Hola Familia,
Well, the big news of the week is that I’ll be
leaving the little town of Salto and I am off to San Luis to the area 25 de
Mayo. I will be with Elder Martinez who is a Chileano and I’m soooo excited.
San Luis is known as the “heaven” in the mission because it is 3 hours east of
Mendoza and it is really green and different from the rest of the mission. I
have heard nothing but good things about the area, the work, and the members so
I’m pumped! To be honest, I’m a little sad to be leaving my little pueblito of
Salto and especially the people I have come in contact with. Even so, change is
always a good thing.
This week I had a big plan to go out and try to
find people who have become inactive in the church, have been a menos activo
for a long time, and basically anyone else within the area who we
could invite to Sacrament Meeting. This means, like every week in Salto,
we were all over the map. One night we went out to a little neighborhood which
is about 45 minutes on bike to find some people and as soon as we got there I
felt my bike tire slowly lose air. Then, before I knew it, there was nothing
left in the tire. So, that night my plan failed big time and we ended up
walking for 2 hours L. But on our way back, we stopped
in a little tiny store to buy a Coke and we told some random family our sob
story and they let us into their home. We talked with them for almost 30
minutes about what we do as missionaries. It was the coolest experience! They
were so sweet and so interested in what we are doing and I felt the need to
share something with them but every time I tried to bring up some of our
doctrine the subject got changed.
But, my plan to bring people to Sacrament Meeting
actually paid off pretty well. We had the second highest Sacrament Meeting
attendance that I’ve had here in Salto, which is always a reward. One of the
consequences of spending so much time on the bike was that on two of the days
this week I think I had some heat exhaustion or something. It consisted of some
bad headaches and dizziness but it eventually passed. I’m really conscious
about drinking 5 liters of water everyday so I really don’t know what happened.
One of the highlights of the week was being
reunited with my boy, Francisco! He had spent the last few weeks in Buenos Aires
and we were able to catch up this week. He’s such a stud! He told us that he is
just waiting until he is 18 so he can have some freedom in his life and one of
the things he can be free to do is become baptized. He has a tough family
situation and I’ve learned a ton about him.
I really hope and pray for the best for him.
Another highlight was being able to do service this
week! We went to the police station to help them clean up and it was a great
opportunity to be present in the community and just help people. We also helped
our awesome member, Hermano Eibar, with his farm this week. Like the last time we helped him, I was so
tired after 3 hours in the field. Tossing and moving dirt is tough stuff! I
eventually dunked my head in a nearby river and it was the best feeling.
One thing I tried to do this week was ask myself,
at the end of the day, “Have I done everything I could today to help others
come unto Christ and fulfill my purpose as a missionary?” Some nights I
felt good about the work we did, but on other nights I felt like we could have
knocked on a couple more doors or made a couple more street contacts.
I’m a little sad to be leaving the people of Salto
and especially Daniel, Carla, and Francisco who are all so ready to be baptized,
but there are some things that are restricting them. It has been a little frustrating
for me teach people and not be able to take them into the waters of baptism because
I believe they have gained testimonies of this restored gospel. But, the most
important thing is that they are on the right path and will be baptized soon.
There’s not a doubt in my mind.
I love you all so much! I’m so humbled to be a
missionary and help people come unto Christ every day!
Much
love,
Elder
Roderick
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