Gotta Love Tucuman

Hey everyone! So this week I got the package, so I will be able to write better letters home. So we have done actually a lot of stuff this week. We had a zone conference and president basically hammered everyone about obedience and stuff. The mission is changing a lot of its rules to be more specific and strict, so that is going to be interesting. It was a good conference. Then I did changes with Elder Carter. I{m District Leader, so I have to do lots of changes. It is pretty fun with this group of dudes. So we did that and we found a family that was really awesome. Then we finished our changes and I went back with Campbell. We then had like the best thursday of the mission. We taught four lessons with members that helped us and it was awesome. The best lessons were the last three. We taught Olga and we went with this awesome sister and they were like sharing testimonies and crying the whole time and it was the best. Olga is just scared of being the first person to accept the gospel of her family and so for that she hasnt gone to church before. Then we went and we taught another older woman named Graciela in the house of a member and we taught about the Restoration of the church. It was awesome. Then we taught a refernce from the bishop, and the bishop went with us to teach him. That lesson was also awesome. The work is really amazing when the members go and help. It is really what makes the work go. If we are doing it by ourselves, it is never going to work. We all have to work together and then leave it up to God. And elder carter padre says hi. So yeah then we had 4 investigators in church, which is awesome. The work really works when you have members. It was probably the most successful feeling week of my mission. One of the days we got back kind of late because we had so many lessons. It was pretty good. Oh and probably the best part of the week was getting this package of Dr Pepper jelly beans from home. I had forgotten the taste of Dr Pepper. I no longer have that problem. Thanks mom. 

Ok so funny story in church, my comp and another missionary gave talks in church. So while the other missionary was giving a talk, this drugged dude came in the church and started robbing stuff out of this missionary{s backpack while he was giving the talk. That was funny cause he just kind of had to watch his stuff get robbed. Luckily his companion was quick to act and like chased the druglover down and took the stuff back. It is funny now cause nothing bad happened. We did stay out there and keep guard after that though. I guess awhile back, this church got robbed by dudes with guns too, so I guess you could say it is a good neighborhood of Tucuman. Also later we were about to go down this street and we saw two people running away. So then we started down the street and they passed us, and then we saw a ton of girls that had just been robbed. Then some people that lived there told us not to keep going down the road, so we left haha. Classic Sunday in Tucuman. Gotta love this place, it has just enough crazy to keep it interesting. But it has been really good. I never really want to leave Tucuman.

Bueno por lo menos debo escribir alguito en espanol aun que no sea mucho. Quizas sea mucho jaja. Entonces estoy aprendiendo mas de la importancia de hacer las cosas como el senor quiere que las haga yo. Es muy diferente a veces, pero he visto la diferencia. Yo deje de hacer muchas cosas y ahora veo cuan importante es. Dios sabe mejor. Confiemos en Dios. Les Quiero! Chau! Helaman 14:33

El Loro

305 days in the Mish

Well this week was an interesting one. Mostly I am just pretty tired and there is not much new stuff to report. Sad news is that like all of the friends I have made here in the mission are going home in two or three transfers (more or less 12 weeks for you non-mormons out there). I don't have any pictures from this week because my camera battery died and I still hadn't unpacked my stuff completely and didn't know where it was, but I found it, so next week I will probably have pictures. Lets see, so this week we started teaching this guy who used to talk a lot with Jehovah's Witnesses, so he has a bible that has been changed a lot and it leads to some interesting discussions. We went and taught him with this awesome guy who recently got home from the mish, and it was awesome. The returned missionary is called Jhon. Yeah I know, that is how they spell it here. But he is awesome and from Colombia. So he helped us. Then the investigator Jehovah's Witness guy came to church on Sunday! So that was cool. I think he is really looking for the truth. We are also teaching a woman named Olga that we found. She is awesome, she just needs to go to church and then she will feel the desire to be baptized. She already understands that it is a big step so that will be awesome when it happens. For now, all these people that we are teaching just need more time, or just need to go to church, so that is kind of frustrating. But it is ok. I guess I will be learning patience this week. Well awesome don't have much time left Nos Vemos Chau! 

Back in Tucuman

Well I am back in Tucuman and it is awesome. Kind of a dangerous place, but I like it a lot haha. The people here actually will listen to the gospel and there are already some investigators here from the other missionaries that are just waiting for a couple things to sort out before getting baptized. Yeah so that is about how that is going. Umm lets see, oh yeah, so I'm district leader now, which means I am in charge of a little group of elders. It is fun, I just have to call them all in the night and make sure that they are ok and working. The elders in my district are all pretty awesome so I dont think that we will be having problems with things. Hopefully not. Oh as district leader, I also get to interview all the people that my district will be baptizing to make sure that they are ready and to make sure there are not any problems, and I did that for the first time last Saturday. It was kind of stressful, but also a super good experience. I am not really sure why I got put as district leader after having only one transfer as senior comp, but hey I just have to trust that it is all revelation. That is what it came down to when I was thinking about it. We had the conference and sustained President Nelson. If we sustained him, then he is a true prophet of God. If we have a prophet of God, that means that God called my mission president. So then, if God called my mission president, and my mission president gave me this assignment, then it is from God. Even if I don't understand it, and even if I have no idea what it is that I am doing, I can trust that it is as God wants it to be. So yeah that is a little of what I learned this week. It was a rather profound answer, but I like it a lot. I think it works that way with all the callings of the church, and as long as we do our best it will all work out alright. The ward here is pretty awesome. It is the best organized ward I have been to in my mission. The bishop is a stud, we have ward council, everybody has callings, and there are even deacons. It is great. I am really excited to be here and have people to work with. My companion is Elder Campbell, he is from Utah, and he is a stud. We get along really well and the time is going to be flying by this transfer. It is weird to think that in 5 days from now, I will have completed 10 months of the the mission. Some parts have been long, and some parts have been good too. It is just weird. I am sure all you RMs know what I am talking about. Anyways, we have some really cool investigators, one is a contact that my comp did, her name is Olga. She is a grandma and looking for the truth. She is catholic, but she feels that the catholic church is lying to her, so she read the Book of Mormon a little, prayed about it, and felt an answer. She wants to read the whole book though, before committing to anything big, which makes sense. She just only reads three pages per day, so it might be awhile, but with time I think it will work out. Other than her we are working with a couple people that are awesome that I will probably write about as I get to know them better. They are awesome though. 

Y bueno un testimonio en español para las personas que saben dos idiomas jaja. Bueno, realmente no estaba listo ser lider de distrito. Me llamaron asi, y me senti preocupado. Pero, despues de una semana de ser lider, veo que no es tan dificil y que puede ser divertido. Se que no soy perfecto y que el Señor nos llama en su tiempo y no en lo nuestro. Si El piensa que estoy listo, listo estare. Amo mi Dios y mi hermano mayor Jesucristo. En el nombre de Jesucristo, amen. 

Well I don't have many pictures this week. Just one. Here it is kind of dangerous, so we will see what I can do in the picture department. WE were walking to lunch last week and some kid told us that his dad is being healed by a witch. Also dogs sometimes try to bite us. Also the people steal everything from each other here. But it is cool because this apartment has bars on its windows so we will be fine. I'm really excited to be here, it is going to be awesome!

You Can Call It a Comeback

So crazy stories this week! So many good things and crazy things and sad things, but more good things. 

FIRST, THEY ARE PUTTING A TEMPLE IN MY MISSION!!!!! AWWW!!! There were 4 of us white people watching conference in the back of the church, we heard that and we all started screaming and jumping and dancing and hugging. It was so awesome! The spirit was super strong too. The work we are doing here is apparently super important, so that is an awesome thing to know and to be a part of. Also Elder Bednar´s talk was amazing. I loved every second of it. 

Second, we got transfers, and they are blanking our area with sisters! So that was crazy. All the members were really sad that we were leaving and came to see us off at the terminal in the morning, so that was awesome, but also sad. It was really nice to have been able to be there with them and at least help some of them out in life. Makes it all worth it. 

Third, I am back in Tucuman!!!! And my companion is Elder Campbell. He is from Utah and he is a stud. I am excited to work with him. Bad news is that they made me District Leader. So yeah, I am just going to be doing district leader things for awhile here, without knowing how to do them. That will be interesting. But I am back in TUCUMAN. It is going to be a good transfer I think. 

Well, the last week was pretty tough with Alonso. He is a stud, just all of the people we were working with dropped us and dissappeared. That was pretty frustrating. But it is ok. It must just not be there time yet. I have a lot of pictures for this week, so Imma have to cut the email short.

Bueno, se que la iglesia de jesucristo es verdadera. Se que el nos levanta cuando estamos muy bajo. Se que es nos cura y nos llena con su gracia y amor. Lo he sentido aqui en la mision. Se que puede pasar con ustedes tambien. 

HAha well hope you guys have a great week!