something new

August 18, 2014

 

I am going to try something new this week and write the big letter first instead of waiting until the last to do it! Well this week was sure a success! On Tuesday we had the zone meeting where Elder Bastias and I taught the zone and it went really well. We set a couple goals with the zone. One of which is to teach more lessons. We know that just a number isn't important but it is important to try and do more, or have higher "numbers" because it means that we are helping more people and we were seeing that a lot were not having that many lessons and many had like 10 or less lessons in the week! President once told us that in every area in the mission we should, with diligent work, be able to accomplish have 30 lesson for week. So we set the goal to have everyone in one week at least get 15 just to start things off and we are already seeing results! A lot more people were taught this week and we even raised our personal dato a lot and made it past 15! I think one of the most important parts of being a leader is to put in practice what we ask of everyone else. If we don't teach more people we can't expect the zone to do so! We are finding a lot of new people through contacts, references and varias formas (various forms). One stand out that we found this week was Julia. She wanted to meet with elders for a school project she was doing on the Mormons, So the reference popped up in our email one day that she had asked them to go. When we first went she told us that she had already finished the project but we were able to set a cita (an appointment) with her for another day to explain a lit bit anyway. That day we went with a young man who is preparing to go on his mission and as we started out it was a bit weird and her dog was a bit crazy but as we started the spirit took over, and even the dog calmed down. She has about 25 years in a sociologist (not sure if he meant that she is 25 years old or that she has been a sociologist for 25 years. Probably the first since she is a student), is studying and very intelligent and almost a bit hippie but as we testified you could see the message getting through to her. She said she would read and pray and if she received an answer would be baptized and go full fledged! What an experience we left very happy, and grateful. Every day I just realize even more just how true the gospel is, how blessed I am to have been born into it and have the knowledge I do! Next week is going to be the stake conference so we will see how that goes and if we can get some investigators to go, because it is in a different building. We are having more success getting members to leave with us and a lot of the priests as well. I try to always leave with the priests because I was so grateful for the elders that took the effort to leave with me and help me to prepare for my mission. ( when he says leave with us he means they go out working with them.  He is getting so he says things in a very spanish influenced manner) Well things are starting to heat up here already! Remembering back to the inferno of last summer I hope it stays cold for a bit more but who knows we will see. Well my beloved family I love you all a whole bunch and chau hasta la proxima semana! (good bye until next week)

love,

Elder Andrew

Fishing

At the river

                             

Monday, August 4, 2014 10:34 AM

Vamos Argentina! Aguante Quilmes!

Wow what adventures in California! The whole nucleus family that I grew up with is getting so much bigger and doing so many crazy things it is so crazy! I am glad to hear that Dad did well on his test, I have been praying a lot for all of you and especially for that test. So when are you going to get the results to know if you got the apprenticeship or not? (Sorry horrible spelling but the spell check here only checks Spanish words) We had to move the date back with Martina because she still needs a few lessons but we are hoping for this week. Her dad is still doing bad but he was better this week than last week. We had a very spiritual visit with them and talked with his inactive son of 20 years who had the doubt of why bad things happened to good people and bad people seemed to be doing fine. We followed the spirit and shared in the Book of Mormon Alma 14 about all of the converts and could feel the spirit in what we said and the son said after that he would pray and read the Book of Mormon. Carmen and Marcelo are a family that we are working with and the missionaries have been working with for a while. They aren’t the most intelligent bunch so it is hard to teach sometimes but they are making and have made a lot of changes in their life and so we have high hopes for them. In our zone there are 24 missionaries but it depends on the zone as well. In Avellaneda there were only 18. and district leaders usually have from 6 to 8 missionaries. Elder Dahl is still in my zone, he is a new district leader! Cool to hear about the family history that is something I definitely want to get into when I get back and wish I would have taken some time to study before the mission because it is a huge missionary tool and is something the prophet wants us to do! My new companion Elder Bastias is super cool! He teaches very well and we are already teaching in a unified way and seeing changes and miracles here in the area. He draws SUPER good it is pretty amazing and he likes singing and has a bunch of other talents! We get along well and have a very positive vision of the future! The other day we did exchanges with the assistants. They both came to our area and we did divisions. Poor Elder Bastias got lost a whole lot but they did a lot of contacts and could get a few lessons. I was with Elder Alvarez from Mexico and we also got a few visits in. It was pretty cool, if you want good missionaries with experience the assistants will be those kind of missionaries! We had a super cool meeting with President on Wednesday! He surely is an inspired man and is making a lot of changes in the mission. The meeting is actually more of a council and it was so cool because everyone was participating and you could feel the spirit there guiding all of us. President even said it was the best leadership counsel he had ever had! Only the zone leaders, hermanas capacitadoras (sister’s trainers) and assistants go to that meeting. so we set a lot of goals for our zone and made plans to be the best ever! Wow we really do do a lot of things just in one week! We are super excited for this week because we are going to have an open house in the church! There is a matrimonio of missioneros (married couple/senior missionary couple) who come and run it with some missionaries and a lot of members are super excited and have told us that they are going to bring friends. Maybe this week we didn’t find any new people but we have been visiting active member families and really pumping up this activity and we feel like from that we will hopefully be able to find all kinds of new people! I sure love this work and know that this church is true. I am grateful for my testimony of the Book of Mormon that helps me to stay solid and gives me knowledge I couldn’t find anywhere else. I love you all!

Besitos (Kisses),

Elder Andrew

Monday, July 28, 2014 12:25 PM

Transfers bring new things!

First off I am sorry that I didn’t write hardly anything last week. I really did feel bad afterwards because I love all of you so much and know that you worry about me. I pray for you every night and am praying for your apprenticeship as well Dad. I’m glad you are all enjoying Cali, I went to a river that looks like the ocean (Rio de la Plata) which is actually the widest river in the world or something like that and it was super cold, everywhere here is cold, but I have a few jackets so I am keeping mas o menos warm ahah. In the week I did an intercambio and was with Elder Dahl for a day! It was nice to work with him again and we worked super hard, we walked all over contacting and trying to get in to teach someone but no one would let us in the whole day! So we ended up teaching the recent convert that was accompanying us! haha sometimes it happens. But then in the morning we had a super awesome study session and went out to work and taught a spiritual lesson to a less active and then found a new investigator doing a contact! His name is Hector and he has 82 years (super old but not in too bad of shape) and has a whole bunch of faith, pretty cool guy. I’ll let you know if he progresses. Then Carmen and Marcelo are doing pretty good, we are going to try and help them to be baptized in August, and Martina should be getting baptized here real soon, maybe this Sunday but we need to work out the deets with the ward first. Elder Suarez is gone! The six weeks really went by pretty fast. I learned a lot that is for sure. Now I am with Elder Bastias from Chile. He seems pretty cool and is a super hard worker (best quality ever!) He has two more transfers than me in the mission and this is his first time as a zone leader, so we are going to learn a lot together. I feel like we are really going to change this ward around and find a bunch of people. It will require a lot of work but as I told Matthew the other week, I like to work :) today in the transfer meeting a lot of my old friends left the mission :( some of my old leaders and old friends. The ones you might remember are Elder Godoy, Elder Neyra and Elder Bogarin. They were/are really good elders and it was hard to see them go but it must happen. They left their legacies of hard work and obedience; a legacy I also hope to leave. Then, I also saw Elder Corry and I have good news..... I am going to be a grandpa!!!!!!!! (This means that Elder Corry, who Ben trained, is going to be a trainer since the one you train is your son and then when he trains someone that missionary becomes your grandson…) My mission family history is taking off, he seemed pretty excited to train and I am proud of the fellow! Elder Crowther was also there and told me that he will be training as well! Man I have had some real good companions and luckily they live in Utah! Close (even Elder Godoy said he was going to try and go live and work in Utah!) I saw some old people from Lanus that went to say goodbye to Elder Godoy and they told me I was super skinny! I think it is just because I was super fat over there haha. I am super excited for this new transfer and a lot of new things in the zone only two companionships stayed the same and all the rest changed so a lot of new things. I love you all very much and love this work. I know the church is true and that we can overcome our problems I will keep praying for all of you!

Love,

Elder Andrew

 

Monday, July 21, 2014 2:04 PM

No Time

That is so weird that Erica got married! I just can’t imagine my cousin having a husband ya! So weird! But being her I’m sure she picked a stud! This week was good; we went fishing with a member and got back late so sorry that I have no time to write to you all, no time. I love you all and will keep you in my prayers!

Love,

Elder Andrew

Monday, July 21, 2014 6:53 AM

There are some fotos of us before Argentina lost :( my companion trying to listen to the final from the balcony haah. An activity of locro (traditional argentine food) that we had on Saturday and we dressed up like gauchos. investigators and recient converts. The sister with the pot is like our mom in the ward, super saintly lady. The intercambio I did with Elder Richards and from their pech you can see the cancha de quilmes!  

Well Mom last week you asked how my shoes were doing and I just wanted you to be at peace knowing that my shoes are doing just fine! Even my flip flops are holding up good

           

Sunday, July 13, 2014
2nd place.....
Brazil decime que se siente! tener en casa tu papa! There is the beginning of a song the argentines loved to sing for the world cup and even though we aren’t world champs this time, we at least finished ahead of Brazil, or at least that is how the people here think haha. On Wednesday they played against the Netherlands (who took second in 2010 and always finishes high) and the country was pumped. The game was at 5 and by 3:30 the streets were empty and no one wanted to talk. Around 5:15 we went to an investigators house but should have just headed back to the pench because they just made us watch the game! Then at 7 we went to a noche de hogar (family home evening) that we had scheduled but the game went into overtime so the noche de hogar was just watching overtime, and penalty kicks! Then, when they won, everyone went crazy! Fireworks were lit off, drums were banged, people running and yelling in the streets, and cars driving by waving flags and honking. When we got to the station in Quilmes there was a HUGE mass of people that was blocking the whole street just dancing and parting! It was like nothing I ever saw and was even better than the 9th of July, Argentina Independence Day! Other futbol (soccer) news, I scored two goals today playing with the zone, some call me the next Messi haha. (Messi is the big Argentina soccer star) but to be honest I am glad the mundial (World Cup) has come to an end because now we can just work like normal and not have so much distraction. It is a bit sad how sacred futbol is here.On Sunday we were ordered by president to stay in the pension all day and my comp went out on our balcony to try and listen to a neighbor who had the game on really loud haha, I don’t blame him poor guy I mean he did play in a professional league before the mission. It must have been difficult to not be able to geek out with this mundial. On Wednesday we had interviews with the president and they were super good! I was the first one to be interviewed because we had to get there early to set everything up and were going to do something different.... practices! Every elder or sister had their interview and then had an hour of practices with us and the assistants. So my interview went well. He really is a really good man and a person can just feel relaxed around him, always smiling. Then the practices were awesome! I got to be with my old friend elder Godoy to do all of them! He goes home in two weeks so it was really special to be able to teach with him. I also could learn from a lot of the Hermanas and Elders in the zone, we really are blessed to have a really good zone with good teachers. Because of that and an intercambio (exchange) and then Sunday in the pench we hardly got to work in our area the whole week, but this week we are all pilas ready to go! Elder Suarez is helping me to have a greater desire to get to really know the scriptures and to read a lot more. Today I finished "Our Heritage" really good book, and started on Jesus the Christ. I read those at night or sometimes while I eat breakfast, sure am learning a lot! I love this work and will try to do it even better, because none of us is perfect and we can always get better! I love all of you very much!
Elder Andrew
p.s. I don’t know if you want me to be trunking or something with all your reminding me that I almost have one year in the mission! I try not to think about it :( I’ll just have to really aprovechar the second one! :)

Monday, July 7, 2014 1:37 PM

Argentina, soon to be world champs!

Thank you all for your letters I love reading them and I loved your scriptural insights Mom! You all are so awesome and help me to keep going. I too have been learning a lot in the scriptures, I am trying to memorize more scriptures, read the New Testament, read the Book of Mormon and Preach My Gospel. It is a hard task and I usually don’t get to the New Testament, but I just want to learn so much and I feel like I have so little time! I should have read all the standard works before my mission (hint little brothers). But I feel like I am learning a lot and the scriptures help me to think on new things. I loved something I read this morning about Nephi. After hearing about his father’s vision he had the desire to learn more about it. So he sat there and meditated on it. As he meditated, he was carried away in a vision, where he saw the Holy Ghost and talked with him. His understanding was enlightened and he was able to get his desires of gospel knowledge and even saw the life of the Savior. It made me think of the scripture that instructs us that we are to learn by study as well as by faith. Interesting concept! This week we got someone with a new baptismal date! Her name is Martina, and she is the daughter of an inactive family where the dad is trying to become active. I say trying because his body is ridden with cancer so he can’t go to church. It is a really sad situation and we hope that the progress of his daughter can bring him some happiness as these might be his last days. I am learning a lot of patience and feel like the Lord is refining me for something great. We had a meeting with the bishop and it was a small step forward! Then, on Sunday, another meeting with the president of the quorum de elderes (Elders Quorum President), another step! Step by step this will become the best area in the world! If I ever come back discouraged at the end of a day I try to start out the next day new, have a good study and go out fresh and ready to work. This next week I am determined to knock doors, talk to more people in the street or colectivo (bus), whatever because we need some new investigators! I always try to ask for references (the best way to find new investigators) but if you aren't getting them you still need to find new people! I am getting to know the zone better and that helps me out, loving other missionaries and worrying about helping them out, helps me out. This next week we have interviews with president. On Thursday we went to eat lunch with the family Clawson. You might say that is an American last name.... and it is! The hermano is from the United States! It was pretty weird they all spoke English and the hermano made me do the prayer in English. They had a SUPER huge house and were loaded with money. They all had i phone 5 which is super hard to find because they don’t really let apple products into Argentina. It was pretty crazy; this ward is just crazy haha! But don’t you worry I will keep working and I love this work. There are people waiting for us here in Quilmes, we just need to find them!

love y un besito,                                                                             

Elder Andrew

p.s. Some people tell me I talk like an argentine (one mission goal down!)