Monday, April 26, 2010

Monday, April 26 2010






Ya crazy! Another week has flown by! So first news first, i didnt transfer, making it six months that i will be in my first area, thats a wierd thought eh! My zone changed up a little so its good to meet new missionaires, and my companion is our district leader, haha which is totally ironic because hes the opposite but this is going to be such a good learning experience for him, finally i will get to be more obedient! This week has been good, tuff, but a little better than the last week, every week is just a little progress, so in a few months i feel i will be close to normal haha, this weeks weather has been great, i havent seen the sun in 6 days, which has been awesome! It was 58 degrees saturday morning! Oh how excited i was! But usually its around 70 which is perfect, the mud is like 6 inches deep right now, so its a little tuff to try and walk without slipping, but the boot things help. I defintily love this weather more than the other haha. Well this week we had an event called Tormenta Blanca, when all of the missionaires hit up one area and talk to all of the inactives, so my companion and i spent all of thursday and part of friday looking through the records trying to find inactives with adresses... Because here almost all of the members only have the name of the neighborhood... pretty annoying haha. But we found enough, and saturday morning all of the missionaires came to our area, it was alot of fun and we had some good lessons, but when sunday came not one of the inactives came so it kind of stunk, we think it was because of the rain, because its raining a ton here, a ton! This week we set another baptismal date with Ramiro! For the week after my birthday, along with a little girl so we will have two baptisms that week, and we are also going to set this same date for the Gomez family this week, they are so close to baptism, sooooo close, everyone believes but the dad and this week we talked about inpardonable sins because he felt like he had offended the spirit, and after we explained his whole personage changed, so he is starting to progress a little faster, we decided a month is good enough for him to change haha. We found a nurse on saturday who right after we had finished a lesson, she started to read the book of mormon and read almost a quarter of it! When we returned last night she told us this and we were really suprised! haha so we will see what turns out in the next week or so, we also found a man who believes that the book of mormon is true, which its always better to have the man of the house believe, becuase its alot easier for the wife to believe also. So it will be interesting to see how the next week or so turns out. Its interesting that you prayed for me to be sent to an area where i will learn to love my mission, maybe its here in this transfer, well we will see. Its still such a long reach but im getting closer.
So a funny story, tuesday night we called the Mochado family, who is the only active family in my area, they do our laundry, feed us almost everyday, and they go with us to lessons, well we called them tuesday night to see if we could eat with them wednesday, because we had nowere to eat, so when my companion called he also told them that i was leaving and that i was too sad to talk to them, but then after he said he was joking, but they didnt understand. So the next day when we went to eat the mom had stayed home from work to make us a good lunch and she bought me a bunch of gifts, and when i asked what it was for she said for you leaving, but then i realized that my companion said this and so i got all of this stuff for staying haha, it was pretty funny, we just said that it will be my birthday present, it was very nice of them.
Haha collin... Thats a funny story about the rustler, those kagies... At least they fixed it! haha, now you have a better one. Congrats steph on being the director of the play! Thats sweet! Thanks mom and dad for the letters, it sure helped me alot! Ill definitly put in practice everything im learning, my attitude is changing, everything is getting a little better, but i feel like im far from what i need to become, because i still want so bad for this to fly by haha. Well i love you and ill write you next week! Thanks for the pictures! This computer cant send so ill send them in a few mins!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Monday, April 19 2010 -- Nate Goes to Iguazu Falls

Before posting Nate's letter, I want to post some pictures of Iguazu Falls. This is where Nate went today. The falls are absolutely gorgeous. Nate will send his pictures next week.


Nate's Letter:
1 nefi 3: 15, like nephi i will no go home to my family until i have finished the commandments which the lord has commanded me! Well first off i am going to tell of my adventure that i had today of getting to wake up at 3 am and run half way through the center of town to reach a rented bus, and within this rented bus my companion and i found 14 of our companions, in which we got to go to Iguazu today! Its a 5 and a half hour drive through some of the most beautiful country that i have seen in a while, the mornings here are beautiful in the Rain Forest, there is a light fog over everything and the air is nice and crisp, there is only one road from Posadas to Iguazu, and all of the towns are just off the road, so i got to see many beautiful little towns along the way, all of my companions wore the same shirt, like we did when we went to disneyland and everything, it was alot of fun, we played uno and watched mountain of the lord during the dark morning and when the sun started to rise i loved to watch the countryside, i really hope that i get to have a few transfers in the interior of misiones, its really beautiful. We got to Iguazu around 10 am and we had to dress all undercover and take off our plaques and enter in two or three at a time in different intervals, because they are money suckers and if they see more than 6 people they require you to have a guide. We have papers that say we live here from the police but because some of us are American they wouldnt let us in at first, we had to make alot of calls and stuff but eventually in an hour we got to enter. And man what an awesome experience! Niagra falls is nothing compared to this! Its like comparing the canal behind our house to the mississippi! I was so excited! There is this place called el garganta del diablo, or the throat of the devil, and its massive and cant see the bottom! Its so sweet and i really wish i could so you pictures but we all forgot to bring our downloaders to the cyber place. There is one view when its like your almost totally surrounded by waterfalls on all directions! Ill send photos next week! After about 2 we started for home, along the way we sang every song imanginable, and i learned alot of cool folk songs from argentina and chile, it was alot of fun, by far the best p day yet, and probably the best day of my mission yet, definitly worth the five months ive been here haha.
Well this week was definitly a tuff one, but i held my animo, or my desire and happiness, animation, for three or four days, we only have three progressing familes, and we almost lost one, but so we have been working as hard as we possibly can to find more investigators, to find those prepared by god for us, we contacted houses for 6 or 7 hours everyday and we only found 6 people who let us in to talk to them this whole week! Ya it was really really tuff, this is very unusual for Argentina, when its usually very easy to teach 20 people a week, but we just couldnt find anyone! I worked as hard as i could to try and love being here but its just been so hard, i think im not being patient enough but man this weekend has been tuff, i slacked big time sunday because i just lost everything, and i prayed for a long time to recieve help, patience haha, its been really hard to think if i ever will love the mission and maybe this will be my test, to see if i can prove myself for two years, if so it will be hard but i can do it, ive done it so far and i can do it for more, i think most of all im just wanting a change, ive been in the same area my whole mission with a companion that is really tuff at times, not because of him but just that its hard for me to have the patience when im trying my hardest to be patient with myself, haha im totally a different person here, i feel the complete opposite of when i was at home, im not that friendly and it kills me, no matter how hard i try to fake it and love my companion and the people it usually wears off near the end of the week, (sometimes its hard for me to believe in my patriarchal blessing, because i dont feel like i have all of these strenghts) but i have recieved many answers to my prayers about why its being so difficult now and i know that one day it will be better, in six months or two years idk, but i know it will be better so i have this hope and i really am growing so much, i can pretty much teach every subject with simplicity to everyone, which has been my goal, to be able to teach everyone like they were 8 years old so they never are confused, because as i have come to find out that simplicity is power and the spirit can testify so much more with it, going to iguazu made me really homesick for all of the vacations that we used to go on so when i get back were going on a few haha, but really i know this trial will pass oneday, and hopefully i pass with flying colors, i hope that i am honoring my name, and my family with me being here, im just so weak ha, so weak. If i can be anything like the missionaries in my zone i know that i will be satisfied with the mission i am serving, now i just need to work and try hard to forget myself, but man its so hard, very little progress with the investigators, but successs with the less actives, so thats nice.
Haha im glad that you like your gift, it was a pain in the butt to mail it, argentina only sends packages between a three hour period in a week... and then i had to wrap it and do everything myself with an impatient maillady haha, you all guessed right with the gifts, but the cow hoof is a mate cup, people drink grass out of it haha, and every single person has one, in the bus, on the job, in school, in church, in class, every single person, and im not exagerating. Ha thanks for sending my gift, i kept forgetting to write about the things that i need, it would be nice for the next package to send some dry lux garmets, because only recevive them from the states, but thats about it, im excited to see what it is, ill find out in 5 or 6 weeks haha. So wednesday is transfers and i think, or hope, that i m leaving, even though it will be really hard to leave the ward and the missionaries here, i need a fresh start, its hard to see some of the places here, brings back some tuff memories from the beginning of the mission that i dont want to remember. Well anyways thats my life for the week, i hope it gets better! Steph grats on state, thats something i can never say i did haha, way cool! Collin sweet job trying to areate, i remeber that i didnt want to go door to door asking, even though i really did love the actual job, i got to listen to music and daydream, what more can you ask for! Thanks derik and maria for the letters, and grandpa and grandma, i was thinking about school getting out also, man time flew by! Man andy and judd have almost reached the downhill part, talk about fast eh haha. Well all i can ask for now mom is to flood my email with pictures, its so fun to show all of the members and missionaries my life and for me to remember that life is happiness, something that i have forgetten for a little bit haha, well i love you all so much, more than words can express! Bye!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Monday, April 12 2010

Hello the best family in the world! The first thing i want to say in my email is thanks. This week as i was out working there were alot of times when it was like there was a block in my mind to think negative thoughts, and there was alot of thoughts that came to me that reminded me of spring, i did have a few good moments this week, and as these moments were passing by i knew in my heart that it wasnt me that was letting this happen, that it was all of my family that helped changed it all, i felt your fast before i knew about it, and for that i really want to say thanks and that i will never be able to thank my family for the love they have shown, its kind of embarrassing to acknowledge my weakness haha, but this week i did try as hard as i can to just work, to just forget my problems and try my best to work, it was really tuff, like trying to escape from the tarpit like the rabbit in splash mountain, haha but with strength that definitly wasnt my own im starting to break out of this tarpit, this week was the hardest week ive worked, our numbers have been the highest of my mission so far, im just trying to do what all of you are saying and just work haha, i realize that its a time of growth and all and i know that after i will look back and be grateful for it, oh but how hard it is to be grateful for problems during it haha, its pretty easy to pretend like nothing is wrong, and most of the missionaries know nothing of my challenges, this week i got to talk to the president in an interview and we talked for 15 minutes on how i can improve my mission, and after all we talked about he told me how valient of a missionary i was, which made me feel good about the work i am trying to do, he seems to always "drop the cane" or get mad at all of the other missionaries, but he never has with me even though im just like the others, so i dont know what that means, but he was a big help this week, along with all of my families prayers for sure, its still really tuff but in time i will know i will come to love it, i kind of just lost my patience for a while he he, about my investigators, the gomez family is in a standstill, all of the girls of the family know its true, but the guys are having a tuff time giving in, but we are working on it, they didnt come to church this week so i think it was kind of a two steps back kind of week with them, Ramiero, the drug officer, has a friend who is anti mormon, but he likes to learn from us, its been pretty sweet to defeat all of the rumours that his anti mormon friend shoots at him, another testimony that truth is always stronger than lies, he definitly has a testimony of the book of mormon, and he told us a story of one day this week he was thinking about me in specific and why would this kid come all of the way from the u.s. to learn a different language and teach something false, so thats been a help to me this week also, to know that someone needs my help haha, hes going to baptise for sure, he is reading the three chapters that we leave with him every time and hes reading from the beginning, its amazing! Another family, named Pareda, we have met with them three times and they are in love with the book of mormon, we had a very powerful lesson in introducing the book of mormon, it was really good, the family is a little older, the youngest is 19 but they dont have many but the guys like to listen so that is definitly a huge bonus for us. The weather here has been really good, freezing during the nights and like 80 during the day, if i stay in the shade i dont sweat at all, and thats a good feeling that i have forgotten haha, its defintily been an interesting mindset that i have had this week, definitly not from me, its been a really big help, about my companion, he still has all of the pet peeves that i dont like but i have really grown to look past them, now its just normal, ive really grown patient with him, and i can put up with almost everything, only sometimes is our companionship difficult, but most of the times its normal, its hard to be friends with him, but its not hard to be nice, so i like that. Ive learned alot in my studies this week, im just really trying to be a missionary, one day ill reach the goal, wow ive never done anything so tuff but ill try to dance in the rain, maybe with my hands in my pockets like stephs cool dance move haha. Yet again i want to say thanks for all of the support, i have been thinking to write letters like last weeks every monday so i can always have emails to read haha, well i cant explain how much i love everyone of my family members and friends and if i had time i would write everyone of you! Good bye until next week, im heading to iguazu falls next week!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Tuesday, April 6 2010

Hey family, sorry this is going to be a really small letter this week, not much new stuff has happened this week, its been really tuff as usual, we did change to the normal missionary schedule of doing all of the studies in the morning and working all day, which stinks because everyone here sleeps during the middle of the day so its really hard to find anyone, im finding it really hard to find the desire to teach and work, i dont know why i have always had that problem, im trying to fake it and all but i want to start to see a difference, sometimes i dont think im made for the mission haha, but i did get to see all of the sessions minus the first one, so saturday and sunday have definitly been my two favorite days in the mission yet, every single talk i could specifically apply to me, i loved it all, i also loved that between sessions i got to visit with the members and other missionaries.I realize that i love the members here, but i have a hard time loving the people, i learned alot about patience and how to overcome trials in the conference, i felt the spirit more in conference than in any other time in my life, but if i thought about my area or the next day all of my worries came back, i defintily have a problem mentally that i need to overcome. Sorry this is such a downer but i havent had any really good news this week, i just need pateince and endurance, and pray and i know one day ill want to be here, you would think after six months it would be possible haha.
Here are some photos of family home eveings with a recent convert family and with the family of Ramiro, the drug officer.!The twins in the pictures got back from their mission the day i got here so they have been a huge support and help for me. Well i love you all and i loved the pictures, its good to remember when life was perfect, i know that it can be in the future. I want to let you know that i know this church is true, im just having a tuff time wanting to share it, i dont know why. Im trying to lose myself but i dont know how... Tell grandmas and grandpas how much i love them, and aunts and uncles, and cousins, i have been blessed more than ever. Sorry about this downer letter, i could have made stuff up to make it look like everythings fine but then i wouldnt know what to say haha. Im just needing to fix myself, and its about time i start doing it. I love you