April Already!

So I remember last April, I was finishing my time in the MTC and flying out to North Carolina! How fast time flies by! This week has been pretty crazy, but I had a revelation the other day during Language Study... I think Yoda is a native Spanish speaker. Because everything is backwards! Haha! Well. I thought it was funny.

This week was really enjoyable. We were really focusing on “congregating Israel” meaning inviting everyone to listen when we get to appointments. It worked out really well and found a lot of new investigators that way... So Guido (recent convert) gave us a reference of his neighbor. So we set up an appointment for the next day. As we all got together for the lesson, there started to be flashes of lightning and then all of a sudden, the rain started to pour. A quote popped into my mind from Lord of the Rings when King Theoden is at the wall in Helm's Deep and says, “So it begins”. If ya don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m sure my Dad has a link of it on my blog that you can look up. Anyways, it was a super good lesson and in the end, Guido invited all of the family to be baptized! Haha, he is such a stud, love him to death!

My companion and I had a bit of revelation as well this week. We learned that if we aren’t having fun on the mission, you can probably go look at the numbers for the week and they will be bad too. It’s key to always take the calling seriously, but not yourself. It really helped us work better and just as importantly, feel better. Everything improved. I love figuring these things out on the mission because it really does build the foundation of life. I don’t know where else I could have learned that priceless lesson. It’s like Heavenly Father is just giving me a cheat sheet of how to be happy in Life. After all, men are that they might have JOY!

“Our hope is that the Lord will intervene in our lives, but if not, we will discover whether our faith is real, or only something we hold onto when it appears to be working out for our benefit”.  -John Bytheway

LIVIN’ THE DREAM! SIEMPRE!

Loves!

We got a punching bag!

University of Kentucky

ALL THE WAY!

Heavens, Hallelujah!

Haha, I always wanted to see a big Baptist choir clapping their hands, singing praises and hallelujahs. Anyways, this week has been full of hard work and good laughs. Smiles and Laughs. I´m convinced that laughter is a blessing from our Heavenly Father. It makes you feel so good and joyful. Anyways, I hope that everybody can laugh this week and look at the good things that are happening here on Earth.

“Central to knowing the Father is understanding the revealed pattern of family”
-Elder Quentin L. Cook

I love this quote. I have been reflecting about the fact that we have a loving Heavenly Father. I know that as we take time to understand the family unit, we get to know our loving Heavenly Father more. Getting closer to His only begotten Son, also brings us closer to an Eternal Father that knows us. Eternal. How incredible.

So there is this couple that we found last Sunday. We were walking to look for investigators to bring to church, and this couple start walking towards us. Turns out the guy is a less active and his girlfriend is a non-member. They were on their way to church. When we asked why, Pablino (the guy) said that Caty (his girlfriend) just felt like going to his church. We met with them later that day and shared the message of the Restoration. We challenged them to be married and they accepted. They are doing their papers and taking out a turn for marriage today! We will find out soon what day they will be married. It´s so cool to be a part of building eternal families. I love it so much.

I also went on divisions with the Elders in my district. I went and interviewed one of their investigators who then was baptized yesterday. I love doing baptismal interviews. I feel like I play so big of a role in the Plan of Salvation, as weak as I am. I spent the division with  E l d e r  M o r a  from Mexico in his area in Pompeya. It was a fun day full of laughs and spiritual experiences.

We are all children of a Loving Father in the Heavens!

Loves!

Walking the streets of Parque Patricios...

Yup, that's pretty much what Parque Patricios looks like.
We walk those kind of streets everday to get to the villa. 

There is graffiti of Huracan (Hurricane) everywhere! 
Haha, just a bunch of hot air balloon drawings everywhere you look. Ha! 
(Huracan Futbol (Soccer) Stadium at 10:55)



Pompeya, another area in the district...

Huracan Stadium

Aloha!

I'm really grateful for this week and the opportunities that my Heavenly Father has given me to find out more about myself and what this is all about. I feel a great fire building up and I know that this transfer will be great!

My companion, E l d e r  P a t e y, is a good guy. We have been working well together and having fun too. It's been good to have a fellow 'Merican in the house again. I was scared that we would talk English too much, but... NADA! I have only heard a couple words of English from him all week. Which is good. We both need that a ton! He works out a ton and I was sore from day one! hahaha! But oh well...

This week I felt like I was all over the place. We went to do paperwork for my companion in Retiro one day and then another day we went to the mission offices for a Leader training meeting. I learned a ton from that and am applying all that I can! I no longer have pure sisters in my district anymore, so that is a change! Almost feels weird working with Elders again. Haha! Now I can actually do divisions again!

I have been thinking a lot about the Work of Salvation this week. We talked about it in Zone Meeting and I just feel like it's something that had been missing in my mission. If y'all haven't seen the video that the first presidency came out with last Summer, I invite y'all to do it. IT'S THE BEST!

The Patiño Family is still doing fantastic. Vanessa and Mercedes went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead as a youth activity. It was so awesome to see them walking down the dirty villa road in their Sunday best heading off to the temple. It was picture perfect! I want more!

This next week we are planning on having the baptism of Ester, the Mom of Vanessa. I'm not sure what she lacks (maybe wisdom? teehee) but she has been dragging her feet a bit even though. She knows it's true and loves us and the Ward. So pray for her! I love this work! And I love Milanesa!

Loves!

GOOD DAYS!

Helloooo! What is good!? Haha, I am really happy to be here in Buenos Aires doing the Lord’s work. Our Heavenly Father knows us so well. Sometimes, we just gotta take President Uchtdorf’s advice and slow down a little. We are sons and daughters of GOD! Look at all these things he has created for us. It’s all so beautiful and incredible. That’s all I gotta say about that.

This week, we had some interesting moments, but there is one that stood out to me. So on Saturday, we went and picked up a member that was gonna accompany us for the day and we headed out to our little part of the Lord’s Vineyard. As we walked, we saw this old man laying down on the side of the road. As we got closer, it was apparent he had fallen and couldn’t get up (not just some old, homeless guy getting some rays). As we got to him, we also took notice that he was bleeding quite a bit! We asked him where he lived and helped him to his house. I could smell the alcohol on his breath and with the heat and his age, it’s no wonder he was in this situation. We had to help him up a couple flights of stairs and almost carried him to his bed! I realized after, that we had actually made an error in plans. We should have taken a bus after picking up the member. But Heavenly Father allowed us to forget about the appointment we had. Why? Because God loves ALL OF HIS CHILDREN. It pains Him so much to see His son make poor decisions in his life, but He. loves. him. And He sent us to help this man get out of this bad situation. My testimony grew so much of how much God loves us. ALL of us. He is mindful of all of us, despite our imperfections and weaknesses.

We were able to have the baptism of Vanessa Fernandez! WAHOO! The spirit really worked within her this last week leading up to her baptism and it was a really special experience. All the youth were there to support her and she asked the Bishop to baptize her. It was incredible to see her go under and come up anew. And to see the love of God... It’s incredible. And also, during my time as a missionary, I never confirmed someone a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Usually someone from the Bishopric does it. But the Bishop is starting to have us do it too, so I got to confirm Mercedes a member and confer upon her the Gift of the Holy Ghost! That was super awesome! Hahaha! This week was just full of eye-openers and realizations.

Oh hey, I almost forgot. Transfers have come and my little Peruvian friend, Risco, has left! I got another yankee companion - E l d e r  P a t e y  from Provo, Utah. Surprise, surprise. Hahaha! I actually met him a few transfers back, so we already were friends. Should be a fun transfer full of enriching, spiritual experiences! I’m bummed I can’t learn Spanish a ton like before, but the Lord is in it.

I know that we are God’s children. We are loved so much. Always look up. He is there, and He is your Father. Loves!

“Had one, yes. What about second breakfast?” -Pippin

Loves

Livin' the Dream!

Vanessa Fernandez's Baptism

The Gang One Year After
MTC Roommates 

Hola!!!

Hellos and His!

Livin’ the dream here in Buenos Aires. I’m so thankful to be here. I even got some packages from home with some sweet letters and cd’s and stuff like that. THANK YOU! I can also feel many prayers sent my way and for those I’m teaching. So again, THANK YOU!  So for the week...

This week was full of meetings and running all over the place! On Thursday, we got a surprise from President! He invited our zone and one other to go and listen to David F. Evans of the Quorum of the Seventy. It’s funny because he came and talked to us back in the day when I was in North Carolina! Haha! It was very moving and I learned a ton! He talked a lot about repentance and how we can teach it better. I definitely feel like I can be more bold when I teach about this topic. And then he said that President Packer always says that you get what you go for. If I go for family baptisms, that’s what I’ll get. Takes diligence and humility, but it’s possible. I learned a ton, but that really stuck out to me. Then we had interviews with President Ayre and that was really awesome. I love having some one-on-one time with a really inspired guy that is really like my Dad here in Buenos Aires. It was super pleasant.

Mercedes got baptized and Guido’s family got confirmed! What an awesome tender mercy! She just made a complete 360 and was so stoked for her baptism. And her cousin, Vanessa, who didn’t want to make the commitment was at the baptism and saw how much joy there was and she felt the Spirit super strong. She decided right there that she wanted to get baptized this upcoming Sunday! And guess who she wants to baptize her? GUIDO! He will have his priesthood interview tomorrow and baptize her this next Sunday! WOOO! So incredible! I love it! We have some other investigators that are so close to baptism, but just need a little more. Vanessa’s Mom should get baptized on the 15th and the same for a guy named Cristian. I know they have incredible hearts and won’t give up on them!

Oh, and yesterday, we ate Asado at the Patiño family’s house again because it was Baby Dannie’s birthday yesterday! Blanca said she had to invite her "2 oldest sons too". hahaha! We love her. We asked her if she would adopt us. Haha! She loved the idea.

Next week is transfers. So I will be writing on Tuesday, not Monday! My guess is that E l d e r  R i s c o will be flying the coup. He has been a good companion and I’ve learned a lot from him. But we will see what happens. Ha!

Más Allá!  MAS ALLA!

Loves!

Mercedes' Baptism

Viva Boca y Los Wachiturros
Boca is one of the most successful soccer teams in Argentina
Los Wachiturros is an Argentine slum cumbia music group