TENDER MERCIES OF THE LORD

Ok so luckily this week has been way better on the side of proselyting.  We have left the offices at 6 on the dot or on somedays we left even earlier! We are just trying to alzar nuesrto hoz as much as we can!! And this week we found 3 new investigators! One is a lady that we found by contacting and the other 2 are a couple that was a reference from some elders that contacted this guy in the area that is right next to ours!

We also had members go out with us 3 days this week.  So I think slowly but surely we are working a little harder.  There is still room for a lot of improvement! I gotta keep on keepin' on so that I can hit the brick wall at the end of my mission sprinting!!!

Elder Thomas still has not come back yet. He will be coming here in a week. I will have pretty much a week to train him because the last week is full of all the ending missionary stuff where we go to capital and take a tour and have our last interviews with president and all that jazz. So I pretty much have a week to train that champ! Let´s hope that he is a fast learner!!!

The mission president is awesome!  He hasn´t really made any HUGE changes yet. I think his 3rd or 4th transfer here in the mission he will be changing it to the way that he likes and all that stuff. But actually the week after I leave President Packer´s son (Elder packer who is now the President of the South America South Mission) is going to be in the offices for 3 days directing it and teaching us (well I won´t be here haha) how a mission office really needs to work and how we need to do everything and yeah so woohoo! I am sad that I am not going to be here to learn from Elder Packer but oh well, I guess I wasn't meant to be here when he comes.

This last weekend there was a stake activity in the church and they were cooking something. Well everyone left and they had forgotten that they had left the oven on and it is industrial so it is suuuuuper suuuuper hot. The table right next to it caught on fire and just destroyed the whole kitchen! Luckily the fire didn´t enter into the gas lines but it was seriously a miracle because the fire just stayed inside of the kitchen and didn´t affect any other part of the church! But yeah that was super crazy.  On Sunday morning we walked into the church (the activity was Saturday night) and it smelled like something was burning, so we were running around the church to find out what was burning and it was the kitchen, but the flame was out and the whole place was just charcoal black from the fire.. SO yeah! Tender Mercies of the Lord!! Saved us on that one! Or I woudn't have been writing this message to you! Because there wouldn't be a church or a computer!!

The weather doesn't really get any getting colder then it is now.  It just seems to stay the same, haha freezing cold in the morning, and by mid day I need to take off my jacket and sweater because it is so stinking hot!!! I seriously don´t understand this weather down here! The humidity just kills me! You can never predict the weather!!!

So yeah well that was the week! Hope that cali was a blast and that everyone had a blast! 

Love you all!! Keep strong in the faith!

Elder Ward

IT'S OWN SPECIAL WAYS

So this week was EXTREMELY full of tramties!! I went over to immigrations every day except for Monday! It was quite the week! And seriously I love my assignment! It is so fun to be with all of the Missionaries of the mission and to get to know all of them and all their different personalities! They are all so awesome and all of them have a ton of desires to share the gospel! We were talking to a bunch of people over there in Immigraitones and sadly like almost all of the people that we talked to don`t even live in our mission but at least they said that someone could go over to their house! It was a cool experience and it was a goal that I had to do that because I am just sitting around for like 4 hours in the same place and why not take advantage of the situation and talk to some people! 

So this last Monday we also had a 3 hour training with President, and it was really interesting. It was a little long because he talked a lot about some business principles and all that jazz but it was also very useful! He is a really good business man and he actually worked in the area offices for Chile.  He said that the Church was a super high ranked business... Not really sure how that works but yeah... It was strange to me when he said that to think of the church like a business, but it also makes sense.  Because the Lord doesn`t only give us Spiritual Revelation but also Secular revelation to things such as what people should do for Work, how to be self sufficient and all that stuff.. Actually here in Argentina and I am sure all over the world the church has started to do self sufficient classes for the people of the church.  They want to help them to grow in their businesses and get a job and education and how to be smart with your money and the Argentine Government in some Province wanted to implement it! Super cool!

The church gets recognized in it`s own special ways I guess!

We also had a family night where we had a movie night! I have pics but i can`t send them because the computer in this cyber doesn`t have usb ports, haha. But we started watching 17 miracles which I don`t think I have ever seen before! It was amazing!! It is about the Willie-Martin handcart company... I think... I LOVED IT! It just reminds me the amazing heritage that this church has! And me too! I am so grateful that I could have ancestors that were actually Pioneers! Hopefully we can make their sacrifice worth it but giving our all to the church and the Lord!

Well that's about it for this week! Hope you all have a good week in Cali and be sure to send a ton of Pics!

Elder Ward

LITTLE BY LITTLE

Wow... Welll... IN THIS WEEKLY UPDATE. We had transfers, I got a new companion and lost him in the same week :´( , Elder Pozos had a birthday, we had english classes, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand same old same old... haha

So we had transfers this last week and we did it a different way because the last transfers were TERRIBLE. And they were really confusing for everybody and there were taxis everywhere. So this time we decided to put everyone in buses and actually it went super super well! Except for one part... Right when we went to go open the offices we put the key in the door and it wouldn´t open. so we decided to go ask the propiedades (like the people that fix the churches and that stuff) to see if they could call a locksmith. But then the guy came over and he just tried to open the door with the keys and then told us that the door was jammed. Yeah. THANKS! Yeah the ambiente was a little tense that morning because we had 140 missionaries showing up over there and we couldn´t even open the door... Haha But in the end it all came out good! We did it a lot faster and saved a ton of money doing it this way! Yay!

So I got my new comp that is named Elder Thomas... Aaaaand he was learning all the visa stuff really quick and then he actually had to leave. There was a new missionary that had to go home for problems that I don´t know, so they had to put him in there immediately.  It is the most dangerous area in the whole mission and the new comp that stayed hadn´t even been there for 4 days so yeah they sent Elder Thomas because he knows that area very well because he was there for a couple transfers. But he was sad that he had to go but supposedly he will be back in a couple weeks to finish his training before I go!

Elder Pozos (el Mexicano) had his birthday this past Thursday! And he turned 26! Wow... a little old, haha but he is awesome, he is a convert of 2 years and none of his family are members and he is a super trooper and he just rocks everyone's socks off!

We went prosylyting this week and we just keep searching for people! We had a lesson with some less actives that were actually progressing super well! BUUUT. (there is always a but, haha) the father of the family relapsed and started to drink and smoke again so we have to keep working with him! The wife is so willing to help and she is super active and an awesome member. But yeah we are just trying to little by little to improve sacrament attendance.

Sorry if I am just rambling a bit. Have a good week!

Elder Ward

AIN'T NO PARTY LIKE A MISSIONARY PARTY

So This week we got the transfers for this monday!!! And I am.............................................................. ...............................................................................going.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. .....................................................................................to.......................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................................. ................leave...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... my bags unpacked because I am staying here!!! But Elder Tobler and I have a new companion that mainly I am going to train but after I leave Elder Tobler will train him because he eventually he will take over both of our jobs!!  I think that it´s really cool that President is cutting down the number of missionaries in the offices so that there are less missionaries that have 3 hours of proselyting every day!

Yup so surprise! I keep doing visa stuff every week, haha, this week we went to immigraciones once and did what we call the ¨minibus¨ tramite where we go and do some boring tramite stuff that I will spare you the pain of listening to, haha. But this week some people from the area offices came to train me a little bit and help President Calquin understand the whole visa process. 

Today (Saturday) is Argentina´s Independence day! And it´s super cool because it is actually the 200th anniversary of their independence! So we decided to make a cake and eat it. Wooo, Ain´t no party like a missionary party!!! OFF THE HOOK!! WE MADE A CAKE! Haha. And then we played football... SOOOO I guess it was more like celebrating the states independence but yeah. 

This week we had another Family night! And I know that´s the only thing that I send pictures of but hopefully you still enjoy them. Haha

FHE

Well hope you all have a good week! I will make sure that this next week I have a little more to write about!

Elder Ward

Our Zone

LOVE BEING THE VISA GUY

So on Tuesday the Calquins arrived and during this whole week they have been going to all the stake center´s presenting themselves to the missionaries and it was so awesome to see them! I was so excited that I gave President Calquin a hug and then he said, ¨whoa! let´s hold the hugs til the end!¨ but yeah, haha it was pretty neat. President and Sister Calquin are from Santiago, Chile. They have been married 32 years I think... and they have 3 kids.  One is going to be here in a week and he is going to finish a year of school and then he is going to go on his own mission! They are just super super energetic and fun-loving, and really funny and just awesome! I love and Cherish the service that the Thurgoods did for us and for the Lord.  And I love the Calquins too!! I think the hardest thing in the world would be to choose my favorite mission president... Because they are ALL SO AWESOME!! They are all role-models for me and I look up to and admire everyone of them!

This week was quite the busy week for tramites! One night we had 10 people sleeping in our pench! They all live far away and had to come the night before.  It was super super cool to see all of them! I think that my assignment out of all the office assignments is the best! I get to know everyone in the whole mission! When all the people were staying over I was talking to everyone and Elder Tobler asked me how do you know all of these Elders? and yeah it´s because all of them have to have tramites! LOVE BEING THE VISA GUY!! Well... Except for that the one night the missionaries decided to make a launching pad out of some mattresses and then they landed on the other side of the room on some mattresses... I told them to stop. I felt like an old man, but yeah... YAY.

Eler Tobler and I were talking and he told me that being in this area for more then 6 months has killed his animo about missionary work. So we decided that we are going to change. This last time that we went out proselyting we talked with a lot of people! And even though we didn´t get received, we are still as happy as can be! Because if we are putting all we can into this work, we will just be as happy as can be! If we are striving to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, and applying all if it´s principles to our lives we will be happy, ecstatic, joyful, sonriente (I don´t know the word in English) and just EVERYTHING! We will just have a top notch life! No matter what trials we are passing through!

Love you all and hope that you all have a good week!!!

Elder Ward

Our last picture with the Thurgoods and the Mitchells - Our Office Fam