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!

Monday, June 28 2010

Im going to start with the most important thing first, Grampa and steph, i found the biggest avocado that is imaginable! But the neighbors wouldnt let me have it so they gave me the littlest one they had, which is in the photo, the others were about the size of my head! man it was crazy awesome! Well this week has been interesting, i havent felt the homesickness at all, yet i have felt like its the longest week yet, i worked hard everyday yet i felt like i wasnt achieving my best, this week has been HOT, about the same as judd, but a little less, about 33, which is like 86 degrees, or something like that, and its humid also, but it didnt really affect me that much, i just needed to shower a bit more thats all, something interesting that happened this week is that week had a Religion convention here in Posadas of all of the religions, and as usual our religion was practcally forgotten or ignored, but it was fun to help people open their eyes a bit instead of having all of the fear that they have, i got to talk with a bunch of little kids from ukraine who did a one of those russian dances, reminded me of the twins, it was a huge testimony builder also, im not really sure what triggered it but after thursday i was so excited to be a representative of the church and even though it was really hot i enjoyed it a little bit more, i have also read my patriarchal blessing every day and that has helped me alot, and ive fervently prayed to help me keep in the attitude i am having, its still tuff but im looking at it in a little different way which is alot easier. Well i think i broke the record in the mission for how many investigators that come to church, i brought 17 to church, and man i didnt know what to do! We filled the church with less actives and investigators and it was really good to see, the members were a bit more helpful and suprised to see missionaires working, since my area is pretty famous for just having lazy elders, so they are really shocked that we have 16 baptisms in two weeks, so hopefully this will get the work moving even more, the president had a revelation that we can baptise every week, and to help us have the faith to do it and to help us achieve it we are learning alot of new things which are really bold and interesting,i will be interested to see what will happen, i dont know what it is but the mission is getting better and better, there are more and more rules to help us get more sucess and we are learning how to have more sucess, i feel like the lord is teaching us how to be better when we are more ready to listen. So its good to see the turn around in the misson since i got here. Well one more week until the wedding of the pacheco and they are ready for baptism, the Ramallos are also ready and wanting the baptism, its so wierd that we havent had to work really hard with them for them to believe everything, its been really easy so far, but i believe that they have a doubt, we will find it. The Gomez family is continuing to progress, now we are just waiting for the marriage, we have another man who is wanting to bapitize named jorge, he is an awesome man, his wife is less active and they live in a way crazy neighborhood, so we cant enter much but he is progressing well. Well i have one and a half weeks left with Elder Soclle, we have been together 6 months or so, and it will be interesting to see the changes, its been tuff at times, especially during the world cup right now, he really wants to watch tv and when argentina plays he doesnt want to work, its been tuff completing with the weekly goals and im a little frustrated, and that has worn down alot of patience but im pushing forward and trying to show my love, haha but its fight.Well today we had a bbq to celebrate all of the hard work we did this week, that was alot of fun, we spent a lot of time cooking eating and talking about sienfield haha, a fun break from the everyday routine,
Happy fathers day last week, i dont know if i said anything last week so i say it now, i always love to get letters from you dad, and just like Judd i look up to you in so many ways, i love you so much dad, thank you for everything. Well i am glad to hear about life at home and the vacation, it sounds like such a fun time! Its been wierd that this is the first week that i havent been excited for home, yet im neither excited to be here, i believe im in a weird phase, mostly im just trying to work hard until the transfer. Well i love you all so much! i cant think of much else to say, so ill write you next week!

Monday, June 21 2010

OOOH my stomach is grumbling just hearing about Mexican Food! If there is one thing i miss its Mexican Food! Oh man Texas sounds so much fun! I really miss the trips haha, but if there is one thing i have learned here is patience, so i can wait a little longer, i only have two thirds more, its not that much haha. Then i can enjoy all of the Blessings of the best family, in the best country, with all of the best things haha. I have been blessed so much, and i dont think i would have realized how much if i hadnt come here, so now i know what ive been given, and im thankful for that. Well this week has been super tuff as usual, but im pushing forward, ive done all i can to work hard and im not letting anything put me down, but its super duper tuff, this week i have woken up every morning with a sadness or homesickness feeling, in my soul that has been so hard to conquer, my mornings have really stunk this week, but i have pushed through these tuff times and i have been blessed, so this past week we went downtown with Sister Pachecho and her daughter to set plans for the wedding, they are going to get married on the 7 of July! That was a fun experience, and so they are progressing, they have alot of fear because they have been decieved alot by different churches but its ok, we are working with them.The gomez family will marry the 22 of july! and so finally they will baptize, but this is one week after transfers so its likely that i wont be here for them... Which really stinks but i know they will baptise so thats alright. Then the other family that we found the last week, Mario and his family, Ramallos, they went to church with us and they are super prepared for baptism! So if all goes well ill have 12 baptisms before transfers and then the gomez family after, but all in all ive been blessed. The Ramallos have a kid who is 5 years old, and he believed that Elder Soclle and i live in Heaven and that we come down to teach them haha, ive never seen a five year old who knows more or wants to know about the gospel, during sacrament meeting yesterday all of the little kids were causing havoc and he was on the front row, listening and so focused on the speaker, he listened better than i can haha, So im super excited for them. This week we had zone conferences and one of my friends from the mtc is in my city with me so that made me excited, it brings back alot of fun memories from the mtc. Well about the feeling that i have had in my chest for the past few weeks, its been really tuff to fight it out, and im always homesick or depressed or something, well i have fasted and today i woke up and for the first time in my mission my soul felt normal, so that is some progress that im really thankful for, one day i will really love my mission, ive been extremely blessed throughout this trial and i wouldnt give this up for anything, but i really would like to love to be here thats all. A love to teach and do all of the work for love instead of duty, but im working on it, patience and prayer. Well i love you all so much! And ill write you next week!

Monday, June 14 2010

Oh man texas!!! What a fun trip! Ya of course it isnt the same without me, like abbey would say, its alot more peaceful without nate haha, ya i cant wait to go on a trip also haha, i feel a little claustrophobic being in the same area for so long, and not only that but its so flat here, you can see over the trees so it feels like im in a box haha, i need some mountains!! Oh funny story, this week i washed my hands in a sink that had cold AND hot water, the first time in argentina that i had a choice, its so funny the little differences here, and this week a zone leader recieved a bag of reeses pieces and man every single one of those little buggers was a treasure, haha and the beef jerkey is like gold here haha, its so much fun to have all of the things that used to be so common be so rare all of the sudden, the missionaries here go crazy for the stuff and its alot of fun, this week i have worked harder than ever before, my numbers for the week were amoung some of the highest in the mission, so im proud of the work that i am giving, but i lack something, as i read judds letters i can really feel his desire to help people, and thats what i lack, im working hard to try and forget home and to do what i know i need to do but i dont feel a sincere desire, so im trying to figure out what i need to do, Uncle Bruce helped me alot and if any of you have any idea i would love it. I dont know how to truly forget myself. Well this week i have worked my butt off, and i have found some awesome blessings, we found a family that was totally prepared, just like the Pacheco family, i was on splits with the zone leaders and i decided to clap a house, because it was the only one that had lights on on the block, it was like any normal contact but when we passed by two days after the wife came out and begged us to come in, she told us that when we first came by that one of the kids couldnt stop talking about how jesus had finally come to visit his house, and as we taught the restoracion the wife afterwards told us that she had a strong desire to cry, and as she looked at me she told me that my eyes were glowing with light, that made me feel good that i could be worthy to have the spirit testify through me, well she prayed and knows its true and the dad is working on it, he believes but wants to know, they are a family of 7 who are MARRIED!!! so we dont have to wait months to baptise them like the Gomez and Pacheco family, so i am exicted. Well Gomez decided to get married the first week of july so hopefully i will get to be here, it will be the last week of the transfer so im pretty nervous that it might not pass, but we will see. The Pacheco family is in a stalemate, she cant get married only because she doesnt know if your old husband died or is living, so we will ahve to find out tomorrow...Its such a different place here ha, so this week i can now finally say that i have eaten very organ that you can find in a cow, and the photos im sending with prove it, man the intestines were like meat spagetty, and man its wierd, after eating i felt pretty sick to my stomach, its a pretty powerful food haha. Well i love you so much, the photos are of the pachecho family and i, well i love you all and im grateful for everything you have done for me!! I love you so much!
PS WHEN ARGENTINA PLAYED SATURDAY, NOONE WAS IN THE STREETS, NOONE.... THEY ARE SOCCER FANATICS! AND USA TIED WITH ENGLAND!! WQOOT

Monday, June 7 2010

Hey family!! Whoa steph got a diploma!! Haha how sweet! Grats steph! I hope that the parents didnt cramp your style haha, sounds like a fun time! Way to enjoy your last year of school! And abbey keep up the hard work! stay busy and keep praying! And hannah i miss you also!! My favorite animal is a wolf! I am definitly missing my family this week haha, but its alright because im working hard, or trying to haha, its been a tuff week as usual but its had its ups and downs, so first off i am still in my same area with my same companion, which i am loving, i didnt want to leave here so im excited for another six weeks, and to see all of the baptisms i have worked so hard to get, but im a little disappointed that i didnt get to train or become the senior companion, but hey its all good i get to see my baptisms and we will see what happens next transfer, the president asked my companion and i to talk in the zone conference about our success we are having with tripling the goal of investigators attending church, and the zone leaders called us to tell us that is why we are together one more transfer, because we are rocking it up in Itaembe! Tuesday night i was sure that i was going to leave, and i was so sick to my stomach, the whole day i felt just like the day before my mission, i couldnt eat and it was so hard, i felt like i was leaving on a mission again, not a great feeling haha, but i was so relieved when i got the call that said i was staying, i had told all of the members goodbye and i recieved some way cool jerseys from the members and now i get to stay haha! it was sweet!! Well this week has been tuff also, every night i have had a dream that someone was disappointed in the work i was doing and i have really become discouraged, so i have been fighting that all week but now im ok, my dreams are back to normal, and i am trying my hardest to give it all i have, its been tuff but as usual nothing is new, the lord is trying me and i hope that i will ahve the strength to pass, im really looking forward to the day i can wake up excited for the day! haha but until then im striving to find that goal! I have been really wanting to read the conference talks from this past conference but they are not here yet.So about my investigators, well the Gomez family is being a little flaky with attending church, its been like every other week that they come and they arent that persistant, but they are trying, they are used to partying all saturday night so they never have the strength to wake up haha, they are going to set the date of the wedding today, so we will find out tonight! They are reading and praying in family and so there is a huge change in the family its awesome! The Pachecho family is something else! They are a chosen family! From day one they have done everything perfect, they dont have any money, and they have alot of health problems but they always find the way to get to church every sunday, they arent even members and they are fasting and they are paying tithing and fast offerings! Every time we go to visit them they are studying the principles of the gospel book, its really amazing! They are a really humble family! I really dont deserve to be the missionary that found them but they are fantastic! We are teaching a friend of one of the members here, she is 17 years old and has 8 brothers and sisters, she knows the church is true and she is trying so hard to be the example for her family and is bringing her little brothers and sister to church! She is fasting, and praying everyday! She also reads to all of her younger siblings the book of mormon so that they can also learn! If all goes well the parents will start to change and in a month or two we can baptise them all! They are all working hard to help the parents, we are also working with a family of 5 that they want to get baptised because her sister in law is mormon and so were teaching them, but she lacks the desire to wake up early to go to church, its always freezing in the morning and she doesnt like the cold at all! So thats all of the good ones thats going on right now, and i love to teach them all! So everymorning there is very thick fog, its freezing and it makes everything wet, we never can have dry clothes haha, but its so much better than the heat that i had, its alot easier to walk around all day in the cold haha! Well i love youall so much! i MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH! Ill write you next week!