A Word from the 25-Year Old Russian

¡Hola!                                                                                                                              

This week was an interesting one because three different people called me a Russian and thought I was a 25-years old, so that was fun. Shout out to my boy, Parkin, in Russia! LOL!

We had a really great week. We didn't see the sun for about three days but the work was pretty good. We were able to meet our new homie, Sergio Lazarus, who is less active and has been less active for a long time. We saw his name in our Area Book so, we decided to pay him a visit. Sergio lives way out in the boonies and we were fortunate to find his house because there was nothing else near him except farmland. We ended up chatting with him about his experiences in the Church and we found out that his little boy hasn’t been baptized yet. So, we talked to him and his family about that for a while and then we invited them to attend church on Sunday. When Sunday rolled around… they showed up! The whole fam’ was dressed nice and they were some of the first people to arrive. Then, during Fast and Testimony Meeting, Sergio popped right up and shared one of the sweetest testimonies I have ever heard. It was so nice to have another family in the chapel and he gave us a shout out from the pulpit. So, that was dope.

Also, during the week I found out that I have a fear of pigs. We were finishing up a lunch appointment and the family who fed us happened to have some baby pigs. All the little piglets escaped from their pen, so we had to put them back and I was so scared to pick one up! I felt like a girl because all of the little kids were just picking them up like it was nothing and I physically just couldn't do it. However, after about ten minutes I eventually caught one and picked the thing up and threw it back in it’s cage. During the whole affair, someone took a video of me, acting all sacred and freaked out. Now, the family and my companion are showing the video to everyone. So, right now I'm kind of the laugh of the branch. LOL!

We also found two great part member families and we had some great lessons with them. There truly is nothing more powerful than a testimony from a family member. It's just sad on Sundays to see so many families who are incomplete! This Sunday we only had two complete families in church so there is a bunch of work to do with the members! One of those people is the dad of three young men and women. With the intention of getting to know him a lot better and helping him receive the restored gospel, we paid him a visit. I'm not exactly sure how, but he and I made a quick connection and became “bros” almost immediately.  I gained his confidence, right off the bat, and we had such a cool lesson with his kids. I'm praying we can soften his heart a little bit and get him to join his awesome kids in church!

One day we were looking for our investigator, Maxi, to teach him a little bit. So, we knocked on his door and his little brother, Luciano, answer.  This led us to chat with Luciano, off and on, about what we do as missionaries. We basically explaind our purpose to him. The kid had tons of great questions about the Plan of Salvation. More than anything, I was really impressed with the questions that came from this 14-year-old kid. It was impressive!

I think the thing I like the most about the area of General Alvear is that religion is a familiar topic and everyone likes to hear another perspective. Even so, the hard part is turning the people into real investigators instead of indivduals who are just curious to hear from a 25-year-old Russian who rides his bike like a wild man in the street. LOL!

I'm glad the fam’ had a great time in Europe!   I love you all!

Elder Nathan Roderick - the One and Only

Life Advice from President Goates

¡Hola!                                                                                                                          

We had another solid week of work down here in General Alvear! One of the most exciting things that happened was everyone thought it was going to snow yesterday because it was cloudy and foggy. So, I was getting really excited to see some snow and have my companion touch snow for the first time but we got our hopes up for nothing. ☹

The highlight of the week was our trip to San Rafael to have our last Zone Conference with President Goates. In the morning, we had to sprint to track the bus down because we were running late but we eventually made it to San Rafael where we had one of the best conferences I've attended. We  received some instruction about our missionary work and how we can improve ourselves personally. One of the focus points of our meeting was using the Book of Mormon both with our investigators and with ourselves.  Specifically, we learned how we can improve our personal study of the book of Mormon. It made me realize how important the Book of Mormon is in our lives and especially in our religion. It is the most attacked book in the world, for a reason, and we are so lucky to have the fullness of the Lord’s gospel in these latter days through the Book of Mormon!

President Goates then gave his “life advice” for “life after the mission.” He talked about finding an enternal companion and getting married and “stuff.” It was weird, to say the least, but it made me realize that kind of “stuff” is the next big step in my life after my mission.  It was so great to hear from President Goates one last time! President and Sister Goates have helped me so much in my short time here in the mission. The main thing that I will miss about them is the love that they have shown for me. Every time I was with them I could just feel the love they have for each and every missionary! They will be very missed!

While in San Rafael we had exchanges with the Zone Leaders and I had a chance to go back to my first area and show them around the little town. To be honest, it was really strange to be back in Salto and it felt a little bit like déjà vu! The best part of the exchange was I had a chance to go and visit my investigators, Daniel and Carla.  I gave them a surprise knock on their door and we were able to catch up for a little bit and it felt so great to be with them again. They were the first good friends I made in Argentina and I hope our relationship can last a lifetime. They told me they have plans to get married in the next four months and after that, they plan to be baptized too! As a reminder of them, they gave me an Argentina jersey and it was just a great moment that we shared together!

One thing we are trying to do in our area of General Alvear is get the members really involved and excited about missionary work. So, on Tuesday it was Flag Day here in Argentina and we held an activity in the chapel and played some games and had tons of fun with the members.  We also shared a spiritual moment and tried to get the members, especially the youth, involved in our missionary the work!

One highlight of the week happened when we went to visit a less active man who has been a member for awhile (his wife is still active) but has fallen away over the last couple of years. With the Elders Quorom President and one of my friends from the Stake High Council we went to the man’s house and chatted for a while. We had a great talk about the priesthood and the role it plays in our lives. We were able to touch the heart of this man and we each shared some experiences that we have had with the priesthood and the Spirit was so present. It was probably one of the most spiritual lessons I've had on my mission, so far. On the way back, we discussed what we had talked about with this less active man and my homey from the Stake High Council shared the thought that this man is one of the lost sheep that Jesus talked about in the New Testament and we just need to bring him back into the fold!

This week we set the goal to try and teach every minute of the day, which means every time we come in contact with someone, we have to teach them something. When we meet someone, we quickly teach them a principle and have a short lesson on the street. Then, we set up an appointment to visit their house. Instead of our first lesson being a long one at a house, this quick introduction to our message has resulted in some really good success! For example, on Sunday night we just sat on a porch with a group of young kids and talked about the Bible and read some scriptures with them. I'm just trying to help my companion see the importance of talking to everyone and this week, we had some great results!

I hope everyone is enjoying the nice warm summer and having as much fun as possible. Life is too short to have a bad day!

I love you all so much,

Elder Roderick

¡Hola Elder Ramos!

¡Hola!                                                                                                                          

Welcome Elder Ramos

It was a short, quick week down here in the ARG. I spent another few days in Mendoza Capital waiting for my companion to arrive and on Wednesday afternoon I received "my kid." His name is Elder Ramos and he's from Peru. He lives a little south of the area where my cousin, Cole, is serving so it's been fun to make that connection.  Elder Ramos is 19 years-old and he's fresh out of the MTC. He's a very funny kid and, due to my consummate training, I'm pretty sure he'll be the assistant to the President one day.  

I spent two days in Mendoza just "Opening the Mouth" because I was waiting for Elder Ramos to arrive.  Working in the big city was a lot different than what I'm used to. So, in order to get people's attention, we had to be really creative.  I felt like it was more difficult to get people to talk to us in the city and although it was challenging, it was still really fun.  We had some funny rejections and made a couple of new friends so I guess I can say it was a great start to the week.  

During the capitulation for the new missionaries it felt so good to be in the trainers spot. I had some time to think back about how I felt when I was in the chair of the new missionary and it seems like it was only a few months ago.  I'm not gonna lie, it felt good to not be in the place of the new missionaries, who looked nervous and uncertain as they were introduced to their trainers.

Father's Day Treats

As I've introduced Elder Ramos to the mission, my main focus has been to help him feel confident and unafraid of talking to people and knocking on doors.  I just want him to be able to talk comfortably with strangers.  In essence, when you want to teach someone how to swim you just need to throw them in the deep end and help them until their head is above water.  It's the same with missionary work. An effective way to teach someone to do something new is to just force them to do it until they feel comfortable. So, as I showed Elder Ramos the routine of the mission, we had a fun and productive week. 

Over the weekend, we had a promising and memorable experience with a couple who live next door to a member.  The member invited them to an activity and that is how they became familiar with the church.  When we knocked on their door they were quick to tell us that due to their 22 year-old daughter's death, they had lost their faith. They told us that they had prayed so hard for their daughter to live and she didn't. During this time they were expecting an answer to their prayers and they felt like they didn't receive one so they abandoned their faith.  Despite this initial conversation, we had a really good lesson with them.  We taught them about what constitutes true faith and shared our understanding of eternal families. During the lesson, I remembered the time when my Roderick family fasted and prayed for our Grandpa Bill, even though we knew his chances for survival were very slim.  I remembered being in a room with my family and crying as I held onto my momma because I knew Grandpa was going to die.  The main thing I recalled was my momma comforting me as she told me we would be able to see our Grandpa Bill again. I remembered the comfort and peace that came over me at that moment and I felt prompted to share my experience with this family.  My personal experience and feelings provided an ideal opportunity for me to testify of the great plan of happiness that our Heavenly Father has for every single one of us.  It's my prayer that we can help this family find their faith again and take the steps necessary to become an eternal family. During this lesson the Spirit was very present and it provided the type of "spiritual high" that missionaries strive for. 

Enjoying wings in the Mendoza Mission Office 

Overall, it was a great week in Alvear! We've got some momentum with a couple of our investigators and I'm looking forward to helping them progress.  

I'm happy to give a big "Happy Birthday" shout out to my boy, Roddy! 22! Man, you are old! And, of course, "Happy Father's Day" to my awesome Dad and all of the wonderful men who have shaped me into the young missionary that I am today.  Friends, coaches, church leaders and family members have truly made a powerful impact on my life! 

I love all of you so much! 

Elder Roderick