Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Promising Investigators

¡Hola!                                                                                                                          
This short three-week transfer has come to an end and I'll be staying in Pellegrini.  I'll also be training a youngster, straight from the MTC! I'll meet him later this week in Mendoza, so that promises to be exciting.  I'm looking forward to the challenge of teaching an Elder about how we get things done in Argentina! 
This week was exceptionally good because I received a letter from my cousin, Cole, that had been circulating since January 2016. LOL! #southamericaproblems
We were able to catch up with one of our friends, Brandon, who is 13 years-old and enjoys chatting with us about God and the Bible. Since he's so young, I think his questions and our conversations about religion are pretty incredible. Brandon is very smart and we're working toward getting his entire family involved in our lessons so all of them can understand what we have to share.  Brandon has also asked me to help him with his English homework and this is a service that I've been looking forward to providing. So, that's been fun and it's also allowed me to keep my native language sharp! LOL!
We also had a couple of great lessons with Isabel who is the mother of one of the recent converts in the ward. She is definitely one of the greatest ladies I've ever met! She has turned into my mom/grandma down here because she's always on my case about my lack of clothing in the cold Argentina winter weather.  However, her scolding doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I appreciate it because she always invites us into her home and gives us a hot drink. She treats us so well and she loves our message but her progress toward baptism is slow because she's still recovering from her husband's death and her family is in the process of moving.  Even so, she has a baptism date for July 1st so I'm praying that all goes well for her until then.  
Another investigator who we were able to teach this week is Maxi.  He is 20 years-old and he's the boyfriend of a member.  Through his girlfriend's family, we have been able to get to know him and start teaching him. I'm praying that we see the same results with Maxi that I saw the last time I was in this situation where an investigator was introduced to the church through their girlfriend (Victor). I'm looking forward to watch Maxi progress because the lessons we have with him are awesome.  He asks good questions and his girlfriend is always right there to support him and help him.
This week felt short because we made a quick trip to Mendoza to do some legal work for my companion. We had a little break in our missionary action but it was awesome to go to Mendoza where we were able to see the mountains covered in snow! They aren't like the mountains we have in Salt Lake but, it was still a beautiful sight! My plan was to sneak up into the mountains so my companion could see and feel snow for the first time, but it didn't work out for.  Nonetheless, it was fun to cruise around the beautiful city of Mendoza and jam out to EFY tunes. LOL!
The city of Alvear is full of religious excitement, which makes our job easy, but we're trying to get people to listen to our message rather than just stare at us: the crazy Gringo and Brazilian in white shirts and ties.  I've also learned that some of the religious excitement is actually religious contention.  Literally, there is a man who lives on a busy street that we pass on every day and when he sees us, he yells at us and accuses us of stealing the bikes we're riding on. 
I'm really excited to stay in this little town and especially to have the challenge of training. "Put your trust in God and move forward with faith and confidence in the future.  The Lord will not forsake us... If we will put our trust in Him, if we pray to Him, if we live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers." Gordon B. Hinkley
Have an awesome week and send me a postcard or something and read Ephesians  6:10-18!

Elder Roderick 





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