latinos but id say i can play the sport haha. I love it, im pretty excited for this week, im hoping to find a family to baptise this week, please keep praying for this people, one day they will recognize, well i love you so much, dont forget me in your prayers! haha just kidding i know you cant forget... I LOVE YOU!
Oh and thanks for the envelope! and they didnt charge you can send those full of sweet tarts! oh man i love sweet tarts! And maybe you can send me a flag of the united states also, not too big, but not small also, just for fun! Remember i cant recieve more than 4 packages but i can recieve envelopes, so bring on the sweet tarts! haha with love again!

Monday, July 26 2010

HI MY FAMILY!! I cant even explain how much i love this area! I walk super alot but its not that bad, im used to it, Well this week i have worked super hard and i feel like i finally have a purpose, i learned about the history of the church here in Reconquista this week, and there was 6 branches here, but sadly they have closed all but three, which each has a set of missionaries, but now they are dangerously close to closing on which is called vera, and mine was pretty close to closing, but luckily we have two active elders, but i realized how much trust i have been given to be here, not every missionary could be hereAnd every missionary that has been here in the past has become great leaders in the mission, so im excited to grow, we had 9 people in the church this week, i was pretty disappointed that i couldnt get those inactives to church but to reactivate takes alot of engery and will power, so i will just have patience, somthing that i have learned really well in the mission haha. I love teaching people and im not even close to the missionary that i was in Posadas, im completely different, i dont even like p days now all i want to do is work! P days are great when we play soccer but im just constantly thinking about finding our future elders president or about a certain family, im addicted to the work hehe.I can say that i have felt the answers to my 9 months of pleading to the lord! And i have felt your prayers here also! Im the first elder in a long time here who was able to complete with all of the numbers this week, i have seen a huge difference in the acceptance of the people this week, and its just like dad said, i have turned from being someone so seems like their selling a product to everyones friend, and its been different here this week, and i feel like it will just keep getting better, the only thing that i really need to work on is planning, since my area is huge we waste a whole bunch of time walking, which i dont like, so i need to organize where we are for one day and then a different area another day, but im working on it.
The mission changed 100 percent this week also, first the president is very unsatisfied with the work, so if we cant bring investigators to church we arent worthy to partake of the sacrament and we cant participate in church without a investigator, everyone was complaining but if god said we could bring 4 people to church every sunday and we dont do it its because we are not working. So im excited for this challenge, also all of south america changed how we learn things, we dont have zone conference anymore and its more on a 1 on 1 basis, but we dont see president for 3 months, so its alot different, alot more responsibility with the elders. Well i have a way funny story, so saturday night it rained so there was alot of mud, well sunday morning we went to find investigators to bring to church, we clapped the house and from around the corner a pack of dogs, 7 huge dogs came flying around the corner at us, my companion started to freak out and started to try to run, i just started to laugh because it was so random to see them, they came out of nowhere! Before i could start to think they just jumped all on my companion, filling him up with mud all over his suit! I was dying of laughter, i ran over and started to pull the dogs off of him and he ran and then the dogs started piling on me! And my nice clean suit became a huge mess! I was crying with laughter because ive never seen anything like this, i couldnt get away until they got bored, we left and tried to get to the house from the other way, when we reached the corner the dogs saw us again and came flying at me, my companion jumped on a fence to wait for them to pass to me then made a run for the house to get the investigators, they started piling on me again and i was craking up, oh my suit was a disaster, i got them to leave me and they all went running for my comp! He started screaming! and went running again, i fell to my knees i couldnt breathe! Well we made a run for the church which was two blocks away and tried to clean up but it was worthless, well we couldnt go home but i tried my best to get rid of the mud... ya didnt work! Well thats been the funniest thing that has happened here so far! To answer your questions dad yes i live with the zone leaders and they were waiting at the bus, and all of the houses here are made of cement and huge bricks. Well i love you all, dont worry ill dry clean my suit to be nice and clean again... or maybe ill keep it like that for a rememberance... LOVE YA!

Monday, July 19 2010

Hey Fam!! Well alot changed this week here in the mission for me, first after i wrote you guys last week we went to the gomez family to have my last family home evening with them, we watched a beautiful movie about Temples and played the dice game when you have to write 1 to 100, like that time when we played in the cabin and Joe was going crazy! haha, it was alot of fun and made me miss the temple awefully and also my family. tuesday we had a service project that was like 6 hours, when we took the shingles off of a roof and repainted as much as we could, there was like 2000 haha, and we only got like 400 or so done. It was alot of fun and a great way to leave Posadas... I recieved a call tuesday night and i was the only one that left out of my whole zone! Well i dont have time so ill tell you more about where i went next week... Ha just kidding, I got called to the most south possible in the mission, Reconquista Santa Fe! My new comp is named Elder Hinostroza, it was wierd, the first day when Elder Soclle was my companion i saw Elder Hinostroza, 7 months back and something in my mind told me that im going to be his companion, and so when i met him it was wierd! So i feel like were going to bring some miracles to Reconquista, hes also from Peru and hes really shy, so its been really good for me so far to start to take the lead in things, but he has a really strong testimony and you can feel it when he speaks. He has the same amount of time as Elder Soclle, and so hes the M1, or the leader companion, which was the only thing that i was disappointed with in this transfer, and i havent moved up at all yet, but its alright. I cant send pictures here but ill try to find a way, maybe there is another cyber we could use. But hes a shorty also haha. I really was sad to leave Posadas, because i had such a long time there, but when i got off the bus to a few good old friends i was way excited to be here, my old friends are my zone leaders and we all live in the same apartment above a pharmacy, its a whole bunch of fun, our life is alot like the best two years if i remember the movie well. They are the bomb and its been a blast to be able to live with another companionship here, Reconquista is ALOT different than Posadas, there isnt hills or trees and instead of red dirt everything looks like cement. There is not a single house made of wood and here its freezing!! 45 degrees right now!! And i dont have a sweater for tracting so its been pretty cold ha, it was 37 thing morning when i woke up, and 46 in the apartment! Ha but i do love it, its a great escape from the usual heat, and it actually looks like winter here, most of the trees are dead, and the grass too. My area is the largest area in the mission, to walk a third of my area is about an hour and a half, so we walk alot and im always exhausted. I love it here, but ive never seen a people so hard, in the four days that ive worked here, other than our 3 progressing investigators, we havent entered a house, something that was so easy to do in Posadas. We have walked all day from 11 in the morning to 9 at night with maybe one lesson, noone wants to talk, is afraid or mean. So thats been the real challenge here, i feel alot like Alma, im depressed for the people here, that not a single person that ive talked to so far wants to accept the gospel, accept happiness. Its been difficult, but something wierd has changed, like steph said i feel like a different person here, i feel such a fire to change the people here and i want to work so bad, even though this should have been the hardest part of my mission thusfar i havent felt discourgaed or despair yet. If someone rejected me i worked twice as hard to find someone who wouldnt. But since ive got here noone new has wanted to hear, i have never experianced this so i dont know what to do, this is a huge challenge, but everyday my patriarchal blessing rings in my ear so thats what has kept me fighting. At church this sunday i did the same as Andy haha, i went from a ward of more than 150 people to a branch of 8, one family and two converts and the branch president and his wife, well thats who assited this week, they usually have about 12. There isnt a young womens and there is one girl hannahs age who is in the primary. So its a huge difference but i am excited to make a change here, im hoping that i can do miracles here but i dont know how, but ill just keep trying to do my best, the feeling here is alot different, in my old ward i didnt feel like i really had a goal, because the ward was huge, but now i have a goal, and im excited to build this branch. Its really really tuff here and after a long tuff day its relieving to go back to the apartment where the other companionship make all of the tuff times disappear, its only the four of us in the city, its about the size of Rosevelt, and its a farming town also. Im excited for the growth that Heavenly Father has planned for me, every Elder that has served in this Area before are great leaders in the mission. Well i love you all so much, continue enjoying your summer and i miss you all so much, please pray to have the lord pour out his spirit on this people, they are tuffer than nails hehe. I LOVE YOU ALL!

Monday, July 12 2010

This is a picure we emailed to Nate. We used glow sticks to spell his name.

Aw man!! The mowhawk theme 4th of july cant be beat!! The year when i get back we will have to grow our hair out way long so we can be like 80 rock stars!! Like Andy and Judd i feel the same way... The 4th of july is definitly the best holiday ever and it just gets better and better every year! Why is our family soo cool!!! Oh man ty guy got baptised! Man time does fly by so fast!! Congrats little guy! You know whats the right thing to do! But its alright, i dont know if i said i was getting transfered last week but transfers are this wednesday.So im still in my same area with my same companion. Well im going to start with the start of the week, this week has been super difficult as usual, though this sunday made it all worthwhile. I dont know if i will ever be able to come homesickness, it is so overpowering. and its so difficult to overcome, but i work nonetheless, i work hard, but its very difficult. The weeks fly by! But the days are so long, but its ok because im used to it, i know that one day i will be the missionary that im fighting to become.In our district meeting this week we had a training on how to put baptism dates in the first visit, so that we can see if they are willing to progress, it reminded me of the wheat and the tares, that we can find out if they are ready if they accept to be baptised the on the first visit, and we learned a great way to help them say yes, so they dont feel pressured, so im liking that part, its a great way to get more baptisms.Well speaking of baptisms, we baptised the Ramallos family yesterday! If this wasnt a miracle i dont know what is! I met them a month ago and they completed with everything, they got rid of all the catholic traditions, followed all of the commandments and are reading and praying everyday, it has felt like a sprint, haha because the other two families are slowpokes and it is difficult for them to progress.And this was a special baptism also, because another investigator from the other companionship in my ward baptised also, she has investigated for 8 years! And so last night we had the whole ward there and it was amazing, we never had the support of the ward before but we worked really hard and we got them to come, it was really good and i loved it. We baptised 5 of the 7, the other two are too young, and they are monsters! They destroyed the sacrament meeting yesterday, they are impossible to control, and the other kids follow them also. But whateverhaha. Well i got to go, ill let you know how the tranfers go this next week, i dont want to leave. Love you!