Getting the Job Done

Familia,                                                                                                                    

One of the best things about being is South America is that there is literally fresh fruit everywhere. Right now, grapefruits are in season and each time I eat one, I feel like I’m in Palm Desert. Also, mandarins are just like big clementines and I eat five every single day because they are so fresh and sweet.

            We had a nice long week of work.  I think we taught more lessons during this week than I have during any other week on my mission.  We were really busy!  During the week, on two separate occasions, as we were finishing our lesson and inviting the investigator to read the Book of Mormon, the investigator told us that they couldn’t read it because they don’t know how to. This really struck me because one investigator, in particular, also told us that she misses out on so many opportunities because she can’t read. No one ever taught her how to read because she has had to work ever since she was a little girl. Therefore, she never had the opportunity to learn.  This experience was very humbling for me and it made me very grateful for my two loving parents who made sure I went to school. I really hope we can help these people grow closer to Christ and I pray that we can carry the Spirit into their homes.  “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weaknesses.  I give unto men weakness that they may be humble… for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then I will make weak things become strong.” Ether 12:27

            This week we were able to teach Javier again, and the main thing we are doing with him is helping him act on the things we are teaching. He tells us that he believes in all of the things we teach and in our lessons the Spirit is so strong but there isn’t much action after.  So, we committed his family to read and pray together while Javier is in the house.  If they do this, then it will get the other non-members of their family involved as well.  Then, eventually they can be an eternal family! Javier’s family treats us so well and nothing would make me happier than to see them all together in church.

            We also taught Javier and Brenda and our lesson with them was one of the best we had during the week. Javier is the son of a member in our neighbor ward in Alvear and we found him while we were teaching his less-active sister.  Javier is the only person in his family who isn’t a member of the Church so we’ve been working extra hard with him so his entire family can be together in church.  Javier already knows a lot of things about the church so we are trying to help him expand his knowledge and then hopefully, gain a testimony.

            Another promising thing that happened this week occurred when we invited one of the less-actives who we’ve been working with to join us in our missionary work.  We want her to have a spiritual experience with missionary work so it can strengthen her testimony.  So, we left her with the challenge to do some missionary work. On Sunday, she walked into church with her boyfriend by her side.  I was so pumped to see that!  It was such a great feeling to see their two smiling faces in church together!

            Well, the L I took this week was I accidentally broke the basket we use to wash our clothes.  So, right now I’m using a plastic garbage bag to wash my clothes.  I just toss in the clothes, some water and soap then, I squish them all around.  #roughlife  As a missionary, you’ve just got to find a way to get the job done.  I wouldn’t recommend this technique to anyone, but it makes life a little bit more interesting.

            The “spiritual high” of the week was attending our Stake Priesthood meeting.  We heard all kinds of talks about temple work, missionary work, parenting and helping kids prepare for missions. It felt so comforting to be in a room full of Priesthood holders.  The power of the sacred authority we hold was felt the entire night.  It was also nice to see some of my friends from Salto. 

Back to the grind this week!

Elder Roderick

Events in Mendoza

Familia,                                                                                                                       

This week in Argentina we celebrated “Friends Day” and I learned that it's actually a huge holiday down here in the ARG. On Thursday, the people were going crazy and there were tons of parties everywhere. It was kind of weird to see but it was so nice to see the town buzzing a little bit. So, “Feliz dia del Amigo” to all of my amigos out there, especially my homies out here in the mission field. LOL!

We spent over half of the week in Mendoza so we didn't have much time in our area, which was a bummer. Legit! We only had Monday night after Pday and Saturday and Sunday in our area but we were able get some good work done. On Wednesday, we had a meeting with President Panzacchi and his wife.  The meeting was for my companion and all of the other missionaries who are being trained right now. It was a good chance to learn more from our new president and get to know him a little bit better. It was also nice to get a review of some of the things that missionaries learn during their training.  As well, it was nice to be with some Elders for a while because my companion and I are accompanied by too many Hermanas in Alvear. LOL!

We had the meeting on Wednesday and then on Thursday we had a free day in Mendoza because it didn’t make sense for us to travel five hours back to our area because we had legal work to do on Friday. So, on Thursday I was planning to get into the actual city of Mendoza, but my plans fell through. LOL! We ended up going with the President’s Assistants to their area on exchanges and it was actually a lot of fun. Their area is right outside of Mendoza which means there are tons of people and it was really different from the areas I have worked in. So, it was interesting to get to know more parts of the mission. By just trying to talk to everyone we saw, we worked our tails off.  In my short time with them, I learned some new teaching techniques and I realized that there's no such thing as a “perfect missionary.” So, it was nice to learn from their example. 

On Friday, my companion had to do some legal work to become a citizen of Argentina and then on the way back to Alvear there was a problem with the bus so we ended up being on the bus for eight hours instead of the normal five. It wasn't too fun but we were able to get back.

We had another good lesson with our friend, Juan, this week. His daughter is preparing to go on a mission so Juan is really concerned about all that a mission entails. Even so, her plans have given us a good chance to help him become familiar with the Church and help him feel comfortable sending his daughter out into the mission field. This makes our lessons with him so spiritual because he is very concerned for his daughter and it gives him some motivation to learn more about the Church and investigated a little more. Now I'm just praying he can take a leap of faith and follow the great example of his kids.

On Sunday, a nice old couple, who are about 80-years old, let us in to their home and we had a great little conversation with them.  Then, as we were about to leave, they poured out their hearts to us and told us about all of the loved ones they have lost lately. Legit! They told us they are just waiting for their day to reunite with their loved ones. To be honest, it was kind of sad to listen to them because they seem so confused about what will happen in the next life so it was really nice to be able to teach them about the plan that God has for each and every one of us. I'm praying that they can understand the things we teach and really take them to heart so they can have an eternal family.

We had a nice quick week here in Alvear and we have some really good things going on in the area. I'm looking forward to seeing the progress our investigators can make!

I'm bummed I missed Colter Bay but that butter by the dam will always be there for me. LOL! I hope you guys had a good time and didn't miss me too much!

Have a great week!

Elder Roderick

Promising Investigators and a Pig Encounter

Familia,                                                                                                                

Well, I can officially say that it’s pretty darn cold down here in the ARG. This weekend it got down to 0° Celsius and there was a bunch of wind, so it was a cold one! I’m not sure if it’s really that cold, but when it’s 0° Celsius and you’re on a bike, the cold wind will really get to you.  My companion, who’s from Peru, has never felt cold like this before so it’s kind of funny to watch his reactions to it.  Even with the cold temperatures we haven’t seen snow yet, so we’re still praying for it.

            This week flew by and like always, we covered a lot of ground on our bikes. We made the mistake of visiting an investigator who lives 8 km away while there was a wind storm. On our return trip if literally felt like we weren’t covering any ground on our bikes because the wind was so strong.  We looked pretty ridiculous! We got some pretty weird looks from people, but that’s nothing new!

            We had some awesome lessons this week. My good friend, Juan, who is the father of three members of our branch, is really progressing. With his kids present, we taught him about the Restoration and it was probably one of the best lessons I’ve participated in during my mission.  The coolest part of the lesson was that Juan’s kids were there and they testified to him of the truths we were teaching and of the Book of Mormon. They encouraged him to read the Book of Mormon and to go to church. During the lesson the Spirit was so undeniable and nearly everyone was brought to tears. The main thing I felt was the love that everyone in the room had for my friend, Juan, and the important thing is that he felt it too. When we taught him about the Apostasy, he said he felt a hunger to learn more and a desire to “cure his hunger.” The lessons we had with Juan and his family were definitely the highlights of the week.

            We also taught Javier, who is the brother of a couple of members and like our lessons with Juan, we were able to teach Javier with his family present to testify and bring the Spirit into the room. Javier believes everything we teach him but he’s just a little lazy with the commitments and reading assignments we leave with him. This is frustrating but we have such great lessons with him and we’re hoping his family can push him along to read and learn for himself so he can gain his own testimony. 

            This week I also had another experience with a pig.  We got to a member’s house right as they were trying to move some pigs so they could make baby pigs (this is serious stuff down here). There were two pigs in one pen and apparently, they don’t like each other.  The goal was to move one pig out of the pen and into another.  So, we all lined up and made a little pathway for the pig that he could walk through and just be guided into his new pen. But, unexpectedly the wrong pig sneaked out of the pen and I was the closest one to it.  Legit, it charged right at me! This was no piglet!  This pig was HUGE! In my football days, I had to take on some pretty big dudes, but a 300kg pig definitely got the best of me. It escaped right past me and then the chaos began. The family has a huge property and a couple of enormous dogs that are trained to kill animals. So, I had to sprint after the pig while the family tried to hold back the dogs so they wouldn’t kill the pig. Legit, it was chaos and like my last pig encounter, I was freaking out. During his escapade around the farm, the pig nearly ran me over.  Fortunately, it all worked out and we were able to get all of the pigs in their proper pens but the entire experience really did a number on me.  Not gonna lie! Another week; another L.

            So, this week I chased a pig and nearly died in the process.  With my district, I also took a boxing class on PDay and it nearly killed me too. But, other than those near-death experiences, it was a great week. The boxing class provided us with a great opportunity to do “companion inventory.” We went at each other really hard for a few minutes and it was really fun! I also learned a few moves I can use if anyone tries to rob me.

¡Un Abrazo Grande!

Elder Roderick