LOVES!

My dearest Family and Friends!!! What is good!? You know I love you all, right!? K good. Loves for days.

Entonces, I got some good stuff to share, vamos a empezar! So to start, do you know that song that goes like this: ¨I believe in Miracles! You better believe!¨. Haha. I´ve adopted that song as my theme song for right now and sing it all the time, translated in spanish of course. Miracles really are real! We have this lady, Nidia, who is a single mother that we have been teaching and she is so prepared. We will be baptizing her this Sunday and it will be sweet. We got a family we are preparing for the following week, with several other possibles as well. The Lord truly is blessing us. I just love it! I believe in Miracles! Dow, dow dow dow dow doooow!

I think I´ve said it before, but people have the hardest time with my name here. It´s because the Hard H doesn´t exist here, so some members have decided to pinch their noses and try their hardest to say  H A N k i n s ... Still usually comes out like Onkeenz. Hahaha!

I went on a few divisions this week: One with my zone leader,
E l d e r   P a s t r a n a, and one with a latino from mexico in my district,
E l d e r   S o l i s.  Divisions are basically miracle day! With
E l d e r   P a s t r a n a  we saw these teenagers playing fuzball and we went up and said, ¨Hey if we win, we teach you, deal?¨ They accepted.... and we totally destroyed them. So we had a bunch of punk teenagers lined up on a curb being taught the restored gospel. Love it! One of them even accepted a baptismal date! Miracles!  E l d e r   S o l i s  hasn´t been out long, so it was fun to teach him through my example. And we got to talk in spanish 100% of the time, so I liked that.

So do you all remember when I was teaching that man, Felix, a few weeks ago with  E l d e r   E n g e b r e t s e n? The one with smoking problems and everything? He got baptized! And I got permission to go! Due to bad traffic I wasn´t able to make it to the baptism, but I went over to his house and gave him a huge hug! The spirit was soooo strong! He was completely changed! The atonement is incredibly real!

The weather has gotten quite a bit better. So much so, that last night we put our mattresses on the roof and slept up there for the night! Haha. I love looking at the stars and thinking about all the blessings we got. I´m so grateful for stars... they just put things in perspective. Every single one of us is looooved more than we know! I saw a quote the other day ¨To the world you are someone, but to someone you are the world!¨ Totally true! I love this gospel.

I feel your prayers. Seriously. I love this work and my Savior! Turns out the Broncos lost hardcore!? Hahaha, que bajon! No worries though, livin' the dream!

¨What are you doin´? You can´t read...¨
¨It´s the bible, ya get credit for trying!¨
(Thanks to my parents)

Loves!

Elder Pastrana

Elder Solis

Felix and I 

Engebretsen, Felix, y Yo

Felix is SUCH A STUD!
We get to walk into the Celestial Kingdom juntos!

6 meses! ¿QUE?

Hola familia! Hi, Hello, Good day!

It's 0 degrees Celsius here right now... I don't even know what that is in Fahrenheit, but it's cold. Ha! This week has been good! We had a lot of opportunities to serve others and feel the spirit! Oh and I have been out 6 months now! Can you believe it! I better not blink or I'll be in Ol' Idaho again! So here are some of the mini-highlights I had this week.

Numero 1: We were walking on the sidewalk and these guys were standing there next to this van all sulking and cursing in español and what not, and so we decided to talk to them. Hahaha! Love it. Turns out there van was broke down and all the times they had tried to start it while people pushed, it never worked, but I knew us missionaries could do it so we offered to try it again. And OH YEAH, it started! We gave them a card cuz they couldn't really stop and talk obviously, but now they will always know that the Mormons are good people, and maybe down the road will stop us and talk to us. ¿Quien Sabe?

Numero 2: So there are ALWAYS these dogs we walk by everyday that bark viciously at us, but they are behind a cage, so no worries, right? The other day we were walking home and I didn't notice it, but one of them got out and I felt a pinch in my rear end!!! Hahaha! Oh man... So we got outta there and plotted our revenge. The next day we went by with a stick in hand planning to wack them in the face but HECK, another dog saw us with the stick and started chasing us! On top of that, as we were running, my strap on my side bad broke! Hahaha! We got chased by that thing all the way back to the Pension.... Getting the Full Argentine experience. :)

Numero 3: I gave another Priesthood Blessing this week to a little sick girl. That was amazing.

Numero 4: I got a companion that likes to quote like me! YES! Oh and btw some things arose and 2 elders, Diaz y Mejia, moved into our pension with us. My companion can get easily distracted, so I'm doing my best to keep us focused on the work. :)

I was able to put a couple of fechas with people this week and hopefully everything goes well and they get baptized. That's the goal. Something I learned in NC: Be Atonement Centered, Baptism focused.

All right, now I got some things to say... :)

HEAVENLY FATHER LOVES US! His grace is sufficient in every sense of the word! I see so many Elders out here say that they are having a tough time and that things aren't fair and I'm like, ¨What's new!? You thought it would be easy?¨ Look at Jesus Christ and his mission here on Earth! It was the toughest of them all! He was spat upon, condemned, hated, and rejected and he ALWAYS had a smile on his face! He still had an unending love for those that he served. He never stopped, never gave up, and not once did he turn inwards and think about himself. I wanna be like that.

¨Come, Follow Me¨ has been in my mind a lot this week. It's such an amazing invitation. He simply asks that we follow him. He already knows it all. He knows the Dangers, the booby traps, and all the ¨secrets of the fireswamp¨. Name the movie. ;) He is our brother! When I think about it, if my brothers and close friends and family didn't trust and confide in me and trust in my protection, I would be pretty hurt. Think about how much more, then, that Christ is crushed and broken when we don't accept him and find solace in his atonement! Don't be sad or remain broken, Christ heals all Wounds!

I was also pondering the Last few days of Christ... When he knew what was coming at the last supper, he instead got down and cleaned the feet of his servants. I put that in perspective in my life. When I was just about to leave on my mission, I was super stressed and worried and the last thing I wanted to do was serve others. I believe that Charity defines us. It clearly did for Jesus Christ and it's through Charity that we are saved! It is through charity that we can feel His peace and love in every hour here on earth!

Okay, I know this email is full of spiritual stuff, but one last thing... When Christ was on the cross, his greatest anguish was shown when God the Father left his presence to truly experience everything, and Jesus cried out, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me! Oh my Goodness! How important it was that Christ had his Father's presence with him always. It was something he just couldn't bear! May we always strive to have the spirit with us always!

¨And come, take up the cross, and follow me¨ Mark 10:21

I love all of y'all with all of my heart! If not us, who? If not now, when!? Congrats to Yvonne on her marriage too! I'm happy she is happy! And prayers go out to Jonny in Yellowstone. Loves for days!

Con Amor,

¨I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you!¨ -Sam

Click: Alum Fire in Yellowstone 2 miles North of Jonny

Hoooola! Todo Bien?

How is everybody!? Livin´ the dream? Ya better be, cuz this life is so amazing! En serio, I just wanna start off by saying how amazingly blessed I am to be here and just my life in general. Our loving Heavenly Father cares about us so stinkin' much it isn´t even funny! I can just feel his love for me every day and that he guides us in our lives when we allow him to.

All is well here in Villa Lugano! I just love the members and area already! It´s pretty sick! The work here is a lot different in Capital Federal than in the Provincia, but I have accustomed myself to it all and am working like a train!
It´s so much fun, no joke! It´s pretty cold in our pension... We have to turn on the oven and open it up to try and heat it up in the morning but hey, gotta love living in mini hoth, right!? We walk aaaalll day here. Haha, that's new.
And  E l d e r   S m i t h  just books it to wherever we are going. What a capo. I have learned a lot from him, and he helped me realize a lot about myself and the significance of this mission. It seriously means EVERYTHING! I´ll get to that later...

We saw a protest in the middle of the freeway when we were on the bus and had to go round... For miles and MILES! What's that off of...

Oh, and we have the villa in our area. Like legit ghetto. Just little rooms with beds and toilet and everything with 7 kids crammed in there ghetto. It´s an eye-opener for sure. I just LOVE IT!

A dog bit me the other day... and we are cool with the gangsters, so that's pretty nice. People just smoke big blunts everywhere, it´s crazy. We´ve already been offered weed. Ha! No no no no way jose!

Ya know that quote by Aragorn where he says that ¨A time may come when the courage of men fails¨. I think we can see that every day. The only reason they have lost that hope and faith and courage is because they forget who they are. Their purpose and identity. We need to always remember that we are SONS AND DAUGHTERS of the most supreme being in the universe. In fact, He made it! We have potential just oozing out of us! Satan only ever wants to make us doubt this truth, or better yet, deny it. Because if we know this and trust in it, we are happy!

Working hard has been something I have learned this week. When we put in the time and effort and always have it focused on Dios, we will ALWAYS succeed. He will always help us. Love is the key, I´m tellin y'all! Like Elder Holland says, ¨Love comes with open hands and heart, Lust comes only with an open appetite¨. Set them goals everybody, and make them purpose driven, love centered. That's my thinkin´...

So yeah, thanks for the thoughts and prayers sent my way. I definitely feel them!

LOVES!

¨Just follow your heart, that's what I do¨

My Area!

And I love hymns. So.. selfie with the hymnos!

Eating at the pensh... Milanasa sandwiches!

I Love The Lord!!!

Yeah, not gonna lie, this last week was pretty Incredibly, awesomely, magnificent! Haha. We taught a lot, felt the Spirit, and just lived it up as the Lords servants here in the greatest mission on PLANET EARTH! Seriously, the people here are amazing. That made it super hard when I found out last night I'd be transferred. I'm now in Villa Lograno with a stud named Elder Smith. He will be district leader and is dying this transfer! Darn. So yeah, that means I'm not with my partner in crime,  E l d e r   E n g e b r e t s e n ,  anymore. I seriously see those few short weeks as a tender mercy of the Lord. I learned so much from McFly and give thanks for all that I have whenever I can!

SO! One morning this last week   E l d e r   E n g e b r e t s e n  and I woke up and decided to buzz our hair! Hahaha! I know mom is just gonna kill me! But hey! It doesn't look tooooo bad if you like the cancer patient look. ;)  Elder E looks so different because there was just so much personality in his hair, but oh well. Enough about hair...

We were on bikes this week and raced a horse pulling a cart.... We won...

We had several opportunities to go to Capital (downtown Buenos Aires) to do some of my paperwork and we got to see all of our homies from the MTC. It was seriously so much fun. We also had a despidida (farewell) for all the leaving missionaries and it was super cool. I just love our mission president; he just wears his love for us; it's amazing to see and I wanna be just like that! I've learned that really nothing that we do as a Church would be done if it weren't out of love. EVERYTHING starts with Love. A Happy missionary is one that doesn't think in himself.  E l d e r   C a r l s o n  taught me this. When the situation isn't the brightest, I just start listing off the people I just love. I love the Savior. I love this people. I LOVE my investigators! I want to be heaven in front of those celestial gates and look to my right and left, and see the children of our Heavenly Father that I helped get there. Words can't describe how badly I want that. The question is now: What will I give up for my Investigators? Answer? Everything! I'm so grateful the Lord has entrusted me with the people here in this area. It's now  E l d e r   S m i t h  and I's responsibility to bring them unto TRUE happiness. There is no other way, my friends, but through accepting Jesus Christ and following him. :D

Now an update on Felix. He is doing suuuper good. Super Prepared. Even though I won't teach him again I know he'll get baptized! This last week we had him pray to know if the Book of Mormon was true and afterwards he said, "Si, Yo se ahora... Yo se...." Then he grabbed the Book of Mormon and gave it a big kiss! Haha! Love that guy so much. I wanna love the Book of Mormon like that and hope people see my love for it.

I guess you could say i'm "permatired".... Super tired all the time... It's all good though! The Spanish is coming along pretty well. I´m learning sooooo much! Ha! The way they talk here is so powerful and almost dirty. I hear missionaries from Mexico and Chile talk, and they talk so clearly, but when Argentines talk, it's super different. For example, Yo is Sho and ellos is eshos. haha. It´s crazy, but I love it!

Keep your heads up! Know that you don´t have to walk life's paths alone! With every step you are taking, Christ took also! He is the Way and the Life. And if you are struggling with your testimony, I invite you, just as Elder Holland, to lean on mine. Believe me when I say, I just know that Christ is our Redeemer! He is our best friend, the one we can always count on. I know that this Church is true! Do not doubt! He is the Light and in Him we can be genuinely happy. Without pain, without hatred. I LOVE MY HEAVENLY FATHER!

Anywho, I´ll email on Monday like normal next week, I promise. I love all of you with all my heart! Remember, it´s better to look up.

Con Amor Grandisimo,

Buzzzed!

At a lunch...

Dressed up as an old couple! Livin the DREAM!

All the MTC guys

Elder Smith and I

Livin it up!

Livin' the Dream!

Che! Que Tal!?

This week has been a good one! Siempre, no? I'm a lot more adjusted to life aca in Buenos Aires and I just love the work. Can you believe how amazing this work is? There is just absolutely nothing like it! Jesus Christ is everything to me! I love him more than words can express and I know that whenever I fall down and stumble, He is there to lift me up. When I feel a bit discouraged, I know whom I can trust. I trust him soooo much!

Anywho, This city is hilarious and I just experience new things every day. This last week,  E l d e r  E n g e b r e t s e n  and I had just finished our last lesson with a familia from the ward, and we were gonna head home to the pension for the night. As we were walking out, one of the members said, "Elderes, Cuidado, Hay Chorros por alli" (Careful Elders, there are gangsters right there). I didn't really think much of it; I mean there are sketchy people everywhere here at night. So we took off and rode onto the road, and after we passed them, I felt something hit my back and fall and break! HAHA! One of them threw their beer bottle at me. Bless their heart. Love them so much... So that was pretty cool!

So we started teaching this man named Felix this last week and boy has it been an eye opener for me... He has had a pretty rough life with addictions and his wife dying about 5 months ago leaving him with 3 daughters. He said at the beginning, that normally he never would have talked with missionaries, but he felt like now was the time to Change. We had a particularly strong lesson with him where we taught him about the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ. We had him say the closing prayer as always, but after one of the most sincere, heart-felt prayers I've ever heard, he grabbed both of our hands and sat in silence. After a few moments, tears started to come down his face and he broke down crying. It didn't take us long to join him. How amazing is the atonement! IT is INFINITE! The spirit was so strong and he is working towards getting baptized.

Something   E l d e r   E n g e b r e t s e n  helped me realize is this: In life, we can say that the Gospel is like a Giant Cake. There is no way that we can eat a cake all at one time, right? Just gotta take it one bite at a time. Faith. Repentance. Baptism. Reading. Praying. Going to Church. Keeping commandments. All bites of the best cake EEEEEVVVERRR! If the gospel were a cake it would definitely be tres leches. jajaja!

Oh and we had a GREAT Domingo ayer. Normally we would get a church attendance of 90 people or so every week, but we had 185 people at church yesterday! FUA!!! So amazing and the spirit was so darn strong! Love the Gospel. Love it!

Oh, and in place of dang it, or wow, or holy cow, people here say "FUA!!!" Hahaha. So funny and I love saying it too. They also love the Simpsons, Coca Cola and Bread. HA! OH MY GOSH, The food here is pretty wild. The meat is pretty good here. No let downs there, but what I just love is the Hot Chocolate and Dulce de Leche! Seriously, the best thing they have here. So bomb. I'm getting so fat it's crazy! No joke!

Anyways, I'm just loving it here! I never ever ever ever ever want to leave this place. I'm growing so much and trying so hard to grow. I know that Heavenly Father loves us just the way we are. We are his sons and daughters! NEVER FORGET IT! FUA! So amazing to be his son and work my hardest for Him. :) And remember to sing your hardest when you sing my favorite hymn... I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES!!!         Click MUSIC to play

Love you guys soooo much! Love loves loves...