Despedida Villa Mercedes y ¡Diga! General Alvear

 ¡Hola!

What a week it was! I can honestly say, “I'm exhausted.” The week started off when I said, “Goodbye” to all my friends in Villa Mercedes and I have to say it was probably one of the hardest things that I've done so far while on my mission. The 25 de Mayo ward treated me so well and they made me feel like I was just a normal member.

I’d like to share a cool experience that happened when I was saying goodbye to all my friends. I didn't have time to go out to Victor's house so, on Monday night I called him to say, “Goodbye” and we chatted for a second and then he told me that he wanted to come by my pench in the morning. So, at 7:30 a.m., in the freezing cold, he whipped up on his motorcycle to give me a farewell hug and he pulled out of jersey from our favorite soccer team and gave it to me. To be honest, this jersey that Victor gave me is probably was one of the best gifts I have ever received because of the meaning it has behind it. Before his baptism, I got to know Victor well and we became close and talked a lot. He told me that his family depends on him to put food on the table and when his dad got into a bad accident, he was the one who had to pay the bills. So, when he showed his love for me by giving me an awesome jersey I felt so lucky to have been able to get to know him and build a relationship with him. As missionaries, you are the ones that teach all the time but the lessons that I've been taught by other people are irreplaceable. Victor really showed me what's important in life and how to really sacrifice for the people we love. The jersey he gave me will be something I will treasure forever.

After being sent off by loved ones in the bus terminal, I started my travels back down to the south of the mission. On Tuesday, I was on the bus for about 11 hours. First, we had to change buses because the first one broke down and then, when we reached the checkpoint the police took a man off the bus to question him and go through his baggage. So, we were delayed for a long time. And…. I spent 5 1/2 hours of these hours alone on the bus and that was weird. We ended up getting to my area, General Alvear, on Wednesday morning.  The next morning, I drove through my old area of Salto and that was really weird to see all the familiar buildings and places again. I kind of wanted to jump off and say, “Hello” to all my friends there but I decided that it would be best to stay on the bus. Ha ha!

          My new comp is Elder Neto and he is such a stud! He's 18 years old and is from the city of Parana in southeast Brazil. He's only been in the mission for about three months so he is full of energy and excitement for the work!  I said he's a stud because he has a 21-year-old girlfriend. LOL! My new area is called Pellegrini and it’s a great one. We are a branch and there were about 40 people in attendance on Sunday. So, not too bad! There are a lot of families in the ward as well. So, that makes it a lot of fun. Something that's kind of funny is that we live in the backyard of the branch president. He built a two floor pench for the missionaries which is exactly what we need! In the area, we have a ton of farmland again and I forgot how pretty it is. We have bikes and we use them like crazy. One day we at least biked for 16+ miles so I'm getting a good workout every day. LOL!  

The work is going pretty well! This week we did a bunch of contacting and tracking which helped me get to know the area. One night we were looking for one of our contacts and asked a kid on the street for help and he showed us where to go. We knocked on the door of our contact and no one was there so we went back and talk to the kid who helped us. We introduced ourselves and he invited us into his house where we started teaching his family. It's amazing how the Lord puts people in your path if you are aware of it!

I love you guys!

Elder Roderick

Adiós Villa Mercedes

Hola Familia,                                                                                                             

Well, the big news of the week is that I’m being transferred from my beloved town of Villa Mercedes! I am returning to the southern part of the mission to a little city called General Alvear, which is in the Mendoza province. I'll be in a little branch called Pellegrini and I'll be going back to the San Rafael Zone and Stake. So, it should be fun to be back in a familiar place. General Alvear is about 45 minutes more south from where I was in Salto de Las Rosas which means the area might feel a little familiar.

This last week of the transfer was a really solid one and we were able to catch up with all of our investigators and have a couple of great lessons with them. One cool thing that happened this week was that one night we are on our way back to our pench and we saw a lady who called us from the street to help her. She told us that she had lost her keys and needed to open her door. Our options were very limited and it was getting late so, we had to figure out something quick. So, I did something that every boy dreams of….. I ended up kicking the door open for this lady and I didn't even break the door frame so that was an unusual and exciting experience!

To be honest, this week also got pretty cold. The mornings and the nights got really cold but the days were really nice, when it didn't rain. Ha ha! Even so, it felt nice to put on a big coat and I have fallen in love with a drink they have here in Argentina with is called “Malta.” It’s basically just Mormon coffee. LOL! So, after over a year of living through summer and spring it's been nice to finally start the winter season!

We had another great lesson with the Sanchez family during which Pedro was able to tell us more about his experience at the temple. We also taught them more about the Word of Wisdom because the dad still struggles with smoking but as we talked, the whole family committed to help their dad so they can enter the waters of baptism together! There really is something special about the Sanchez family. Especially during our lessons, I always feel like there is something different about them. During the time that I have known them, they have made so much progress. Every time we teach them I become and more and more impressed by my boy, Pedro, because he is such an amazing example to his family! I hope and pray that one day I’ll be able to see the entire family in baptismal clothes. Then of course, the ultimate dream would be to see them in the temple one day.

Another cool lesson we had was with our man, Luis. We had a great chat about how he can receive his answer and confirmation that what we have been teaching him is true. We also gave him suggestions about what he needs to do in order to be certain about his decision to be baptized, or not. I kind of felt like I was interrogating him a little bit, but it ended up being a good lesson because the Spirit was so present. He eventually accepted a baptismal date!

We also had another awesome lesson with my man, Benjamin, and his family. During our lesson, we talked about the Plan of Salvation. When we got to the part of the resurrection I felt the prompting to use my priesthood authority and I promised them that their grandpa would receive his legs again and he be able to walk with his wife. This was a cool moment because I just felt the prompting to say it and the Gift of Tongues helped me say it in the correct Spanish. Following the first prompting from the Spirit, and then acting on it, will always bring great results!

Actually, I'm going to miss this place, Villa Mercedes, and all it has done for me as a missionary. The people have treated me like a king and I was lucky see the fruits of my work! I'm also really excited for my next adventure in General Alvear and I look forward to meeting new people and building more relationships!

Have a great week!

Elder Roderick

A Visit to the Temple

Hola!                                                                                                                     

Wow! What a joy it was to see my beautiful family yesterday and chat with them! Also, Happy Mother’s Day, yesterday, to all of the wonderful mothers out there!! I was blessed with the greatest of them all! I love you so much, Shelly!! My momma and Jesus Christ light my world like nobody else can!

This week we put in a good amount of work by trying to find new people to teach. You can never have too many investigators so we “Opened the Mouth” a bunch this week. When we’re searching for people to teach, one thing I love to do is interact with the kids on the street.  Kids are much easier to connect with and usually, they will lead us to a family. Most of the kids in Argentina love to play soccer so I’m working on my feet skills to gain their respect. Haha! Like I told my family yesterday, I’m looking for a league down here to join so I can make some money on the side of this mission thing. LOL

On Tuesday, our bishop joined us at the home of the Sanchez Family and we had an awesome lesson with them. We talk about the law of chastity and invited them to get married and they accepted without hesitation! Fortunately, the mom has a friend in the government so I’m praying that their marriage can happen quickly so they can get in the water soon! We also used our teaching opportunity to talk about temples and eternal families. We explained what they need to do as a family to be able to be sealed together! Then, they made me promise that I will be there when they get sealed as a family! So, July of 2018! I’m praying for that! DREAM BIG!!

Also, this week there was a huge car race in Villa Mercedes and the population of the city increased by at least 50 thousand people. Literally, we could hear the cars racing throughout the day. We were miles away and we could still hear them rattling. That made the city “buzz” a lot more and it made the week much more entertaining and of course, easier to talk with people!

This week we were also able to experience a great reward. Pedro and Victor, who just got baptized in the last few months, were able to go to the temple this weekend with the ward!! They both performed baptisms and on Sunday, during church, they showed me tons of pictures and told me about the awesome experience they had. Pedro even got up to the pulpit and shared what he felt as he got baptized for his grandpa who died a few years ago! I was so pumped to hear about their experiences in the temple and especially, to hear them share the feelings they felt there! The ward is lucky to have the nearest temple only a few hours away and they go every couple of months so I’m praying Pedro and Victor can build a habit of going often to the house of the Lord!!

As I talked to the fam yesterday, I told them I feel like I am starting the equivalent of “2 a-days” in my mish and the next 7 months will be a big grind but I’m looking forward to what is in store!

I love you guys so much! Finish the school year strong!!

Elder Roderick