19th Week in Chivilcoy

Hello how are you all this fine Monday morning? Here its gotten a bit cold today but its turning out to be a good one! :) Just trying to enjoy Argentina while I still can. Being in the country is a huge blessing to be able to see nice scenery, something that isn't just city. :) Anyway I'll tell you guys about my week!

Well I dont really remember it that well... I feel like I have a memory problem. But anyway the highlight of the week was definitely the baptism of Martin!!!!! WOOOOOH HE DID IT! We were really worried he wasn't going to be baptized because his wife didn't want to attend the baptism....but he realized it is his salvation that he needs to worry about first and got baptized. It was awesome! He said it was the best spiritual experience of his life. The confirmation he said he just loved it all. What a great way to end my last full week in the mission field :) No complaints except for the elders quorum yesterday, two members started arguing a bit and it shook Martin up a bit. But everything is handled and he has a HUGE testimony that this is the true church! What a great guy really. :) Next will be his daughter then his wife! Wooh!

We found some great people this week. My favorite was a woman named Silvana. She has a mini market in her house and is just a great lady looking for the true church ;) well we can give you that! :) Anyway we had a great lesson about the restoration with her and her daughter and then after we started talking about her suppliers for the mini market and she said she was going to get me a box of alfajores to take home! WOOH! I'm so stoked. Now you can all try an alfajor straight from Argentina! Be excited. 

Other than that the week was just full of preparations for the baptism and such. Great week really. Now entering into the last week of my mission....weird. I just want to say that it has truly been the best two years of my life. I cannot explain the emotions that I have when I think about all I have learned and done and experienced here. I love this work and think the main thing I have come to know is that THIS is the only true church of Jesus Christ on Earth. I KNOW that with all my heart and thank God for the chance I have had to serve him for this time. I know you all can know this too because I have seen the gospel work miracles in the lives of simple, normal people just like us. The only difference is that they speak Spanish. I love these people and am torn by the fact that I have to leave them. I know this is the work of God and testify to all of you of the power of the Priesthood. I am so thankful for this time that I have had to represent our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But the mission doesn't end here its a mission for life. So I challenge you all to go DO something with your faith and knowledge of Christ. I know you will find happiness if you do. Again I thank everyone who has supported me in this time, especially my parents and brothers and sisters. Have a fantastic week! I love you all :)

Un Besito, Elder Wells

P.S. Probably wont be able to write next Monday.

QUESTIONS:

What is M***** story? Is or has his wife softened at all? BAPTIZED!!!! and no not really for his wife

Is MIguel living in a better place other than in a tarp and metal sheets? nope he is still there.... :(

How about Jose? Is he considered a miracle, medically? pretty much. he is supposed to be dead.

Are transfers this coming Wednesday? no they are next Monday!!!! crazy....

If so, what will you do this weekend since Presidente will be at the Mission Pres. Council? This is the plan. Tour this Saturday, Sunday is the converts' meeting, Monday the transfer meeting, Tuesday is President's house and the temple and fly home.... weird!

17th Week in Chivilcoy Sur

Well I'm not in a super huge typing mood but we will see how it leaves me....as they say here. Anyway-

We had a good but tiring week! Not really sure why though. We have been having a lot of success with our progressing investigators though which is the great part. Especially Martin! He is going great! Has received a ton of answers to his prayers and is even preaching the gospel to his family already. He is so great! The only thing now keeping him from his baptism is his wife who as of this last week wasn't very keen on the idea of letting him do it. He really wants her support which makes a ton of sense so we have been praying and fasting for him. He really is so great and has so many desires to be baptized! They even invited us over for dinner this week and we gained a lot of confidence with his wife. They need the gospel so they can be united though. :)

We also have Jose who is the guy who can't walk very well. He came to church with a  member so we have solved the problem of him getting to church. But he can't walk very well because he has so many health problems. He has prostate cancer....three years ago the doctor told him he had two weeks to live....and that was three years ago. He has gotten a lot better since he started believing in God. So he is great! We also have Miguel who is a reference from a member. The most humble man (economically) I have ever met. He lives under a tarp held up by sheets of metal....its sooo sad. But the members are working to help him out :) And he wants to be baptized and really needs it! So we have those people that are doing great!

Other than that the only things I can think of are that the branch had a district activity this last Friday. It was like a hawaiian luao. I dont know how to spell that. But it went really well and there was a great turnout! So that was a big thing for the branch. Other than that nothing else comes to mind. But I love you all and I know the church is true! Have a great week!

Un besito, Elder Wells

QUESTIONS:

Will you define exactly what a "key indicator" is? Its a number that measures progress....like one contact in the street. We do 140 a week.  Or a lesson with member or without member. We have to do 8 with member and 7 others per week for example.

Where did you watch General Conference? In the chapel on a tv. It went well

Did you get to watch all sessions? yes ma´am

How about the Priesthood Session? yes ma´am

Did you hear Uchtdorf's talk on "I've fallen and I can't get up?" I did but I don't remember it very well. I have to listen to them again.....but I can't yet

Did you hear Elder Ballard say that you missionaries need to talk to even more people every day? yeah we are doing it!!!

How sure are you that you can use your cash to buy stuff on your tour? positive....

I was just reading your first hand-written letter to me from the MTC.  All you wanted was more letters from lots of people.  So my question is....do you feel like you've gotten enough letters from others? haha I feel good with the amount I received but there could have always been more

What was the meaning of that object lesson you taught in zone meeting? that we have to think in different ways and the way we are doing things may not be the most effective.

Have you totally loved having the Alldredge family there? yeah its great they are helping out the branch a ton!!!! 

Any more P90X workouts? just the abb ripper x one that I took a picture of to do it. I do that every other day.

Did it belong to a missionary who brought it with him and how do you watch it? yeah its Elder Call´s they have a little portable dvd player from the mission to watch the PMG videos.

Have you told us about Martin's happenings? yeah

What about Jose, why can't he walk well? explained in letter

Have you met anyone where their watching conference really helped them progress? Jose lost his wife and he loved President Monson's talk where he started off talking about the loss of his wife.

16th Week in Chivilcoy Sur

Well this was a hectic week. I'll explain why as briefly as possible because quite a bit happened!

So we had our monthly zone meeting last Tuesday and it went really well if I do say so myself. We talked about changing the focus of our work to make it more efficient. I used an example of a cup supported by two coins so there was a tiny space below....and inside there was a pin on top of a coin. They had to get the pin out from under without the coin falling over and they couldn't touch the cup.....super hard. Everyone tried blowing it out. But in the end there was a magnet about 5 feet away that made it super easy to get the pin out. Great object lesson! We were able to teach the point very effectively. Then I realized it was my last zone meeting and they made me bear my testimony. I still have a month left though so it was super weird to do that! Anyway after the zone meeting the Alldredge family made chili and chicken noodle soup for all the missionaries. It was SO good! great day.

We did divisions with Saladillo for the week from Tuesday to Friday night and I went to Saladillo with Elder Call from Alpine, Utah. He is a great guy and has about 16 months in the mission if I remembr right. But we had a really successful week! We met a guy named Diego that has been to church before and just loved the message of the Restoration. He also speaks in English so we taught him and his mother in English (she is an English teacher). It was super weird to not remember the words priesthood and atonement in English....whoops. Anyway we also helped the group....they are part of a branch and are a group of about 14 members. They are super unified though and it was great!  We did P90X the whole week and I was feeling it for sure....made me super motivated to do workouts in the morning and for when I get back. Anyway it was a fun division....oh except the changing back. We had a bus to come back at midnight but it got there at 1:45....so we missed the bus from Bragado back to here so that Elders Call and Martinez could get back to their area.....they slept in our pensh and got on a 7:45 bus to get back there at 12....sad. Long night and I got sick because of the lack of sleep and such....my cold came back!!!! NO!!!!!! haha it will go away soon enough though.

We had a great Saturday and Sunday in conference though and Martin came to two sessions and an investigator named Jose who is sick and can hardly walk. Then a few other people we just met this last week....but I don't know anything about because I wasn't here! Great conference sessions! They all really helped me to know what I need to do now in my life and they helped our investigators out a lot!

Anyway the best thing about this week has to do with Martin....he is crazy loving everything about the church!!!! He has received his answer and knows he needs to be baptized....he flipped open the BoM this week to Moroni 7 and said it got to him!  He loved it!!!! He is sooo awesome and his daughter wants to get baptized too!!! Sooo happy for them :) Golden investigator :)

Anyway this was a great week with a fantastic end! We got to hear the prophet of God testify of the Plan of Salvation and his knowledge that we will all be able to live with our families after death if we live correctly in this life....I know that is true. As a missionary I have developed many attributes that have served me well, but the best thing I have come to know is that God loves me, and He loves all of you. If we look for His love He can show it to us every day. Look for it! I know this is the Church of Jesus Christ, the only true church on the earth. Watch conference and you can know that too! Love you all and have a great week!

Un Besito, Elder Wells

QUESTIONS:

What kind of a guy was Martin  when you first met him? great! he just thought that the Jehova's Witnesses were great too....so he is progressing well now and making changes in his life. We taught him the Word of Wisdom and he immediately took out and threw away all his tea and coffee :)

Who are your next most "golden" investigators? we have been recycling some investigators...so we're kinda starting from scratch now....looking for new people

How far away is Bragado from Chivilcoy? an hour by bus.

Are you being fed  dinner and lunch by members very much? more so than before....I'm not as skinny as I used to be.

Is your camera ready and working for your pastores tour? yeah I have a card with 100 pics left on it. Just finished a card this week.

When will I get a pic of your pensh and surroundings and other creative things? totally forgot to do that....sorry I'll do it this week

Do you think I still have time to send you some cash? no its too late. Thanks though!

How much money do you want in your Debit card account? what's in there is fine

What do you know about La Boca and visiting there for the Pastores tour? not sure....but I know I'm taking money with me to buy stuff....the horse festival is this weekend in Bragado too and artisans come with cool stuff to buy as well so I'll buy some stuff there too

What ever happened to your wrinkled suit? still have it....just waiting to get home to use it

Is there anything at all I can be doing for you right now? no you're great! you do too much!

15th Week in Chivilcoy Sur

Well this was a good week with not too much that happened besides...well the normal. 

We had a good Monday night travelling to 9 de Julio to do baptismal interviews. Well I ended up going to an FHE with elder Smith (my ex companion from Lobos) and it was great! It was way fun to be with him after so long. Its been like 9 months since we were together. :) Great kid and still one of my favorite companions. Anyway we ate some really good Chilean food made by his comp elder Scotti called Choriana. Its like meat, onion, french fries, and a bunch of other stuff i dont remember mixed together. Really good. We got back to our area really early the next morning to do the district meeting call. Fun stuff. 

Other than that nothing too exciting happened...we went to Chivilcoy Friday so my comp and elder Fernandez from the other zone in campo could go to the liders council. I got to stay in Chivilcoy :( I missed my last concilio!) But it was a fun day anyway. I got a haircut, we ate and made some really good rice, and i got to go to the FHE they had in their branch. Way fun! I was with elder Boyce from Idaho all day and got to know Elder Webster that went to Alta. He is a cool kid. 

Anyway as far as our investigators go we are having not as much success as last week but some....we had a ton of great plans for church yesterday and almost none of them came...super frustrating that 10 people confirm Saturday night that they will be coming and then they disappear Sunday morning. I don't understand it. But we are just trying to be diligent and super obedient to deserve the Lord's mercy to help us in that aspect. The gem in the sand is that Martin finally came to church! He was the only one there. But he is going great now for his baptism the 19th of this month! Great great guy :) 

Other than that just working hard. Nothing else to say besides don't be trunky for me. :) Haha love you all and love this work so much. I know this is the one true church and that true happiness only comes through Christ. He is my Savior and Redeemer and I know Him personally and thank Him each and every day for that knowledge. Love you all and have a great week!

Un Besito, Elder Wells

QUESTIONS:

Did you see your itinerary I forwarded you and are you happy with it? yeah its fine for me! I'll get to visit Georgia too :)

Won't transfers be before you leave for home, and/or what will they do with all of you after transfer date? Yeah they will. That's when we have the pastors tour and the converts meeting and go to president's house and the temple :) fun week

14th Week in Chivilcoy Sur

Well this was a good week.  We worked really hard, were really obedient and diligent in it. SO I'll just go through it because it was a long week with not much out of the ordinary. 

We have a lot of investigators now. We have been teaching Martin again and he is doing great! He is super interested in everything we have to say....he just needs to be more firm on his commitments to come to church  and to be there for appointments and stuff. He is great though and if he comes to church he will be baptized on the 19th of October. We also finally had a lesson with Natalia! but then since she has kinda disappeared. She ended up being kind of weird witha really crazy story...I don't feel comfortable recounting it honestly. SO we will see what happens with her. 

We also found the brother and sister in law of Martin! They are a great family that needs to get married but are great! They just keep saying that they are looking for the truth and will do whatever to have it. Well we will give it to them!

We have been teaching Diego again and he is starting to progress well. He is coming to church, reading and praying so we are excited for him to be baptized soon. We also are teaching Bruno still and he just needs to come to church more and he will get baptized this next month. 

Gladis kind of took a turn for the worse. She still can't forgive her mom for something she did to her about 30 years ago. We just need to really help her learn about repentance and forgiveness and why it will be so important for her. But she will get baptized soon. 

Other than that nothing interesting happened this week. We just worked really hard and had a ton of plans for church but....none came. So that was really frustrating but we are continuing on working hard and knowing that this week we will see some fruits from our hard labors. :) Loving the work and love the church. It's SO true. Just ask Heavenly Father.   He will tell you that too!  Love you all and have a great week!

OH, and Court told me they are going to bless little Hallie on the 2nd of November and she wants me in the circle! haha I just cried, that made me happy :) 

Un Besito, Elder Wells

QUESTIONS:

HOw is Laura progressing?  She is doing well, she came to church.

Will you remind me of Martin's story from when you taught him a month ago? he was a golden investigator we found one Sunday night....then he never showed up for appointments and such so we lost track of him

OK NOW FOR SOME NITPICKY STUFF:

Every time you have to clean a pensh for someone, you say it was disgusting.  How is your pensh and what would I say if I had to clean it after you move out? ;) mine is great! I have learned that I don't like dirty penshes so I make sure to keep them clean

Susie said Parker told her he can buy garments at the Argentine Distribution Center for just one dollar.  Have you heard this? yeah its true but I won't be able to buy much while I'm there. They usually don't have all the sizes or fabrics either because the government doesn't let the church send much. 

Susie also said there is a problem with mold in missionary's clothes there(especially baptismal pants) because things don't dry out due to the humidity.  Is this true and have you ever had mold? no I've been fine

If you have had mold, did you know to use 3/4 cup vinegar in a regular washing machine or tub of water? didn't know that....now I do :) thanks

THIS NEXT QUESTION IS NOT NITPICKY THOUGH:

Have you seen an itineray for your flight home yet? no

Did you get your 2nd $50 bill in the mail yet? nope but I probably will Friday at the zl council

13th Week in Chivilcoy Sur

Well we had a great week here! But im almost out of time and don't have ganas to write much so its gonna be short. Sorry! 

Investigators- We are teaching Bruno and Gladis still and they are preparing to be baptized the 28th of this month! Pray for them they still have some difficulties! But they are great!

We have a new famly that invited us over for an asado yesterday and they commited themselves to go to church even before we talked to them about it. Also they gave us an asado. It was sooooo good! They have a huge family with a ton of people that could possibly get baptized. We will work hard with them. :)

We have been trying to get the signature of Laura's dad to get her baptized but he is being really difficult. We are going to fast this week for him so we are hoping for some miracles. 

We talked to Martin again that we were teaching like a month ago and we had a lesson planned for 6 on Thursday...well he pulled a no show so we were a bit disappointed with that. Nothing new. We are just trying to find some good people to teach that will progress quickly towards baptism!!! So much to do!

Other news, we travelled to 9 de Julio so I could do the baptizmal interview for the guy they are teaching Horacio. He is great just a bit older and a bit evangelist. He will be a good member though. I got a free bowler hat at the elder's house. :) Then on Saturday we helped Bragado A clean their pensh for the hermanas that came here. It was disgusting. Wednesday we had transfers and we got to go! yay it was great! just a full day of traveling and talking to old companions and such. Great day!

And yesterday President Carter came to Bragado again because of some church business and interviews and such. We got to have dinner with him at the familia Alldredge's pensh.

Great night!

Anyway thats all! I was able this week to have some great experiences through prayer and just want to share my knowledge that we have a loving Heavenly Father that knows us and our needs. We always need and want the blessings, but if we don't ask for them, we can't receive them. Just like ordering pizza :) haha love you all and have a great week!

Un Besito, Elder Wells

QUESTIONS:

Did you get an antibiotic for your nasal infection? no its gone now

How are you handling the rain and humidity? fine. its just cold, then hot, then cold, then hot, then cold again super indecisive

Are you still sleeping in your sleeping bag? yeah!

How is it holding up? its doing GREAT! :) love it

I remember when you served closer to capital, you wished you could go to the country....how do you feel about that now? I feel great about it! loving campo :)

I thought I saw that Elder Smith (Your old companion) moved to your zone, is this true and do you get to work together at all? yeah he is in my zone and I get to talk to him like every other day. great kid :)

If Elder Blackburn was a PR and left, what is Elder Nielsen's job as PR? neither of them are PR now. Elder Asay is now. He's basically a bishop but over less people. 

How is Diego progressing? haven't been able to find him.... :(

Has Gladis received her answer yet? pretty much. she said she'll get baptized but is a bit hesitant still.

What is Natalia's situation? haven't gotten to contact her.....frustrating!

Are those less actives you worked with last week still coming to church? um....I dont know who your talking about here

How does Elder Q's responsibility of DL affect you? not much. I just have to do less calls but every night instead of every other....its interesting but cool