soy un Aregentino mas

June 1, 2015

Well right now I'm in a ciber with pretty bad computers sitting on a bar stool and there are about 12 kids that maybe are 10 years old, playing counterstrike and using worse language than marines. I fear for the future Argentina, well I always kind of did. Anyway other than that this week has been really good. On Tuesday I did an intercambio with Elder Garache, he was in the Quilmes Zone and is a good friend of mine, from Nicaragua. If you remember he is the only member in his family and was kind of disowned by his mother when he came on the mission. He is a good example of doing what the Lord wants before anything else, and it was nice to be with an old friend. To be completely honest being back was pretty difficult. I didn't feel the same love for the work as before and felt like maybe I shouldn't have come back out. However, on Thursday we had a Zone Conference and talked about many subjects that are near and dear to my heart, and I was reminded of a lot of things I used to do in the mission. Then, at the end we had a testimony meeting of all the missionaries since this is the last time the Thurgood´s will have a zone conference in La Plata. Being able to bear my own testimony about why I came back and the truths that I know and being able to listen to the strong and uplifting testimonies of the others gave me a real boost. I would say I'm back to having probably about the same amount of Love for the work and animo as I did before I broke my ankle. My ankle was doing really well, but then the other day a few pebbles got in my shoe down by the pad of my foot on my right foot. Instead of taking them out I just kept walking. Well thanks to that I now have the biggest blister every on my right food haha. It feels a little better but my ankle has been hurting a bit because of the weird walking the blister has caused me to do. I would ask for you faith on behalf of my foot, I'm sure it will be fine. Here is a great lesson we had to finish up. We are teaching a family named the family Mamani. Two of the daughters have already been baptized and the mother wants to get baptized but isn't married and doesn't want to get married because her man has another family in Bolivia.... so typical family you'd find in Argentina. We went and one the daughters who was going to church and progressing really well when all the sudden stopped everything, kind of opened up to us. (We think part of the reason she stopped is the evangelico boyfriend she now has that will just come and live in their house for like 4 days a week) Anyway Fatima (that's her name) said that when she was going to church she really liked it and felt really good but then when she would get home she felt like it was all the same. Also, that she wasn't sure about the story of Joseph Smith. In the mission we are studying one chapter of Preach My Gospel each month and this month is 5 about what is the function of the Book of Mormon. So we told her that really her problems lay in knowing if the Book of Mormon is true or not. We read all of the introduction with the whole family and it was really good. You could tell Fatima was getting into it and a daughter I had never seen before, Yanet, was also pretty interested. This normally crazy family was silent and thinking as we testified of the power of the Book of Mormon and the ability it gives us to know about the truthfulness of this church. I am very grateful for the Book of Mormon because if I ever have a doubt about something in the church I can always fall back on the foundation that I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It changes lives and has infinitely changed mine. I finished reading it for the second time in Spanish last week and am enjoying my study of the Doctrine and Covenants that I'm starting. I love you all and hope you have a great week and can share the gospel with someone or just show someone that you love them, which is pretty much one in the same!  

love and besitos,
Elder Andrew

Joleen Andrew replied: My sweet son. I'm sorry it's been hard. I feel strongly that there is a good reason you are there at this time. Don't let Satan get to you. He will try to get you down. Don't let him. I do pray for the ankle. Remember to take out the rocks...from your shoes and you heart before they make blisters.

Benjamin Andrew replied: I didn't mean to make you worry with telling you how I felt, I really do feel much better now, and apart from the occasional ankle pain it is like I never left the mission, what a blessing :)