The Lord is in it

Here we go! It's a beautiful day, isn't it! Okay I got some sweet stuff to talk about, so let's get going.... Hey, but everybody that can should send my Momma a shout out! It's her birthday on Thursday! The giant 60! Love her so much!

This week we had a meeting for all the Elders and Sisters that are going home in the next 3 transfers. President had his buddy Dan Clark skype us again and give us so much energy on ending strong and fortifying the covenants we have made with the Lord through sacrifice. I was so moved. But that's not the half of it... I have been reading like crazy to finish the Book of Mormon one last time before the end of my mission and I had planned in my head that after finishing, I would kneel down and ask if it was true. I obviously know it is, but I love asking over and over again and getting the same, overwhelming answer. YES! But as I was reading before the meeting started, I realized I had gotten to Moroni 10! I didn't know what to do! I was like, okay do I wait till I'm home to read it or what? Because there was a lot of chit chat around me and I didn't want to be distracted from the Spirit. Something inside me said, "Go ahead and finish." So I did and... I cannot describe the feelings I had as I read. It was as if every SINGLE word that I read testified to my soul that it was true. The chit chat around me seemed to die down around me and I felt so encircled by the Spirit. Ï hadn't even started the prayer to know the answer to my question. So my prayer was one of gratitude. What a powerful experience.

Let me tell y'all about a special lady named Marta (chispita). Last week when she went to church she was able to see the baptism of Dani and Lorena and the thought of her going underwater just absolutely scared the heck out of her! haha. So all week we prayed with her that she could overcome that fear of water. When Sunday rolled around, we were on divisions to look for all our investigators and I was with the Bishop in his car. I got a call and it was her saying, "Where are you guys!? Should I wait downstairs for y'all or what!?" What an answer to prayers. She was baptized and it was amazing!

Joshua and Yalyly are super special too. They have been coming to church for a month now, but they couldn't commit to a date to be baptized. Then this week they committed! And it will be for my last Sunday in Argentina! The 8th of February! They are so excited. Yalyly went and brought Joshua (her 8 year old son) with the whole get up. Shirt, tie, slacks, and even new black shoes! Haha, he was definitely fachero on Sunday.

So I know this is a huge email, but one last thing. On Saturday, we totally locked ourselves out of our pension. I was like, "well whatever, we can break in like last time with a screw driver and stuff" but it was still stressful. And then we ran out of credit on our phone. That's kinda a big deal for us because our area is all buildings and stuff and we are constantly calling people to come down and open the door to the building and now we don't have a means to doing it. I realized something. How do we expect to learn how to trust in God if we don't have challenges like this. He is the best! And it all worked out.

Have a great day and keep livin' the dream! Next week is my last p-day to write all yáll. Loves!

Happy Camper

A ton of funny things happened this last week, but most of it was silly "you had to be there" moments to truly enjoy it. For example, we were ending a lesson late one night and we had to be getting home quick. So we started on our way speed walking the whole time. Elder Bustos is considerably shorter than I am, so his pace is a lot more frequent... So we were going quick and then I realized he was trying to go faster than I was. So I would speed up and then we would go even faster! And then simultaneously we looked up at each other and started BOOKING it speed walk style all the while maintaining eye contact. I'm pretty sure I stepped in poopy, but we couldn't stop laughing the rest of the night...

Anywho, this week was super awesome. The highlight of it all would definitely be the baptisms! Daniel, who truly had an amazing repentance experience with leaving behind booze and cigarettes, was baptized with his awesome wife Lorena yesterday. It was such an amazing experience and More than half the ward stayed for it. After the baptism, Daniel's eyes were lit up and he bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon. Love that book and love this guy! We were all just full of the Spirit!

Zoe was confirmed a member yesterday as well and she is dying to get out of the house and accompany us to do visits with other investigators. She is definitely a fireball. haha. All Sunday after church, she was working on her Personal Progress book and she wears her Young Women's Medallion proudly wherever she goes. :)

As for the Chispita, Marta. Haha, she is such an incredible lady! When it got to the weekend, she became sick with a fever. Even then, she wanted us to come and teach. On Sunday morning, we called her and she was still hacking and not feeling good, but said, "I HAVE to go to church!" And she came! She is preparing herself to be baptized this upcoming Sunday, the 25th. Just one thing... She has fear of being put under water. Haha, so pray that she feels at peace this week about all that.

"Our opportunities to shine are limitless. They surround us each day, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves,” President Thomas S. Monson

Livin' the Dream!

WE'RE IN BUENOS AIREEEEES!

Havana Gaminito

A restaurant in La Boca

-34.639447, -58.362128

Home of the popular football club

Boca Juniors

-34.6366446, -58.3647341

Walking the streets of La Boca where Elder Hankins walked...

The Tango danced where Elder Hankins stood...

All about Buenos Aires...

Despierta, Alma Mía!

Despierta, Alma Mía!

As you might have expected... it was a week full of dream living! DUH! So there has been quite a bit of stuff, so I´ll try to get it all down. Today we are planning on visiting Puerto Madero and the Costanera with Elder Smith. haha.

Well we started off the week just going all out to make sure that the Ward is a very active part of the mission work and the work of salvation. We had the president of every organization come out to visit our investigators including the Bishop and counselors. It's so important that they feel that spirit. From what we saw, that was the very first time the Bishop had EVER accompanied the Elders. The results came immediately. One of our investigators, Daniel, decided he wants to be baptized the 18th because Ivan, the Elders quorum president, went to visit him. But not with us. He went by himself to check up on our investigator! And that really called his attention. His wife, Lorena, is also preparing for the 18th. :)  Robert, a neighbor of Lorena and Daniel, went with his mom and little brother and he is preparing for the 25th. And maybe we can get his little brother, Joshua, baptized too. We also found Marta. We call her the ¨chispita¨, Haha or little spark. Even though she is 48, she has the energy of a teenager. Haha. They all came to church and we are so stoked. Everyone knew who they were and made them feel good.

By the way, the chapel in San Cristobal is under construction so... y´all guessed it, we are meeting in the Parque Patricios building where I was a year ago! Zoe was able to be baptized yesterday. She is so awesome. We were teaching her the Word of Wisdom and how we have to respect our bodies and without even inviting her to do so, the next day she had taken out her multiple ear piercings and nose piercing! Holy Cow! Her mom, Rosa, is now interested in Baptism as well now! Afterwards, we engorged ourselves with Peruvian food at her house. Mmmmm... rico.

Oh btw, we had divisions and I went to San Cristobal 1 with Elder Bohn from Houston, Texas. He is a BSU fan! Haha, that wasn´t a trunky experience at all. haha.

Another thing.... I am not good with my hands really and I´m worse when I try to fix something mechanical. Just ask my brother, Greg. But anyways, it was hotter than a cow pie this week and our fan... BROKE! We were seriously dying at night. So I was in fight or die mode with this fan and last night.... I FIXED IT! YEEEEAAAHHH!!!!

Also, my comp and I were asked by the Bishop to bless the sacrament yesterday. It has been so long, but I felt so honored. Maybe as a Priest, I got used to it, but now having a better understanding of it all, it was just such a powerful experience. :)

Vamos ya a marchar!

Zoe

SAN CRISTÓBAL! VAMOS!

So it has been a week just full of work, work, and a little more work with a side of work.... Dashed with a sprinkle of work. The Spirit of the Lord has definitely taken over this area. We are really doing all that we can to get this ward back up and running. So to tell a little bit more about the area.... When I got here in the mission, we were taken in a tour bus to see the sights. I never knew that those big sights would be my last area! Haha, we have 9 de Julio in our area and I can see the Obelisco a few blocks down the street everyday! Talk about blessings! It's so amazing to have this opportunity. It's funny because we will be walkin' and you can spot a yankee a mile away. Blonde, tan shorts, tall Nike black socks, and blue eyes. Almost every time. Haha. I usually don't talk to them, but it's cool that my area is where people pay so much to come and see.

Anyways, my son, Elder Bustos, is good. We are learning a lot from each other and enjoying the free time we have. ;) I don't sing at all like him, but we sing together alllll the time. He has a black soul singer voice that is incredible! So we sing all day on the streets and try to make sure people hear us. Gotta be as happy as the message we carry, right? (thanks E' Gines)

So yeah, we have a few investigators that are doing really well. There is a girl named Zoe that is going to be baptized this next Sunday and she is super awesome. She says she wants to serve a mission! And thanks to her persistence and changes, her mom decided to listen and wants to be baptized on the 18th! The sister of Zoe is also preparing herself to be baptized on the 18th. It has been a great experience for us. We have a few other investigators like Robertson. We met him this last week. He is from Haiti and only has 4 months here in Buenos Aires. He has a hard time speaking Spanish, but he came to church on Sunday. If all goes well with his work, he can be baptized the 18th as well! There are a few more, but if they become more fijo I'll write yáll about them next week.

Other than that, we are just trying to get to know our area since we are both basically new to this place. But the Lord is blessing us immensely. I had a cool experience with fasting on Saturday. We started fasting after lunch on Saturday, but we knew it would be hard because it was HAWT and HUMID! There were so many times I wanted to justify drinking a little bit of water to keep me going, but then I heard in my head, "How do you expect your investigator to stop drinking if you can't do it first". Huge humility moment and one of my favorite fasting moments in the mission.

I guess I'll just close with a really wise quote from our friendly neighborhood Spider-man...
"We always have a choice".

 Obelisco National Monument 

I see this everyday!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well... There will be lots of new things to explore this new year. I got transferred! I am now here in San Cristobal 2 and... I´m a daddy again! I´m going to finish my last 6 weeks training Elder Bustos from Viña del Mar, Chile! He is a stud and I can´t wait to get started teaching him all that I know. That means I´m not a Zone Leader anymore, just livin´ the dream as a Senior Comp. SWEET! As for the area, it's all super big buildings and cars and people walking fast like you imagine big cities to be like. It's absolutely nothing that I´m used to, but I´m really looking forward to getting to know my area better and working hard. Oh, and did I mention that Elder Bustos is a KILLER singer? He sings way too good. AND he can speak English really well! NICE!

This last week was just great! On Christmas, we were able to go to the Chacon family's house for dinner and we had asado. So delicious. Elder Costa taught me a little bit of the Samba and we all just had a blast! I was just trying to soak in my last Christmas here in Argentina. The next day I was able to talk to the Fam Bam and that was pretty crazy as well. Everybody jam-packed into a room just having a ball. Oh, and the day before Christmas we also had a Christmas party as a mission and it was so much fun! We just had the time of our lives and Elder Smith was there to chill with me.

Saying goodbye to the Soldati ward was tough for me. So many good-hearted people that helped us so so much in the work of salvation. It wasn´t always rainbows and dandelions, but they made it all worth it along with those that decided to take the step of baptism. Luisa was really hard to say goodbye to. She has been such an amazing person and her change of heart and way of thinking has been incredible. She promised that the 7th of September she is going to enter the temple to receive her endowments and she wants me to be there for it. I certainly hope I can pull some strings to be there for it. What a special decision and what a beautiful gift.

This is the Lord's Church. There is NO DOUBT in my mind that I was called by a Prophet of our God to come to Buenos Aires Norte on a mission and preach to all that would hear. Come what may, there is Always an amazing spirit. And I will never forget that. This is the truth.

Anyways, Love all y´all! See ya next week!

Livin´ the DREAM!

Feliz Navidad!

My Son, Elder Gines!
Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes or Frosties
"Zucaritas" in Argentine Spanish translates as "Sugaries"
Tony the Tiger: "They're Gr-r-reat!"

Christmas Eve with the Mission

Elder Bustos