Monday, November 25, 2013 12:59 PM Subject: The weeks get harder, the work gets better.
Hola mi querido familia!
Me encanta la opertunidad que tengo para escribirles cada lunes.(I love the oportunity I have to write to you each week.) les amo mucho y me fortalecen un monton. (I love you a lot and you strenghthen me.) La verdad es que pense que ya pase por thanksgiving pero alegro para saber que en relalidad todovia tengo tiempo para agradacer como un americano.(In truth I thought that Thanksgiving had passed but I’m glad to know that in reality I still have time to give thanks like an American.) Don’t worry dad I do miss wrestling especially since it doesn’t exist here and whenever I talk about it people don’t understand, but your updates won’t throw me off the work. I know how you feel mom with the not being prepared thing it was like I was taken from the frying pan and thrown into the fire, and I am getting a little burned. Literally with all the sun I am getting a bit more tan. I tell people that vine crudo y ahora me estoy consinando.(I came raw and now I am cooking) Pretty funny right? Well at least I think so. There was a bunch of crazy stuff this Monday so I don’t have as much time as usual and I will make my skpe next time and send you the information. Okay this week. Well Tuesday I gave birth to a wonderful twenty year old tucumano. If you didn’t understand that I got my hijo (son. When training they call the new missionaries their sons and the trainer is the father) on Tuesday and he is from Tucuman, Argentina! I guess I am just destined to have northern companions, and will probably come back speaking more like them than portainos, my companion even told me my accent is more like the people of the north. He is super awesome and already knows a lot of things. We are getting along very well and I am learning more than ever. We have a thing to help trainers called the 12 weeks which is a guide for training with the idea that in 12 weeks the new missionary will be capacitated to train. I am trying to really stick to that and use it well (something I wish my trainer had done, sometimes it is like I am reading something I never heard before). We are working very hard and I am even more tired than ever. We get lost sometimes but i am learning the streets quickly and he has a very good memory and even helps me out sometimes. I can tell that he really has desires to serve his mission and that he is out here for the right reasons. Actually he was supposed to go to Mexico but didn’t get his visa so he is waiting here. I hope I at least get to spend 3 months with him before he leaves. We are doing a lot of work with the members and trying new things. One of the things is teaching the restoration to the members so that we can practice and so that we can help out the members and also hopefully get some references. It is working well and I think I have taught more of the restoration this week than we taught my first three months here. I have to take the lead with everything in Spanish and I am holding out. The Lord really blessed me to learn quick and I still lack a whole whole bunch but I can survive. Elder Reynoso helps me to want to do better, I try to think of the example that I am setting for him and try to remember what it is like. We are having trouble getting investigators to come to church, we didn’t have anyone Sunday and we tried having members pick them up and we offered to bring them but it just didn’t work out. We did a lot considering that we only really had a bit of Tuesday until Sunday to work, and a lot of that was Elder meeting ward leaders and stuff like that. So this week is bound to be even better. My only concern is that his back hurts him a lot and even though he presses on and doesn’t let it stop him I can tell it is affecting him. We are working on a solution, just remember to keep him in your prayers. The Lord is really blessing me I just need to remember to remember him in all things and that really it doesn’t depend on how much time we have in the mission that this work is His and He will find a way to get things done if we will just work his way. The struggle goes on but the fight is worth it. The church evangelistas are lleno de gente (The Evangelist or Pentecostal church is full of people), the ones where they dance, sing, flop on the floor and all that weird stuff, and we are struggling with our church attendance. I guess it is just another testament that the church is true; nothing worthwhile in life is easy. I actually have that talk by Elder Holland. Elder Dodge passed it to my flash drive and I love listening to it de vez en cuando (at times). Stay strong Andrew clan and don’t forget who you are working for.
con un amor muy grande
Elder Andrew