Monday, May 30 2011

Hola Familia!! Fa there are alot of changes going on at home, whats with all this wedding stuff!! Everyones gettings married, likes its something important or something... OH my three weeks left and Andy and Judd call it done, thats crazy, how time flies, in honor of their departure that weekend before i have 12 baptisms planned! The Britez family is dead set on getting baptised, they are so cool, they took us to visit a friend of theirs who also is getting baptised the same day, they practically are members, then we have a 20 year old kid named Abel who already is doing missionary work, inviting other kids to church even though hes not even baptised yet, then another of my investigators who moved away in January came back last friday, and hes dying to get baptised, so after months of struggle im seeing fruits of my labor, im loving the work right now, whenever im down or trunky i just head out and get to work, and oh man what joy i feel, preaching the gospel just makes all worries go away, and just brings a happiness, a purpose to life, and the mission is setting up the rest of my life, and the more i live it the more i understand the purpose of my life, and of my patriarchal blessing, what a great experiance to grow. there is not much new news here, the weather is perfect, freezing in the mornings and warm during the afternoon, we go out running everymorning and yes this week, ive eaten my first bean burrito in 20 months, what a delicious creation. Yet tragically everytime ive made pancakes this week they have come out flat, and i dont know how to make them fluffy, it came naturally before, but it must be that im so far from home that the fluffiness left me, so mom help me, how do i make fluffy pancakes!?! Other than that life is normal, my newbie is learning very much, hes a super cool kid, as are most mexicans, haha. Anyways sounds like life is crazy at home, oh and all the baptisms are the same day as mom and dads anniversary and tay tay habermans wedding, so what an epic day that will be!! well love ya family!! see ya later!! oh ya and mom, if possible i want pictures of my WHOLE family, grandparents, aunts uncles aunts and stuff, i know we have those big group pics so send me some!!! por favor, and pics from my baptism! SO i can show people here my baptism haha! lovess!!

Hello family! Hows it going? All is well here in formosa, it has been a beautiful week weather wise, yesterday and today being the only hot days, but im used to it so it doesnt really matter. Not much new things have happened, We talked with the Father of the Britez family, he came to church and believes that the word is true but its a wierd belief, because he believes the word has nothing to do with the organization and therefore believes that he doesnt need to be baptised again. He believes the book of mormon is true and that what we say is true, but im sure he hasnt prayed or else he would understand it a little differently, hes quite a difficult man to teach, he can practically quote the whole bible. But the rest of the family is super excited to get baptised so thats great. Pablo, the ex policeman that i found in January and who has listened to us for quite some time is finally going to get baptised this Saturday!! So im excited for that, we have had to drop the Franco Family, that was quite sad, they just wouldnt do it, they didnt feel like they were able to live the gospel, they have no self confidence, even worse than me haha. But hopefully ill get to see a miracle, we will see. We found this one guy named Julio who has a family of 6, all beneath 7 years of age and man, he just wants peace in his life haha, kind of impossible with 4 kids haha, but really as we shared the message he felt our conviction and is really excited to get baptised, i know he will get baptised, his best friend is the sunday school president.Oh and we also found a family of 4 who i met the dad as we were heading to our zone conference, he was our taxi driver and it was quite the experiance, right as i got in i felt the impression or the feeling that i dont want to talk to him, that i should just be lazy, well when i usually feel that it means i need to do the opposite, so i talked with him, found out he had gone to church as a kid and was always interested in learning more, we passed by the house and the family is super excited to get baptised, yet more miracles, so if i play my part well, we should be baptising every week until i leave this place. I feel like im working hard but in a way that is super inefficent, i dont have the support of the members or im not doing something right to get them to help me or what. Our bishop has been struggling for these past 7 months that ive been here, hes been to church like 8 out of the 30 sundays ive been here and he only has one counselor and noone is stepping up to complete with thier callings, we have two men who have callings in the stake that are trying to keep the ward alive, we have over 30 new converts just from this year and only 4 or 5 have visiting teachers, so alot of our new converts go inactive if the missionaries stop visting them, and i dont even have time to find people between visiting all of the new converts, and my progressing families. So im quite frustrated, i half dont even want to baptise anymore because i feel that they will all go inactive like my converts here in Formosa, only 1, Jose who got baptised a month ago, is getting stronger and stronger.Many times this week i have come to realize that a hero cant save anyone without team work, it just wont happen, Aragorn himself couldnt stop the orc army without the help the fellowship and his countrymen. Ive come to learn alot here in Formosa about how the church needs to work, maybe this will be a huge benefit for me after the mission, everytime i get frustrated i always say that i wont let this happen in my ward, but we are trying to get everything organized, the stake realizes whats going on and are trying to bring orden to our ward. Anyways, that sounds quite crazy about all of the weddings and stuff, the world is changing super fast haha, one month for andy and judd, thats crazy, i have 3 transfers left, it feels like nothing, and i still have so much to learn, i havent even got close to who i should be! Anyways family! I love ya all! Thanks so much for everything, i love your examples and keep it up! The church is true!!oh i ya forgot to explain the pics, i got attacked by flour on my birthday, my converts came and i begged them to let me change first because i had my suit on, then that happend, my eyes were red for a week! MY newbie and i, the Britez family, and a few of the elders that came with me, and that we will go home together! lveos!

Monday, May 16 2011

Hey family!! Como estan! I had a great birthday here in Formosa, i was super taken care of, it was a great time, it started off bad because no one came to church, we had 19 people commited to come and i dont know why but half ended up sick because of the cold front that came in the night before, so i was quite disappointed that i didnt have investigadores in the church for my birthday, the first week since december that i have had noone. But all of the members remembered my birthday and it was a very great time, then i had lunch with converts that i found here in december, they made ñokies, its a potatoe/ flour pasta thing that is super delicous, we had cake and it was a good time, during studies i was quite perturbed about the lack of success that i had this week and i prayed for quite some time, well i had super spritutal lessons and i saw my investigators react in ways that ive never seen before, it was really nice. So my day ended really nice.
This week was a great week, i felt like i had alot of success and that my investigators are progresing, we have at least 12 secured baptisms for this transfer, about 3 weeks left thats all. And i can have about 6 more if all works out, i know that they are all looking for the truth, but its so hard to help them realize that this is the only way to happiness. The Britez family is a family of 9 and they are all going to get baptised the 4th or 11th depending on the dads progress. They are so awesome, everytime i talk with them my heart fills with gratitude that heavenly father lead us to them, because its like weve always known each other, they are always reading the book of mormon and they are really excited for their future baptisms, its going to be a great experiance.
So new news in the mission, we cant play sports any more or get together with other missionaries, the worst rule ever, it makes pday super sucky, but oh well, 5 months left and then i can hang out with all my friends so i guess its not that bad. Theyve really buckled down on a few things that make it so that the only way for us to renew our excitement is just the work, before we use to discharge our stress getting together and playing soccer but now they dont want that, so we will see how it goes, so many elders and sisters are taking it so badly but even though i dont like it ive seen it as a little blessing, but we will see.
So i know how my new mission president is, hes from arizona, he served his mission here in argentina in cordoba and his son served here in resistencia in 2001. But i forgot his name, Hydes or something like that.
Well thanks so much for everyone sending me emails, i love getting emails and reading them, i miss home alot and its good to hear from everyone, i cant believe that andy and judd have a month or so left, thats crazy!
So i got the package, super thanks!! Im so excited to be making some refried beans and burritos, its going to be pretty awesome! Now that i have so much time on my hands i think thats what ill be doing next week, and im excited to show people how to cook some American BBQ! Well i cant think of much else to say, thanks so much for always thinking of me! I do love the mission even though its hard, because its something worth fighting for!
OH ya and dad i would like if you could send the measurements of your and collins scriptures so that i can get them ordered, their going to be super sweet!!

Monday, May 9 2011

Wow that was suprisingly easy last night to talk with my family, i felt scared the whole day, i didnt want to call, the only reason i called is because i already told you guys i would, i didnt want to be sad afterwards, ive found it just easier to not think about home and it helps me stay here. But i really loved listening to everyone, i still dont believe that i talked to abbey, steph couldnt fool me, haha. Well we are all anxious for these next few months, i have to admit, but i do love it here also, its a whole different world with new experiences every day, i get excited for anything that has to do with the gospel, i love life thats all, yesterday and today have been a little hard but it will all go back to normal, im loving life, but my only goal right now is to immerse myself even more with the spirit, to be sanctified, because i dont want to give up all that i have recieved. Anyways, thanks so much for all of the emails, this has by far been my favorite time reading everyones emails, Robin i im quite impressed with what you and dave have done, thats soo cool!! Always have been a great example of how to go the extra mile, never satisfied with normal. Lindsay, i loved the 21 reasons why im cool, especially the red cream soda one and the clue ablities, and yes joe, ITS ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!!! I didnt even know that maximus talks!! Shanon, thanks so much for that email, it helped me so much, its exactly what i needed in this moment. Its amazing how much help one can recieve from reading emails. Thanks mom with all of that information, now that helped me alot. Im so grateful for the chance that i had to talk with my grandparents, they are sooooo COOL!! Oh man im excited to spend soo much time with them after the mission. ANd yes grandpa, im strong enough to push that elephant back up the cliff, TAKE IT COLLIN!! Well i just wanted to write this week and say that im so grateful for my families, i know that there is not a kid more blessed than i, to have brother and sisters and cousins soooo cool who are my examples, for aunts and uncles who are legendary and for parents and grandparents who are too amazing for words to explain, im not even going to try and explain, but wow im so blessed, and beyond taht to live in an amazing ward, city, state, and to be able to have the most awesome friends ever!! THANKS YALL!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!

Monday, May 2 2011

Hey Family!! So this week has been pretty cool, weve been pretty busy helping our investigators gain their testimony, the weather has been great as far as i can tell, these past weekend i have frozen to death! Its been great, ive been able work even harder haha, The Britez family took so well the law of chastity, usually everyone doesnt react too well to this law but they were super excited to either get married or drop their husbands, because three of the girls have their boyfriends who live with them, so man they are so cool, i have no doubt that all 9 of them are going to get baptised, and who knows maybe some of the husbands also, but they work all day so its been hard to find them. The Franco family has had some challenges with getting married, hes having a hard time making the commitment, even though i dont understand, he has 4 kids and has lived with her for 12 years, kind of interesting, but we had a good talk with him, so we will see how it goes. We baptised Claudia, oh man she made us chicken enchaladas and guacamole, the first time that i have eaten mexican food it 18 months, oh my gosh i cant even explain the excitement i felt, it felt as if someone gave me my greatest wish! So cool! This week i did divisones with Elder Holden, one of the elders who came with me, at the same time 2 more elders who were with me at the mtc came to our zone, so it was pretty cool to see all of them again, transfers are wednesday, im not sure what will happen, i dont want to go, but president called the zone leaders and asked alot about me so im thinking that im leaving, oh ive worked so hard this transfer, and i really want to stay to see it, but oh well, usually when im having alot of sucess i leave, its happened in every one of my areas. So im excited to talk this sunday, im not really able to think so much right now, i didnt sleep at all last night, its like i forgot how to haha, and we had a sick game of soccer, oh i love it! im able to put up quite a fight, yes im pretty prideful about it because ive never been that great at sports haha. We are having so much sucess right now, im starting to enjoy everyday and have sure found the happiness that i have wanted, im able to find the happiness in alot of things, i believe i have been able to conquer my mind for the most part, thanks so much for always praying and fasting for me. I love you all so much, congrats abbey for winning student goverment!! Thats pretty cool, i hope all is well at home. So my birthday is in two weeks, and the only think i ask from everyone is to get a email from everyone!! Dont worry about taking up time ill print them all off, i just want to hear from everyone haha, it seems so long since ive heard from everyone, anyways i love you all! Ill let you know what happens sunday, im pretty sure ill call around 7 or 8 here, if i stay but if i go i have no clue what will happen, im not sure what my comp will say, but it will be after your lunch. haha so good luck waiting haha, ill try to make it for 7 or 8 my time, i have no clue what that is your time. So good luck i love ya! The computers stink at sending pics here so sorry, ill try and send photos whenever i can! LOVE YA!