One of the BEST Weeks

¡Familia!                                                                                                      

This week was probably one of the best weeks of my mission so far. Last PDay, we hiked to "El Salto de la Monedo" and it was one of the prettiest places I have ever seen. As we were driving up a canyon, I felt like I was in Utah again. We spent the day just chillin’ next to a waterfall and that it was a sweet little piece of paradise.

On Thanksgiving Day, we hooked up with the sisters in the ward and we made a chicken Asada (turkey is a bit expensive) and we also made some of our favorite dishes to share with the family who invited us over for dinner. Of course, our meal wasn't as delicious as Grandma Carolyn's gravy or Aunt Jill's Jell-O but, we did our best. We even went around the table and took turns sharing what are grateful for. So, we had a really good time.

On Friday, we met some kids in the street and we found out they are a group of kids from an Evangelical church who get together three times every week to receive help with their schoolwork. So, we talked to their teacher and we ended up teaching English to these kids for about an hour. Now they think we are their best friends so every time we walk into their neighborhood, we get tons of love. The kids even invited us to their church and soccer games.

We were in a lesson this week and one of our investigators Amalia, told us about her church and its beliefs. Then, she invited us to come to her church so we jumped at the opportunity to get to know another religion. So, on Thursday night we were super excited to go to the church BUT Amalia never showed up! We decide to enter the church without her and once we were inside, we decided to stay and enjoy the show. The music was awesome and the message was really inspiring as well.  It was a whole lot different than one of our Sacrament Meetings but we had a good time.                                                                                                                                  

Augustine and Juan's baptism 

The best part of the week was on Saturday! My boys, Juan and Augustine, were able to get baptized and make a covenant with our Heavenly Father! Everything went really well in the service. The only problem was that here, in Argentina, the water isn't the cleanest so the water in the baptismal font looked like lake water but, at least it was warm. I was able to baptize Augustine and it was such a good experience. A group of the youth from our ward attended the baptism to support Augustine so, he had a great experience. Of course, a mission isn’t all about baptisms but it's sure nice to see some of the fruit of our labors!

On Sunday, we had Stake Conference and one of the areas 70s came to talk to us. The entire Stake got together, including the ward from my old area in Villa Mercedes! While we were gathered at the Stake Center, I was able to see all of my old homies and converts. It was such a good feeling to see my boys, Pedro and Nano, in shirt and tie and looking so fresh! They both were telling me about their progress in the church and it was so good to hear about them. I also literally had ten members invite us to their home for Christmas Eve. So, we'll see what happens!

Have a great week, Elder Roderick

"God is greater than your problems" - Evangelical pastor who looks like Larry Bird

Elder Roderick and Pedro

Elder Roderick and Nano

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