Service Work and Gratitude

¡Hola!                                                                                                           

First off, “Happy Thanksgiving” to my family and loved ones. Sadly, Argentina doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving so I’ll have to celebrate by finding a chicken asado for myself. Even so, I feel so grateful during this time of year for all of the loved ones I have who are cheering me on from back at home.  I’m also grateful for my ARG family and all they’ve done to help make the last fifteen months so unforgettable.

Again, the past week was super busy for us.  We gave a ton of lessons and met new people to teach, which was exciting. The best part of the week was Saturday. Our entire Stake went to a town called, Zanjita, to help with a service project. As part of the service work, the missionaries took the youth to go proselyting in the streets. Zanjita has a population of only 100 people so we were able to talk with nearly everyone in the town and pass out a lot of information pamphlets. There aren’t any members in this little town so it was fun to preach some new ideas to the people.  The coolest part of our work was watching the youth preach the Gospel and share their beliefs. When we approached someone, the missionaries would present ourselves and set up the conversation.  Then, the youth would take it away and share the good word!  It was so cool to see all of the work we accomplished during the day. The Stake donated a ton of clothes and food and painted a huge house. Our work reminded me of Mosiah 2:17:

“And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye

may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are

only in the service of your God.”

           

While knocking on doors this week we found some people from Ecuador who are in Argentina to study.  They were so excited to see other foreigners, so they immediately let us in to chat about life in Argentina.

A Full Calendar

¡Hola!                                                                                                            

The truth is, we had a pretty awesome week! It was a short week because of transfers and I had to make a quick trip to Mendoza for a meeting with President, but we made it a fun and productive week.

            The best part about San Luis is that the weather is a lot nicer than the other providences in the mission.  Our surroundings in San Luis are filled with a lot of green trees, mountains, and green grass. The weather is a lot more humid but there is always a nice wind that comes down from the mountains to cool us off.  The people in San Luis are amazing as well. I love talking to people on the street because they are so friendly and love to talk with us too.

            Perhaps the most promising investigator we have right now is Juan.  He is about 55-years old and lives alone.  Actually, Juan is a former investigator from about three years ago.  He is very receptive and told us that he has received a witness of the restored Gospel. I love teaching Juan because he keeps the lessons, as well as all of the principles we teach him, so simple. We taught him some of the commandments and standards we have in our church and he accepted every single one of them without a problem.  What’s actually kind of funny is that we’re trying to find his “need” but he accepts and understands everything we such ease that he doesn’t seem to have a “need.”  On Sunday, while he was at church with us, we tried to help Juan feel as comfortable as possible and fortunately, we had a lot of members present to help him feel accepted and loved.  Juan is on date to be baptized next Saturday so we are very excited for him!

            On Friday I had a meeting with President Panzacchi and some other missionaries to talk about our work and the goals we have as a mission.  In the Mendoza mission, the members and the work are increasing a lot. In fact, in the past month, we had more baptisms than any other month in the previous four years. So, we are excited about the progress we are making as a mission.

            Late on Saturday night we were on our way back to the pench and we had that “one more” feeling.  So, we hit up one of our street contacts and it turned out to be a small miracle.  We met up with Miguel and his son, Augustin.  They live alone and without hesitating, they let us into their home.  Basically, Miguel told us that he wants the best for his son and he feels like we can help him with this task. We explained our purpose as missionaries, then bounced to get back to our pench on time.  The next morning was Sunday and as I was sitting in Sacrament meeting, I saw them roll in to the chapel.  It was the coolest sight! Legit, we met them at 9:30 on Saturday night and then, twelve hours later, they were in the chapel with us. There are good things in store for Miguel and Augustin!

            Sunday was “Missionary Work Sunday” and each of the missionaries spoke in Sacrament meeting.  We also sang a special musical number and it was pretty awesome.  The ward as about 100 people who attend each week, so that’s pretty fun.  As well, we serve with a pair of Hermanas so that makes for a fun time when we’re together. So far, the ward has received us really well and they were quick to fill up our lunch calendar. That is most important! Ha ha!

Much love,

Elder Roderick 

Peace Out Villa Krause

Familia,                                                                                                              

Well, the big news of the week is that I got transferred again! I’m back in the San Luis Providence but I’m in the capital city instead of Villa Mercedes, where I was just a few month ago. So, it’s nice to be back in a familiar place.  My new companion is Elder Hobbs, from Idaho. He’s a chill homie and he just finished his training so he’s full of energy and has a lot of excitement for the work.  The Providence of San Luis is basically right in the middle of Argentina and it’s very lush and green.  The weather there is much cooler than in San Juan, so it should be a great place to serve during the summer months. This will definitely be a dope transfer!

Elder Hobbs & Elder Roderick in San Luis

Elder Vega and I had an awesome last week together.  We were able to get back in contact with the Agüero Family.  Martin, had been working 8am-8pm so he didn’t have much time for us, but we were able to track him down this week. We had an awesome lesson with the family, during which we talked about the temple and eternal families. The mother lost a child, when she was with another man, so when we explained about the temple and eternal families, they became very interested and their eyes opened up because it was the first time they had learned about ordinances for the dead. During the lesson, the Spirit was very present and it testified of our words.

This week we also worked a lot with Lantaro and our lessons with him and his family are always a good time. For a 10-year old, Lantaro knows a ton!  He loves to read and participate in the lessons.  When we teach him, I always think about the scripture, Moroni 8:10, that says we should humble ourselves like little children and be saved.  On Sunday, it was such a good experience to see him with all of the primary kids in the chapel!

Yesterday, my first day here in the area, we were in a member’s house, enjoying a Family Home Evening lesson with them and right as we were about to leave, a huge storm hit us.  So, we had to run back to our pench, avoiding puddles as we went.  It felt a lot like a football conditioning drill and the rain was so refreshing!

To be honest, I was a little bummed to leave Villa Krause with Elder Vega because of all the work we had going.  But, I’m pumped to be back in San Luis.  San Luis is the prettiest part of the mission and the best place to spend the summer!

Peace out,

Elder Roderick

Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach—repentance and

baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin;

yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves

 as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children.

Moroni 8:10

Farewell to many friends in Villa Krause

A Villa Krause tradition is that a departing
Elder gets an egg & flour bath.