This week was incredibly busy. I was extremely tired the whole time, and about three days ago I lost my voice. Funny thing: as a missionary, I tend to use my voice a lot. I guess I just never really appreciated it as much as I should have. I've decided not to make that mistake again.
This week was also amazing. We had a bunch of investigators who came to church, which was a relief, because that's been really hard for us in the last few weeks.
Our branch is tiny. About thirty people come on a good week. The members are really good, but are mostly new to the church. Our leaders are learning their new roles. For now, the branch president is a member of the high council who lives in the nearby ward. We don't have enough people for a chapel so we take the bus to church.
There are two new families that are particularly helpful. They are the Rivas Family and the Dugos families. The husbands are the councilors in the branch presidency, and the wives are the relief society presidency. Those two, along with two other families and a few other people, comprise the core of our active members. We do have a lot of less active people who come if we're lucky though.
Life is good here!
6.08.2010
3.17.2010
03.17.2010
This week in sacrament meeting, I had a really special spiritual experience. I guess I should explain a little. Every missionary in the entire mission has my cell phone number. They aren`t allowed to call, but they do it anyway so that they can get their questions answered when we are not in the office. It's really annoying. Sometimes I take the battery out because I get five calls in a row from people who shouldn´t be calling at all.
So the other day, an Elder from Colombia called me and asked me for the number of the office. That's slightly annoying because everyone else in his zone has the number, and he is allowed to call them, but instead he called me. I gave him the number and he hung up. Five seconds later he called again. He had written it down wrong. I gave it to him. He hung up. The phone of the elder standing next to me rang. It was the same guy. He wants the office number. The elder with me gave him the exact number that I did. It was really frustrating at that point. A few days later the phone rang again. It was the same elder, asking for the same number. I lost my patience a little bit and told him to write it down this time. His response was very profound: "Please have patience with me."
When I was in sacrament meeting, I was thinking of all of the things that I fail to accomplish. I found myself asking forgiveness as I took the bread and water, and immediately that phrase came to my mind. "Please have patience with me." How often do I have to ask forgiveness for the exact same things? The whole experience was very humbling and opened my eyes a lot.
So the other day, an Elder from Colombia called me and asked me for the number of the office. That's slightly annoying because everyone else in his zone has the number, and he is allowed to call them, but instead he called me. I gave him the number and he hung up. Five seconds later he called again. He had written it down wrong. I gave it to him. He hung up. The phone of the elder standing next to me rang. It was the same guy. He wants the office number. The elder with me gave him the exact number that I did. It was really frustrating at that point. A few days later the phone rang again. It was the same elder, asking for the same number. I lost my patience a little bit and told him to write it down this time. His response was very profound: "Please have patience with me."
When I was in sacrament meeting, I was thinking of all of the things that I fail to accomplish. I found myself asking forgiveness as I took the bread and water, and immediately that phrase came to my mind. "Please have patience with me." How often do I have to ask forgiveness for the exact same things? The whole experience was very humbling and opened my eyes a lot.
2.24.2010
Just a Couple New E-mails
02.12.2010
I learned a ton this week about myself and about how we need to be submissive to the will of God. Sometimes we face setbacks, but we have to do it with faith. We have to trust that no matter what happens, it is for our good.
This week, for instance, I was really frustrated because we didn't get to go out and teach our investigators much. This was especially frustrating because we need to teach Delia so much before her baptism the 19th. But then last night, when we finally got to talk to her, she was much more receptive than she had been before. She has had a really hard time accepting the need for prophets after the ministry of Christ. Last night we read to her from Ephesians 4 and a light came on in her eyes and she really understood.
My point is this: I have tried to teach the need for prophets to Delia at least 4 times personally, and I know that other missionaries have done the same. She accepted the teaching yesterday because the Lord had prepared her. I am convinced that if we had stopped by when we'd planned she would not have understood, but instead we were trapped in the office while she was being prepared to receive the lesson. I am so grateful that the Lord is in charge of what happens her, and not me.
Know that I'm praying for all of you and that I love you so much.
02/24/2010
Life here in the mission is going well. We are teaching a lot to a boy named Enso and he is progressing really well. I am really excited. It looks like he's going to get baptized soon, but more than that, I really love the kid.
Well, I want to let you guys know that I love you a ton. I also want you to know that the Gospel is true. Thanks to the covenants that we have made, the celestial kingdom is within our reach. We have to improve ourselves every day, and every day we have to repent, but in the end it will all be worth it.
I learned a ton this week about myself and about how we need to be submissive to the will of God. Sometimes we face setbacks, but we have to do it with faith. We have to trust that no matter what happens, it is for our good.
This week, for instance, I was really frustrated because we didn't get to go out and teach our investigators much. This was especially frustrating because we need to teach Delia so much before her baptism the 19th. But then last night, when we finally got to talk to her, she was much more receptive than she had been before. She has had a really hard time accepting the need for prophets after the ministry of Christ. Last night we read to her from Ephesians 4 and a light came on in her eyes and she really understood.
My point is this: I have tried to teach the need for prophets to Delia at least 4 times personally, and I know that other missionaries have done the same. She accepted the teaching yesterday because the Lord had prepared her. I am convinced that if we had stopped by when we'd planned she would not have understood, but instead we were trapped in the office while she was being prepared to receive the lesson. I am so grateful that the Lord is in charge of what happens her, and not me.
Know that I'm praying for all of you and that I love you so much.
02/24/2010
Life here in the mission is going well. We are teaching a lot to a boy named Enso and he is progressing really well. I am really excited. It looks like he's going to get baptized soon, but more than that, I really love the kid.
Well, I want to let you guys know that I love you a ton. I also want you to know that the Gospel is true. Thanks to the covenants that we have made, the celestial kingdom is within our reach. We have to improve ourselves every day, and every day we have to repent, but in the end it will all be worth it.
1.14.2010
12/30/09
Hey guys, it was great to talk to you all for Christmas. And it was even better to get to hear from you all again today. This week was pretty cool. We've been working really hard and having some success. We found a new family Monday night and we set another appointment with them for tonight. Literally within two blocks of their house, two members came up to us on a motorcycle asking if they could accompany us to a lesson this week. I guess you can call that a sign.
I don't know if I've actually mentioned the whole motorcycle-as-a-family-vehicle thing, have I? It is not uncommon to see a family consisting of two adults and two kids riding together on the same bike. Actually, it's not even limited to "motos." Sometimes the dad pedals a bicycle and the mom steers and supports a kid on her lap. Sometimes, they even combine the two, and the bicyclist holds onto the back of the motorcycle to keep up. I have to say that the funniest is when to guys my age share the same pedal bike. I don't care how Argentine I become, I will never do that.
The other day we went by Sister Nuñez' house to see if we could teach her grandson sometime this week. Sister Nuñez is Super-Mormon. She's about to turn 90 years old, but she still tries to give us references and help us to come in our teaching assignments. One time we went to visit one of her friends who is 85 years old, and the poor woman didn't want to talk to us and started making excuses. Sister Nuñez said "I'm five years older than you are and I'm still up and about
walking." It was pretty funny because there really isn't anything you can say to a woman like that.
Anyway, we went by her house to talk about her grandson, and she was about to go out and pick the ripe mangoes from this gigantic mango tree in her front yard. Needless to say, Elder Callaghan and I climbed the tree in no time and gathered up the fruit, which this poor sister promptly put in a bag and gave to us. So much for service.
Interesting fact--did you know that it's actually somewhat common to be allergic to mangoes? Apparently for some people, mango trees are like giant poison ivy plants. There are even people who can get sick from breathing the pollen or eating the fruit. Yeah, I found that out yesterday, when everyone kept asking me why my entire body was red with a rash. Finally someone said "You elders didn't go and climb a mango tree did you?" Yeah. I love my life.
The worst part was that we had a teaching appointment yesterday with the mission president's wife, who happens to be in charge of the health for all of the missionaries. She tried to make me go to the hospital to get the rash looked at. For some reason she wouldn't believe that I had painted my face red. Anyway, when we finally found out about the whole mango thing she let me off the hook and told me to wait until Saturday. What a disaster. Oh well.
We had Christmas Dinner with president and his family and the assistants. Sister del Castillo is an amazing cook. And they gave us all ties, which was nice of them. Actually it was Christmas Eve, which is when Argentines have their big family gatherings. On Christmas day I just talked on the phone and then we went out to go work in the evening. It was pretty low-key, which I
liked.
I don't know if I've actually mentioned the whole motorcycle-as-a-family-vehicle thing, have I? It is not uncommon to see a family consisting of two adults and two kids riding together on the same bike. Actually, it's not even limited to "motos." Sometimes the dad pedals a bicycle and the mom steers and supports a kid on her lap. Sometimes, they even combine the two, and the bicyclist holds onto the back of the motorcycle to keep up. I have to say that the funniest is when to guys my age share the same pedal bike. I don't care how Argentine I become, I will never do that.
The other day we went by Sister Nuñez' house to see if we could teach her grandson sometime this week. Sister Nuñez is Super-Mormon. She's about to turn 90 years old, but she still tries to give us references and help us to come in our teaching assignments. One time we went to visit one of her friends who is 85 years old, and the poor woman didn't want to talk to us and started making excuses. Sister Nuñez said "I'm five years older than you are and I'm still up and about
walking." It was pretty funny because there really isn't anything you can say to a woman like that.
Anyway, we went by her house to talk about her grandson, and she was about to go out and pick the ripe mangoes from this gigantic mango tree in her front yard. Needless to say, Elder Callaghan and I climbed the tree in no time and gathered up the fruit, which this poor sister promptly put in a bag and gave to us. So much for service.
Interesting fact--did you know that it's actually somewhat common to be allergic to mangoes? Apparently for some people, mango trees are like giant poison ivy plants. There are even people who can get sick from breathing the pollen or eating the fruit. Yeah, I found that out yesterday, when everyone kept asking me why my entire body was red with a rash. Finally someone said "You elders didn't go and climb a mango tree did you?" Yeah. I love my life.
The worst part was that we had a teaching appointment yesterday with the mission president's wife, who happens to be in charge of the health for all of the missionaries. She tried to make me go to the hospital to get the rash looked at. For some reason she wouldn't believe that I had painted my face red. Anyway, when we finally found out about the whole mango thing she let me off the hook and told me to wait until Saturday. What a disaster. Oh well.
We had Christmas Dinner with president and his family and the assistants. Sister del Castillo is an amazing cook. And they gave us all ties, which was nice of them. Actually it was Christmas Eve, which is when Argentines have their big family gatherings. On Christmas day I just talked on the phone and then we went out to go work in the evening. It was pretty low-key, which I
liked.
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