This week I celebrated Thanksgiving with Elder Bryant (Mesa, AZ) on exchanges. We ate mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, chicken hamburgers, cheesecake, and salad. Not as good as your dinner, but at least I remembered the holiday this year and don't have to miss another one.
I do not have a list of things I want to do other than serve with all my heart before I leave Argentina. We have been experiencing the taste of Argentina on a regular basis, but we don't know where we can get ñoquis or canelones (two of my favorite foods and Elder Hebertson hasn't tried them yet).
On Friday we were sitting on a curb waiting for the other missionaries to show up so we could start an activity and while sitting a dog peed on my comps back pack haha. Juan Imerson gave his first talk on Sunday and it was amazing. It was much better than the other two who have been members for ten years. The other elders had a baptism this week, so we were able to go to that. Yesterday we had a man try to quiz our knowledge on our church. He asked if we knew why we were called Mormons and I asked him if he knew and he told us it's because the man who started the church, his surname was Mormon. We said no, he said yes because he read it in a book, then his son in law said no the man's name was Moroni, we said Jesus started the church, the first man told us we were wrong because his name was Mormon then the wife said no his name was Joseph Smith, the husband said she had no idea because if someone named Joseph Smith started the church it would be called the church of Smith not the church of Mormon. It was fun. One thing that I find hard about the mission is the massive amount of ignorance. I understand not everyone will listen and I don't expect them to, but everyday this week I had to deal with people that were extremely ignorant and proud and it makes me a little sad. However, I visit with flia Imerso or some of the other amazing people I've met and it helps me realize how important this work is and how essential God is in it. I can't achieve anything myself, yet I've seen miracles through the hand of the Lord.
I'm glad everyone is doing well and that you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving. I enjoyed ours as well, it was better than last years. I hope you all have a terrific and enjoy and embrace the transition into the Christmas/New Year season. It's my favorite! I love you all.
ELMX
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I don't know if you remember, but last year I entirely forgot about Thanksgiving. It's not happening again. I'll probably just eat spaghetti since turkey doesn't exist here, but I at least will know it's Thanksgiving!
This past Wednesday, President Salas came out and gave us an all day training session. It was way good. I love President Salas and how much help he is, he really is great. A couple other things out of the regular happened this week other than the surprise conference. Elder Hebertson gave his first Sacrament Meeting talk. He did awesome, and even though his Spanish wasn't perfect, everyone understood and really enjoyed what he said. I feel like every week I say something about the Imerso family but this week Juan received the Levitical priesthood. I had never participated in the ordinance of confirming the priesthood, and he and the branch president invited me to participate. He then blessed the sacrament in Sacrament Meeting. It was awesome.
Funny story for the week: we didn't have lunch on Saturday, so we called around seeing if there were anyone available. We ended up going with our last resort. Why are they your last resort? you may ask. Well it may have something to do with the nineteen, eighteen, and sixteen year old daughters. My comp was in heaven, I was a little uncomfortable..but luckily the food was good and the parents are awesome.
Summarizing the week I would say it was a good one. We found lots of people. We provided some service. We celebrated someones birthday by making them banana bread (it doesn't exist here so missionaries use it a lot haha, they call it banana cake). I'm doing well. My comp is doing well. We're happy and working hard.
I love you all and hope you have an awesome Thanksgiving! Next year I'll be back for it :)
Chao,
ELMX
I don't know if you remember, but last year I entirely forgot about Thanksgiving. It's not happening again. I'll probably just eat spaghetti since turkey doesn't exist here, but I at least will know it's Thanksgiving!
This past Wednesday, President Salas came out and gave us an all day training session. It was way good. I love President Salas and how much help he is, he really is great. A couple other things out of the regular happened this week other than the surprise conference. Elder Hebertson gave his first Sacrament Meeting talk. He did awesome, and even though his Spanish wasn't perfect, everyone understood and really enjoyed what he said. I feel like every week I say something about the Imerso family but this week Juan received the Levitical priesthood. I had never participated in the ordinance of confirming the priesthood, and he and the branch president invited me to participate. He then blessed the sacrament in Sacrament Meeting. It was awesome.
Funny story for the week: we didn't have lunch on Saturday, so we called around seeing if there were anyone available. We ended up going with our last resort. Why are they your last resort? you may ask. Well it may have something to do with the nineteen, eighteen, and sixteen year old daughters. My comp was in heaven, I was a little uncomfortable..but luckily the food was good and the parents are awesome.
Summarizing the week I would say it was a good one. We found lots of people. We provided some service. We celebrated someones birthday by making them banana bread (it doesn't exist here so missionaries use it a lot haha, they call it banana cake). I'm doing well. My comp is doing well. We're happy and working hard.
I love you all and hope you have an awesome Thanksgiving! Next year I'll be back for it :)
Chao,
ELMX
Monday, November 15, 2010
This week was hot! Yet, we worked, and we had fun!
This week was hot! Yet, we worked, and we had fun! A couple weeks ago, María Luna was baptized. She has an 11 (twelve on Saturday) year old son and a 16 year old daughter who are now listening and are going to be baptized in December. Miguel (11) is a quiet kid who doesn't have a lot of good friends. He came to church and made really good friend with a couple of the deacons, so he already wants to keep going to church because of the friends he's made.
We found a woman last week and taught a way spiritual great lesson and committed her to coming to church and being baptized, she accepted. This week, we returned and we mentioned that she had accepted a baptismal date, and she said, "Yeah, we need to talk about that." I was concerned and had a million things rushing through my head, but what came next I was not expecting. "Elders, eighteen years ago I was baptized in your church." I almost laughed, this is the fourth or fifth time it's happened. But, the good news, she would love to come back, so we'll have one more person on Sundays.
Two more stories from the week. We were hungry one night, so, we ordered pizza. We were told it would take thirty minutes. We thought, perfect, we'll eat and still be in bed on time. Thirty minutes turned into an hour. We were outside our apartment complex waiting for the pizza to show up, when we see a man on a bicycle peddling towards us. Sure enough, we ate cold, bicycle delivered pizza that night...and got to be a little late. As for the other story. I've become accustomed to the barking, snarling, sometimes biting dogs here. My companion has not. He is absolutely terrified of every canine we see in the street. He is my first companion I've heard swear, and it was caused by fear of a dog.
As for stake conference. There were about 400 people that came. It was way good. I love President Salas. He gave a great talk. Quick part I can share with you. In Córdoba they have recently started the construction of the temple. A man walking past asked one of the workers what he was doing, he responded laying bricks. The man not being satisfied with the answer asked another worker what he was doing, the worker responded raising a wall. A little more descriptive, but the man was still unsatisfied, so he asked a third worker who responded I am constructing the House of the Lord where families can be sealed for time and eternity. What do we see with our daily tasks in this life? Do we see ourselves laying bricks? Do we see us building a wall? Or do we see past the bricks and the wall? I really enjoyed it.
I'm glad you can use me to share the gospel with people. I use the five of you to share the gospel with people. Which is why I love and need photos. People don't trust a foreigner in a tie until they see he is a normal person with a family who he loves too. I show the pictures I have and explain that the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families with peace in this life and the promise of being together in the next. So the whole photo thing helps in the missionary aspect, and also in the I love my family and like to be reminded of them aspect. So thanks a lot for emailing me some, even though the family isn't in it, I love the last photo you sent me.
That's the rundown of my week. I greatly appreciate the photos and the words and the prayers and every conversation where I'm mentioned :) Have a great week!
Love,
ELMX
We found a woman last week and taught a way spiritual great lesson and committed her to coming to church and being baptized, she accepted. This week, we returned and we mentioned that she had accepted a baptismal date, and she said, "Yeah, we need to talk about that." I was concerned and had a million things rushing through my head, but what came next I was not expecting. "Elders, eighteen years ago I was baptized in your church." I almost laughed, this is the fourth or fifth time it's happened. But, the good news, she would love to come back, so we'll have one more person on Sundays.
Two more stories from the week. We were hungry one night, so, we ordered pizza. We were told it would take thirty minutes. We thought, perfect, we'll eat and still be in bed on time. Thirty minutes turned into an hour. We were outside our apartment complex waiting for the pizza to show up, when we see a man on a bicycle peddling towards us. Sure enough, we ate cold, bicycle delivered pizza that night...and got to be a little late. As for the other story. I've become accustomed to the barking, snarling, sometimes biting dogs here. My companion has not. He is absolutely terrified of every canine we see in the street. He is my first companion I've heard swear, and it was caused by fear of a dog.
As for stake conference. There were about 400 people that came. It was way good. I love President Salas. He gave a great talk. Quick part I can share with you. In Córdoba they have recently started the construction of the temple. A man walking past asked one of the workers what he was doing, he responded laying bricks. The man not being satisfied with the answer asked another worker what he was doing, the worker responded raising a wall. A little more descriptive, but the man was still unsatisfied, so he asked a third worker who responded I am constructing the House of the Lord where families can be sealed for time and eternity. What do we see with our daily tasks in this life? Do we see ourselves laying bricks? Do we see us building a wall? Or do we see past the bricks and the wall? I really enjoyed it.
I'm glad you can use me to share the gospel with people. I use the five of you to share the gospel with people. Which is why I love and need photos. People don't trust a foreigner in a tie until they see he is a normal person with a family who he loves too. I show the pictures I have and explain that the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families with peace in this life and the promise of being together in the next. So the whole photo thing helps in the missionary aspect, and also in the I love my family and like to be reminded of them aspect. So thanks a lot for emailing me some, even though the family isn't in it, I love the last photo you sent me.
That's the rundown of my week. I greatly appreciate the photos and the words and the prayers and every conversation where I'm mentioned :) Have a great week!
Love,
ELMX
Monday, November 8, 2010
Sickness...Loss of Power...Baptism...Great Week
Happy Monday!
This week started off in the town of Las Varillas. It's about an hour and a half from Villa Maria, and I spent Monday through Wednesday there on intercambios with Elder Madariaga (Chile). They were struggling a little bit, having problems finding people and getting them to church, but they ended up having a great week. It was really good.
Well Thurday I ate lunch and instantly felt sick. No one else did, just me. Well this sick feeling (and other side effects that accompanied) it lasted till last night. So I had a "fun" four days. And miraculously, in between trips to the bathroom we were able to get a decent amount of work done. We even had a baptism! María was baptized by Elder Hebertson Saturday night. It had been years since Elder Hebertson had seen a baptism and didn't remember anything about how it was done, but he did well. Next month we are hoping to baptize her two kids too.
Speaking of converts, Raquel Imerso received her first calling! She is a primary teacher already. She is excited and will do awesome. It's my first time seeing a convert of mine receive a calling. It was way cool. Also, yesterday two converts of mine here shared their testimonies and it may have been my favorite Sacrament Meeting I've been to in my mission.
Yesterday a super strong wind started up and Villa Maria was losing power and getting it back all day long. Well we had choir practice (preparing for District Conference next week), and afterwards there was going to be a fireside. Well the power went out and wasn't coming back so choir practice was cut short and the fireside was rescheduled.
You started your email with a lot of questions, thought I might answer them. P-day, today like every p-day in this area was soccer. The weather yesterday was wayyy HOT and windy. Today is really nice. Food, I like ñoquis, alfajors, asado, and canelones. I'm planning on making ñoquis for everyone post mission (they're not super amazing, but they're good, and it's kind of more of a cultural thing). Pictures, I'll see what I can send.
Love you, thanks for writing, have a great week!!
Love,
ELMX
This week started off in the town of Las Varillas. It's about an hour and a half from Villa Maria, and I spent Monday through Wednesday there on intercambios with Elder Madariaga (Chile). They were struggling a little bit, having problems finding people and getting them to church, but they ended up having a great week. It was really good.
Well Thurday I ate lunch and instantly felt sick. No one else did, just me. Well this sick feeling (and other side effects that accompanied) it lasted till last night. So I had a "fun" four days. And miraculously, in between trips to the bathroom we were able to get a decent amount of work done. We even had a baptism! María was baptized by Elder Hebertson Saturday night. It had been years since Elder Hebertson had seen a baptism and didn't remember anything about how it was done, but he did well. Next month we are hoping to baptize her two kids too.
Speaking of converts, Raquel Imerso received her first calling! She is a primary teacher already. She is excited and will do awesome. It's my first time seeing a convert of mine receive a calling. It was way cool. Also, yesterday two converts of mine here shared their testimonies and it may have been my favorite Sacrament Meeting I've been to in my mission.
Yesterday a super strong wind started up and Villa Maria was losing power and getting it back all day long. Well we had choir practice (preparing for District Conference next week), and afterwards there was going to be a fireside. Well the power went out and wasn't coming back so choir practice was cut short and the fireside was rescheduled.
You started your email with a lot of questions, thought I might answer them. P-day, today like every p-day in this area was soccer. The weather yesterday was wayyy HOT and windy. Today is really nice. Food, I like ñoquis, alfajors, asado, and canelones. I'm planning on making ñoquis for everyone post mission (they're not super amazing, but they're good, and it's kind of more of a cultural thing). Pictures, I'll see what I can send.
Love you, thanks for writing, have a great week!!
Love,
ELMX
Friday, November 5, 2010
Two-Thirds Complete with My Quest in Argentina...Missionary Conference...Cordoba Temple Groundbreaking...Baptism...Great Stuff !!!
Wow is right! Two thirds done with my mission. Insane, if I dare to say. Also yes a great mission conference. There were three members of the Seventy (Elders Spitele, Gonzalez, and Arnold), as well Elder Andersen from the quorum of the twelve. It was pretty incredible to meet them all and to hear from each one of them (and their wives). Then the groundbreaking of the temple! I wasn't present for the groundbreaking, but I saw it via internet. I can't believe it's finally happening. I'm not even going to be here to see it completed, but I am so happy for everyone here that they'll have one so close. And to top it off I'll be twenty point five in two days (Nov 3).
Some other things that occured this week include the Argentine census. We had to, by law, stay in our apartment until we were interviewed and counted in the census. Luckily they came by around eleven, so we didn't have to wait around all afternoon. The former president, and husband of the current president of Argentina, passed away on Wednesday. And a new family we found told us they couldn't read the Book of Mormon because their pastor told them so. When we explained that knowledge comes from God, not from man, and he needed to pray about it, he informed us his pastor told him he couldn't pray either. It was kind of funny that preacher told someone not pray, but it's sad at the same time...but that's what happens. Now, to throw a change up and hit you with happy news. This week we found an inactive member, who is married with two children (one of baptism age). Reminds me of someone in Rose Garden from about a year and a half back (the Hammontrees). Anyways they are awesome and are going to start going to church and listening. Also we are baptizing a woman named Luna (in English it means "moon") this Saturday! Her children are going to follow her example, it's just taking a little more time.
I am extremely happy and can't believe I've made it this far in my quest. I appreciate every prayer and every email I couldn't be here without all you and your support. Thank you so much.
Love,
ELMX
Some other things that occured this week include the Argentine census. We had to, by law, stay in our apartment until we were interviewed and counted in the census. Luckily they came by around eleven, so we didn't have to wait around all afternoon. The former president, and husband of the current president of Argentina, passed away on Wednesday. And a new family we found told us they couldn't read the Book of Mormon because their pastor told them so. When we explained that knowledge comes from God, not from man, and he needed to pray about it, he informed us his pastor told him he couldn't pray either. It was kind of funny that preacher told someone not pray, but it's sad at the same time...but that's what happens. Now, to throw a change up and hit you with happy news. This week we found an inactive member, who is married with two children (one of baptism age). Reminds me of someone in Rose Garden from about a year and a half back (the Hammontrees). Anyways they are awesome and are going to start going to church and listening. Also we are baptizing a woman named Luna (in English it means "moon") this Saturday! Her children are going to follow her example, it's just taking a little more time.
I am extremely happy and can't believe I've made it this far in my quest. I appreciate every prayer and every email I couldn't be here without all you and your support. Thank you so much.
Love,
ELMX
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