Wow! What an awesome week it has been and Conference weekend just put the icing on the cake! It was so exciting to be in the mission field during this historic General Conference where I could feel the energy and urgency in a place like Argentina where the Church is growing quickly. I got the chills during the final part where they announced another temple in Argentina, in Richmond, Virginia and in Russia. I immediately thought of my boys, Taz and Andrew, because I know they were so excited to hear the news of the new temples in their areas. Even though the new temple in Argentina isn’t very close to Mendoza, the chapel lit up on Sunday afternoon because now it’s most likely that Mendoza will be the next city in Argentina to receive a temple!
With the opportunity to share the Easter message with everyone we possibly could, we had a great week! The characteristic I love most about the people here in Argentina is that almost everyone is Christian. Whether it be Catholic, Evangelical or another Christian faith, the people are very receptive this time of year when we are simply sharing a message about Christ and His resurrection. Even though the streets are filled with the smell of fish all weekend, I’ve learned to love my fellow Argentine Christians.
As he is preparing for his baptism next Saturday, we are working a lot with Alejandro. He was able to watch Conference with one of the members and they told us they had a positive experience with him as they watched the sustaining of President Nelson. Alejandro is a worker! He’s 16 years old and he is such a stud. They thing I’ve noticed about him is that he already knows the way and the things we can do to gain a better relationship with our Heavenly Father so we can receive His guidance. Alejandro has been making a lot of changes in his life and we are all very anxious for this Saturday!
On Friday, we got together with the whole ward because it was a holiday. We cooked a ton of chicken asado, played some games (Ya’ boy still reigns as Ping Pong Champ!), and had an Easter egg hunt to animate for the members how to look for their ancestors as well as to help them remember to look for people to share the gospel with. It’s always so much fun to get together with the ward, share delicious food, laugh, and develop better friendships. Our activity was a success and we had the whole ward running around the chapel looking for eggs. It was hilarious!
This week we also had some success in finding some families in our ward who are incomplete (not everyone in their family is a member). By simply going through the ward directory we were able to find some families to visit. Then, as we passed by their homes and introduced ourselves and our purpose, we were able to quickly gain their confidence and get them interested in the Restored Gospel. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a full family in their Sunday-best in church together on a Sunday. We’re just trying to make that happen more often!
The highlight of the week was watching General Conference. It was such a great honor to be able to sustain a new prophet and other General Authorities. I love watching Conference in the mission field because I know that in many parts of the world, my loved ones are seeing and feeling the same things I am. Two of the phrases that stood out to me were, “The stumbling blocks of failure can be used as stepping stones to success” and “Failure is a tutor, not a tragedy” as shared by Lynn G. Robbins. Failure happens a lot in the mission field but it always leads to better experiences, life lessons, and more success. Russel M. Nelson is the Lord’s prophet in these latter days and what we felt, saw and heard in Conference testifies of that statement!! The Church is TRUE!
Have a great week, Elder Roderick
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