time to prepare

Sept. 29, 2014

 

Time to get ready for general conference! What an exciting time of the year, a prophet of God is going to speak to us! Well this week has been a good one. On Tuesday we did what we always do..... companion exchanges ha ha. I stayed in our area with Elder Granados from Colombia. He is a pretty funny guy and I really like the Colombian accent it makes me laugh, even if what they say isn't a joke haha. We tried to teach Miguel and Adriana the plan of salvation but Miguel got pretty hung up on the premortal life, because in the bible it doesn't specifically talk about any premortal existence and the few times it does it isn't very clear. So that left me with desires to study the matter out better and really know for myself from the scriptures. It was interesting to read in all the four scriptures to find the truth. How blessed we are to have more than just the Bible! Then as we ate lunch with the flia romue (Romue Family) (SUPER capo member family and the dad is a seventy of the area) We asked the hermano (brother) how he would deal with a situation like that. He showed us a scripture in Judas 1 I think 4-6 that talks about a first and second state and compares it to the children of Israel. The children of Israel kept their first estate and so were led out of Egypt but due to them not keeping their second estate they were destroyed. The same happens with us, we are here in the earth so we kept our first estate, now we have the job of keeping our second one! The hermana also talked about when she had her twins that as they formed in her stomach she could feel like they had different personalities and a lot of things like that. The gospel really is logical. How could there not be a premortal existence? It just makes so much sense! Talking with them I really felt like my understanding was enlightened. I hope you know that you are also big blessings in the lives of missionaries. So hopefully with our next charla (appointment) this Tuesday we can talk about that a bit more. Obviously scriptures don't convince only the Spirit can do that, but maybe they will help him to think! Then with Federico we finished up the plan of salvation. He is coming along well and we changed the date to the 25th of October because we need more time to teach him, but he went to a service project with the elders quorum on Saturday, was at church before us, and told us that he kids are showing interest as well... talk about prepared man! Then, there is a kid, his name is Ignacio, that has been going to church for about 8 months but his mom (who doesn't live with him) wouldn't let him be baptized. Now that we have been teaching his grandparents (he lives with them) and they have been to sacrament meeting a few times he is going to be baptized! They like the teaching and the people and so the mom gave the okay! We are hoping for the 11th of October, and his friend that first invited him to church is probably going to baptize him. What a great story! We keep finding new people and more people that are prepared to listen to the gospel. I don't know what we are doing to deserve these blessings but hopefully we can keep it up! The Lord really is blessing us. A lady that we talked with in the street on Saturday showed up at the church building on Sunday! She loved it and wants to keep going. How crazy is that! Well I love you all very much and hope you can seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost in your lives, it really is so important!

Love,

Elder Andrew

Chi! chi! chi! le! le! le! CHILE!

Monday, September 22, 2014

Well as you may have guessed from the title of my email; this week was the independence day of Chile! My comp was pretty happy and an Hermana even made us some Chilean food for lunch! Empanadas de pino and salad (I'll send pictures next week) On Tuesday we had our zone meeting and it was a good one. The hermanas capacitadoras (sister's trainer) taught a really good lesson on humility and how getting rid of pride is one of the first steps in becoming like Christ. Then we set good goals. We are trying to help the zone just explode and even though the missionaries here are super good it still isn't exploding but we will keep trying! Then on Friday we had our interviews with president. He is such a good man, and really a hero for me to look up to. Definitely the next apostle. Speaking of apostles, conference is almost here! It seems like it just happened a little while ago! It is a great opportunity to invite friends to investigate the church asi que aprovechenlo! (in this way take advantage of the situation) Well we have some really good progressing investigators. Federico is like a sponge! We have a baptismal date with him for the 11 of October. Everything we say to him he says that he has been waiting for. The spirit is so strong when we teach him, he understands, and applies. Future stake president right there! Then on Sunday was a pretty great day. We were waiting at church and the investigators just started rolling in. By the time sacrament meeting came around we had 9 investigators in sacrament meeting! Not to mention a few menos activos (less actives)! Hopefully we can do a good follow up and keep these people coming to church! The key also is that the members are getting to know our investigators better. When the members know the investigors (investigators) and sit by them and talk to them that makes our jobs 100 times easier and will lead to better retention. Like our president always tells us CON MIEMBROS. The only way to have more success in this work is to better coordinate our efforts with the members. So you already know what you all have to do ;) As I work here I just realize more and more that this isn't the work of Elder Andrew but really is the work of the Lord. I sometimes say things in lessons that I have no idea where they came from. Scriptures come to mind. People's lives change. People that have been around the church for a long time for some reason just have a click. We get to a door of someone that was waiting for us. Benjamin Andrew could not do this work unless the Lord let me and how grateful I am that He does let me do it! Let us all be a part of His work!

Love,

Elder Andrew

 Chilean Independence Day

 Elder Bastias who is Ben's companion from Chile

The Zone

things keep going up

Sept. 15, 2014

 

Well every week seems so big. As I write these letters and think back to the last Monday I can't believe how much we do in just one week! It is really kind of weird. The noche de hogar (family home evening) last week was a success. We took Adriana to a member family who is super cool! The familia Verdura and it was very spiritual, we watched "the restoration" ( and it's funny that even though I have seen that movie a whole bunch of times it still makes me feel the Spirit and makes me grateful that God has newly called prophets to the earth! Then during the week we taught the husband (well they aren't married) of Adriana who has also been in evangelist churches for a long time, and knows the Bible very well and had a very good/spiritual charla (discussion) with him also about the restoration. We then left him with Alma 40 because he had questions about the afterlife and when we talked with Adriana later in the week she said that he loved it, that it opened up new understanding to them and that is was the word of God. How is that for prepared! Hopefully things keep going this way. Her daughter Gloria is pretty bad into the world but I think we are helping her to depend upon and know Christ better. Then on Sunday Federico came to church! We couldn't visit him because he was super busy in the week but he showed up anyway! We talked in the classes about the temple, baptisms for the dead and the resurrection and I was thinking "oh great he isn't going to understand anything because we haven't taught him and he is going to think it is super weird" but then we asked him what he thought afterward and he told us that he has never had a formal religious education but has preconcepts for what he feels and what he personally believes and what he had been taught was lining up with the classes and so everything was perfect for him up to then! Wow it isn't everyday that you find people like that! We hope to keep working and keep finding even more and more people. One key in this work is to always be looking. Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that we already have a good base of investigators and that we will just work with them and get them ready, but the reality is that there are always more people looking for the truth! Our president told us that if we get to where we just can't do the work because there are so many people to teach then he will take two missionaries out of another area and put them into ours! Ha ha there is always more to do and that is the challenging and exhilarating part of this work! I don't know if I told you about the familia Lopez but they are a part member familia and we are working with the littlest kid so he can get baptized, and the parents are trying to get a divorce and marriage done so that the husband can get baptized.  Well they are also coming along well, seeing the blessings of the gospel in their lives, having more peace, and advancing in their scripture study. It is so exciting to see the gospel change other's lives as it changes my own. Reading today in Alma 45 (I think it was) I read about the end of Alma's life. They said of him that he was a good man that was faithful in the church. He really was someone who was consecrated in the work. It says that one of the missions he left on with his sons, he got home, interviewed them and then without resting went back out to preach! What an example! Well in a home evening tonight we are going to do the activity at the end of chapter 6 in preach my gospel to see which attribute we can work on to get better, if you want it could be an idea for you all tonight. Well I love you all very much and thank you for you support always!

Love,

Elder Andrew

here to stay

Sept. 8, 2014

Well transfers came and went and luckily we are staying together! I am excited to have another transfer with Elder Bastias. We really do get along well and I feel like we teach well together as well. Now we start the new cycle of intercambios and planning meetings and everything haha. But this week was a really good one. We found some really great people this week. About 98% of the people that we are teaching right now are people that Elder Bastias and I found in this last transfer (there weren't many people to teach when I got here haha) and just this week we found 7 new people! Most of them were references from members and they are the most prepared ones! Well to tell you of a few of them. Like I told you last week we had the 50 years (50 year anniversary of the chapel in Quilmes)  and on Sunday in sacrament meeting they had invited a lot of the old bishops to come and gave them each time to share a brief testimony. Well one of the old bishops was from Bia Blanca, a different provincia (province), and as he was here he felt the impression to visit some family members that he hadn't seen in a long time. These family members are Adriana and Gloria, who just so happened to be looking for some kind of change in their lives! Adriana was an active member of an evangelist church for 30 years! Even went out preaching and did camps and everything but in the few charlas (discussions) that we have had (2) she says that she feels peace in everything that we say. She resolves her own doubts and depends a lot on prayer and the spirit. When we explained the restoration she even said that for an evangelist what we were saying was crazy and that her head told her this was crazy but her heart told her to calm down and pay attention to the feelings she has, peace. Her daughter also says she feels peace when we talk with her, which is something she hasn't felt in a very long time. Tonight we have a noche de hogar (family home evening) with them in the house of some members so hopefully it goes well. These are people that we can't deny that God has prepared just in this moment. Then we started teaching Federico who is another friend of a member. He lived in the states for 13 years, speaks perfect English and works for a large international company. His father was a scientist and so when he was little he was always discouraged to believe in God because it was something "illogical" but he always kind of doubted that. When he was about 13 he had a vision in which he saw God and later as my companion explained the nature of God and said that he was a glorified being of carne y huesos (flesh and bones) Federico stopped him and said that in his vision that is what he had felt, that God was someone that had a body. He doesn't have much religious background but is very willing to learn and has a super good start. With all these experiences I just realize even more that it isn't me or my companion that do this work. Really this is the work of the Lord and we are just his instruments. What a privilege to see how he prepares the hearts of the people here in Argentina! I love you all and hope you are getting to know the investigators in the Glenview Ward!

Love,

Elder Andrew

 

Sept. 1, 2014

50 years of Quilmes!

 

Well due to the letter I got to write to Glenview Ward this one will probably be a bit shorter, but a simple testimony is better than all the stories I tell you anyway! Well this week we did two more exchanges! This week we have one more and then we are done! Oh, but then the next transfer starts and we will do it all over again haha, well, unless they take me out of here but I don't think so. I was with Elder Stevenson who has a month in the mission and is from Virginian.  It made me remember the times I had at the beginning of my mission! I tried to give him some tips and it was good. Then, I went to El Cruce with an Elder Mason and we had a good day there! But I am always just glad when we can work normally with Elder Bastias in our area. The 50 years of the cappilla (chapel) was really pretty cool. There is a lot of history here! I am trying to learn to be more organized and trying to ask my companion and others what I can do to be better. Sometimes when people give me suggestions the natural man says "get mad, they don't know what they are talking about and besides they can't tell you to get better when look at all the things that are wrong with them!" but when I don't take heed to those feelings and realize, hey I really could do better in that then I can get better and if they hadn't told me then maybe I wouldn't know! Like Elder Christofferson says in a Mormon message about a bush that the gardener prunes. One of the hardest things is to ask that other correct us, but it is necessary! I invite you too look that video up, your situation made me think of it, Dad. I still keep trying to go good with my scripture study and I am learning a lot both from the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Today I read about Korihor in Alma 30 and I was just so awesome how Alma resisted this Anti-Christ. He had complete confidence and control of the situation, his knowledge of the gospel protected him against the cunning ways of the devil. Gospel knowledge really does give us strength and we can put up with the people who may try and trick us with false doctrine. Alma sure is a k-po! Well, my weekly invitation for all of you is to help out the missionaries in your ward. I am going to ask you to help them in a way different than just giving references (which if you have them go ahead and give them!) but if not, do you know the investigators that the missionaries are teaching? When they bring someone to church do you get to know them? Their name, their job, how they like the church. When they come over to eat do you ask them about the people that are preparing for baptism and how you can help that person in their preparation? These are some things that a 70 talked to us about and I invite all of you to think about it and be more attentive to the investigators and new converts! You will make a difference! Last thing I wanted to say is that it makes me SOOO happy to hear about Hunter and Steven. When I read that part a smile just came to my face! I sure do love those guys and am so glad that they have decided and are making the effort to go on missions, tell them that I send my love!

Love,

Elder Andrew