¡Hola!
We
had a pretty good week which included a couple of funny moments that I will
never forget and some great lessons as well! Also, the weather was a bit warmer
and the sun peaked out a couple of times so that made for some nice days. In
the pench, we have the heaters on full blast basically the whole day because it
isn’t insulated very well. One day I was warming up next to a heater and I
guess I got a little too close to it and I burned a nice fat hole in my pants.
I'm still taking Ls on the daily! SMH!
Lately
we have been teaching the mom of one of the recent converts in the branch and
it has been going really well. Ever since her son got baptized, she has wanted
to learn more and eventually get baptized as well. They have been going through
a pretty rough time because her husband died about two months ago and that hit
the family pretty hard. But, it has been really cool to see how the things that
we are teaching them bring them the joy that they have been missing in their
home. Of course, misisonaries like to
see some people progress toward baptism when we are teaching them, but what I
really notice is the happiness that our message brings to help anybody in any
situation, regardless of baptism.
One
morning this week we saw a group of people in a park surrounding a statue and
we wanted to check it out because there was a good amount of people there to
talk to. We got there and we noticed flags from like five different countries
and tons of different kinds of people. As we were listening, we noticed that it
was a celebration for some kind of independence holiday. Argentina has a really
strong Italian influence and so they had Italian flags and people were even
talking in Italian. It was actually really cool. Everyone was looking at us weird
because we really stood out in the crowd! LOL! And then, a Catholic priest went
up and prayed and did the little hand signs and we were the only people that
didn't do it and legit everyone was starting at us at this point. I just wanted
to see if we could talk to some people and instead we stuck out like a sore
thumb!
Another
cool experience we had this week was in a lesson with one of our street
contacts. We went to his house to teach him, indentify his needs and learn and
how we can really help him receive the restored gospel. First, we started
talking about families and the importance they have in our lives. Then, it was
really cool because quickly found that our message could help him. Apparently, he
feels like he let one of his sons down because he didn't have much time to care
for him. But, we were able to share the happiness our message brings to
families and explain that through the ordinances of the restored gospel we can
live with our families forever! The joy that we saw on his face was
unforgettable! Then, we were able to talk about repentance and how we really
can be saved by the atoning sacrifice of our Savior! The happiness and relief
we saw on his face was amazing and it was a moment I will never forget.
The
rest of the week was filled with lots of biking and a bunch of teaching. One
day we went 45 km to a little town that used to be a branch and we found a
bunch of member families and more people to teach but the only problem is that
it is pretty far from the nearest chapel. The day that we made the trek out
there was Saturday and we were fasting and that wasn't the best idea. I was
completely dead when we got back to the pench. It was cold and we just biked
for like an hour and a half. But we made the trip fine and we were basically
laughing with each other the whole time.
Also,
I have challenged myself to start learning Portuguese with my Brazilian
companion. It has actually been really fun and as a companionship we are trying
our best to learn English, Spanish, and Portuguese. I probably won't be able to
progress too much but it's so fun to learn new words and practice how to pronounce
everything. In our district, there are two sisters; one from Brazil and another
from Utah. So, we have all three of the languages going through our district
meetings. I told the district that we need to learn all three languages so we
can be united as a district. LOL!
Everything
else is going very well and back in the never ending Argentine fields, I feel
right at home! Don't miss me too much when you're in Europe, Fam!
Love,
Elder
Roderick
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