tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46201738375794062412024-02-19T04:22:42.689-08:00Elder Travis Clemons- Resistencia, Argentina MissionAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04403707418229453170noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-75212108988168378562015-06-08T19:41:00.000-07:002015-06-12T11:49:14.211-07:00My last letter ...I'm going to miss being a missionary in Argentina!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Yup, Jonny got baptized! Super happy kid :-)</span></i></td></tr>
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Hola Familia,</div>
This is the last letter you will receive from me ...wow, so weird to write that!!! :'-(<br />
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<b>Jonny</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Us with Jonny and Vanina, his older sister!<br />Without Vanina, this wouldn't have happened.</span></i></td></tr>
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So, God works miracles through the faith and diligence of those who serve Him. And that is exactly what He did with us and Jonny. He softened the hearts of Jonny's parents who once again decided to allow him to be baptized ...which we took care of last week! :D<br />
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We decided to visit the family again last Tuesday morning to "give it one more try," and while there, had the opportunity to talk with the mom. She started out by asking us if we were going to make some invitations for Jonny's baptism. ...Um, we just kinda' sat there confused for a little bit. Hmmm, I think there might have been some type of communication problem between her and her "husband." He had said no to us the prior week, but now <u>she</u> was telling us yes. Of course, having to choose sides, we happily sided with the mom, made the invitations that very same day, and began planning the baptism.</div>
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He was probably the happiest kid on the planet as he came out of the water. He had wanted to get baptized sooo bad and for sooo long! And now he was finally able to do it. :)<br />
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Wanna know what happened earlier in the week? The day before his baptism some of his aunts and uncles where over at their home, and when they heard he was about to get baptized, they started trashing on the church and telling him all these lies about things that were going to happen to him if he went through with it. Luckily, Vanina was also there and decided she'd help him out. But he didn't need it; the little champ got up, told them all to stop bothering him about it, that he wanted to do it, that he was going to do it, and then walked out of the room. Wow!, that little kid has a testimony of the truth!! :)</div>
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The branch really supported his baptism ...like about 30 people showed up. His parents also came :D In fact, that was the first time his dad had ever set foot in the church. Hey, once you get your foot in the door (er, kinda') ...so now we will see if we can start working with the parents again. Vanina was obviously super supportive, and made a toooon of foood! She is such a good cook!!! Bah! But sadly, the missionaries were fasting; so we couldn't eat any of it. But, nicely, Vanina gave us a ton of food to eat after we ended our fast.</div>
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<b>Julieta</b></div>
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Seeing God gave us a miracle with Jonny, I am hopeful He will give us another with Julieta.</div>
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Now Julieta has thrown us into a pretty epic roller coaster. Last week, I told you guys that her mom didn't want her to go to church, nor even to meet with us again. Well, Julieta was able to take care of that one herself. Turns out, like Jonny, this was also a misscommunication: bahahaha ...the mom thought that if Julieta met with us, she would have to become a missionary and go to the United States or Uruguay or somewhere far away with us. While I'm sure her feelings were very real, it was pretty funny when she told us.</div>
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Soon after that, Julieta started progressing super fast once again. She always reads the chapters we give her, and is always waiting for us when we come for our appointments (we've visited with her nearly every day). On Friday, we passed by to verify that everything was good for her bapitsm on the 13th, and for coming to church. She was super excited.</div>
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Then the next morning we passed by again (for our next appointment), and that is when she told us that she didn't want to continue with us. She told us that she had prayed about the church, and she remembered when she had taken her Comunión (a Catholic program for younger children) and how happy she was taking it. She told us that she felt that was an answer indicating to her that she needed to remain Catholic.</div>
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Goodness, I hate situations like this. We explained that in life there are good things, better things, and excellent things. We told her that Comunión was good, and what we had to offer was even better, even excellent. We explained that the Holy Ghost testifies of truth, all truth. And that what she had learned in her youth had parts of truth, so it testified to her that it was good. We asked her to pray about the Book of Mormon, attend church, and if she felt the same way, it was the Holy Ghost telling her that this is also true. She accepted our challenge.</div>
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She decided to come to church with a very specific question in her heart about the truthfullness of the Restored Gospel. We set another appointment to come back today at 7:30. So in a few hours, we'll see if she believes or not.</div>
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But God is merciful, and a God of Miracles. If Julieta wants an answer to her prayers and continues to search, I am confident the Lord will grant an answer to her.</div>
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But if not, and she continues to seek Him, I am confident that at some point, she will find Him.</div>
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If we missionaries do our part, we can have the peace of mind of knowing that our contribution is accepted of the Lord, and we do not need to be discouraged. I can promise you that I will work to the very last moment of the mission. If Julieta gets baptized this coming week, that's great. But if not, the Elders that come after us will finish the work :)</div>
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I can proudly say that I have served my missoin honorably, that God allowed me to experience much success, and that I loved every minute of it.</div>
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I'm going to miss being a missionary in Argentina.</div>
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Nothing else really happened this week. I went on exchanges with Elder Casilla this week. He is from Bolivia, and is the only member of his family. He speaks Quechua, super tight! He is a good, shy Elder. Me cae bien! We had a lots of fun and tons of success. While we only contected 6 people, 4 of them allowed us to teach them a lesson. That's something I'm just not used to ...probably because I have always served in the downtown areas of my cities my entire mission, haha. I sure had a good time with him ...we learned a lot from each other.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Found a frog in my bed</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am totally lost<br />But, um, who wouldn't be!</span></i></td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This is Elder Casilla's Bible,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> it's in the indian language Quecha</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(something like that anyway)</span></i></div>
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God lives. The Book of Mormon is true, and everything that follows is true. Christ will help us in any situation, in every moment, if we just humble ourselves and seek His guidance.</div>
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See you soon!</div>
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Elder Clemóns <br />
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Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-2235847289096553672015-06-01T16:28:00.000-07:002015-06-07T16:45:51.560-07:00...I didn't recognize almost anyone :-(<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Me, Elder Galido, Elder Naumann, y Elder Walker will all finish together :-)</i></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXRwRc_0Y1GI8YkQUyouHIJmY-mYijs2ABC7XNGaKPT0fhKGnW7kgufwb3xLOPK4VowkuMjQxXIAkcVa_y8h-CPwRCy74d2iFEEUnlkxZrjZBHSqkILPhqpqCvPNxmd3uOVZrwWQThAc/s1600/P5280031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXRwRc_0Y1GI8YkQUyouHIJmY-mYijs2ABC7XNGaKPT0fhKGnW7kgufwb3xLOPK4VowkuMjQxXIAkcVa_y8h-CPwRCy74d2iFEEUnlkxZrjZBHSqkILPhqpqCvPNxmd3uOVZrwWQThAc/s400/P5280031.JPG" width="400" /></a>Hey, so this week was kinda' uneventful ...especially considering that I just wrote you on Wed.<br />
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But on Thursday we did have a multi-zone conference, which included both the Santa Fe and Chaco zones. As always, it was super uplifting. Pres. Franco talked about the Spirit and how He can help us in our missionary work. It really motivated us, like amped us up. I was so inspired, I just wanted to go right out and do the work after that.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzp_Y_7t2_zZFG6rGzpO3lJNIc-fmKkkj-0RvpGYNdxZW6eLpK_-A-g0VTuvQPRtU1B5UF9QhOtz2H4fPt22tfd7nSkASUiUNmf3gLZCJilRk-q4rzVIkArNF6JwkimeQ0COy6qXrfAM/s1600/P5280035.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzp_Y_7t2_zZFG6rGzpO3lJNIc-fmKkkj-0RvpGYNdxZW6eLpK_-A-g0VTuvQPRtU1B5UF9QhOtz2H4fPt22tfd7nSkASUiUNmf3gLZCJilRk-q4rzVIkArNF6JwkimeQ0COy6qXrfAM/s400/P5280035.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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After Pres. Franco, the assistants trained us on how to use the agenda ...um, I guess that was good, haha. <br />
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But the funnest part was after ...just being able to chat with all my mission friends. Wow, that's when I realized that most of them have already gone home; the mission has changed soooo much from when I first got here ...almost all of the faces are new now; I don't recognize almost anyone. <br />
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After the meeting, we all went to Subway for sandwiches, then headed back home. Elder Caceres and I got back to our apartment around 10:00. Hey, I love traveling now because all you do is just chat with everyone on the bus and tell stories. One thing's for sure, serving a mission sure teaches you how to talk to people. You learn to talk about just anything.<br />
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<b>Jonny</b><br />
So about Jonny and Julieta, hrrrrmmmm. I don't know what happened, but out of nowhere Jonny's dad said he couldn't get baptized -- even though he'd already signed the permission slip. So we don't quite know what to do right now. We might try to postpone the baptism until next Saturday, the 13th. Jonny still came to church and all, but we haven't been able to sit down and talk with the dad yet. I suspect he might be a bit scared of us; he knows if he talks to us, we'll probably convince him. Which isn't really all that hard ...hey, if your son joins the church, he'll become a better son, and a better future husband and father. And he'll try harder in school to reach his full potential. At this point, we are passing by daily to find the father home.<br />
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<b>Julieta</b><br />
And Julieta, her mom doesn't really like that she is learning about the church. She's scared Julieta away from being baptized, and Julieta didn't come to church last Sunday either. Which is confusing to me, because Julieta didn't believe in God before, and never in her life attended a Catholic church mass. And now that she's wanting to learn more about her Father in Heaven, and attend church, her mom chases her away from it. :P Doesn't make sense to me, but we'll see what we can do. We've talked with the mom a couple of times, but have never really had an extensive conversation or even lesson with her. We have an appointment today at 7, so we'll see what miracles God can perform for us today. :)<br />
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<b>PDay</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpf9TEYIU21o9k01LH70_yhpr0EiLXTyhIOfzyw8ZY4TmAerav-yp2GUObRnmKGddbvLx_sCEB9E-jG3v86u8I0W8i_TIp6Rs4al6twd1-83IRKYPFe7tguyudl5ZrV4EvR79iG1odV7I/s1600/P6010348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpf9TEYIU21o9k01LH70_yhpr0EiLXTyhIOfzyw8ZY4TmAerav-yp2GUObRnmKGddbvLx_sCEB9E-jG3v86u8I0W8i_TIp6Rs4al6twd1-83IRKYPFe7tguyudl5ZrV4EvR79iG1odV7I/s200/P6010348.JPG" /></a>So for Pday we played some good old basketball. It was my district against the Zone Leader's district. We beat em 2-0. Yay! :) It felt like some good old church ball back when I was in Young Mens ...a little bit of shouting, pushing, shoving, good 'ol uplifting basketball. It was awesome. I rocked with some hot pink socks I bought with Elder Naumann on exchanges last week. I think they really helped me to play well! :D Ya, ok...<br />
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I love the mission. Kinda' sad that it will soon be coming to an end. But the end is still far away ...and I have work to do :-)<br />
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Love You!! <br />
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Elder Clemons<br />
<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-51287101477154702132015-05-27T20:00:00.000-07:002015-05-31T21:26:00.233-07:00#thereisstillworktodo<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PqWOf3Bs3w88UfWBCJx1LCOAQMcC79AptpwmlPK9Hlyo7CbXlL7d8VmrrrRtrUfImpQlsi7hQHwfzYWX1368m31m_mkxxvv3AIJReZxaUUxDNuv5PhRZIj7aDRAl02GwXiUG1xlTSNU/s1600/P5260320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PqWOf3Bs3w88UfWBCJx1LCOAQMcC79AptpwmlPK9Hlyo7CbXlL7d8VmrrrRtrUfImpQlsi7hQHwfzYWX1368m31m_mkxxvv3AIJReZxaUUxDNuv5PhRZIj7aDRAl02GwXiUG1xlTSNU/s320/P5260320.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Group selfie :-)</i></span></td></tr>
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We had a good week!!<br />
<br />
After months of hard work, we have finally been able to make some solid success. It's been tough!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Jonny</b><br />
For some odd reason, the parents of Jonny really didn't want to continue talking with us ...and didn't want Jonny to get baptized. So we sought help from his sister Vanina, who will soon be leaving on a mission. We got her to practice a bit with us, then sent her off to convince her parents to give Jonny permission. We don't know what happened, but with prayers and a bit of faith in the Lord (for a good cause), she was able to convince the parents and got their signature giving Jonny permission to be baptized!!! :D So as of now, we are planning a baptism for June 6th :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Another miracle</b><br />
On Friday, as we were endlessly contacting everyone we could find, we found this 18 year-old girl named Julieta. She was baptized Catholic, but has never attended church, nor comunión. She is super interested and super prepared. We taught her the "Restoration" discussion on Friday, the "Sabbath Day" on Saturday, and then SHE CAME TO CHURCH ALL 3 HOURS on Sunday. On Monday, we taught her the "Plan of Salvation" and she accepted a date to be baptized the 13th of June!!! How miraculous is that!??!<br />
<br />
<br />
I don't believe that has happened to me on my entire mission. She is just so prepared!! And in a very real sense, I suspect the Lord sent us on missions to find those who were already receptive to His voice. Our next appointment with her is Thursday ...but we can't be there because we have to go up to Resistencia for a Zone meeting. But we've luckily been able to arrange with the Familia Micheli to visit her and teach her the lesson!!! #evermemberamissionary !!!!!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
SO PLEASE PRAY FOR THESE 2 SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE THEIR DATES!!! :D<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAbqxTwWkzNZNkK7aYA5CngEQY6bceEcCyMYJHlykQjXqf1fXeMEzm6YJ_Mw_KaKxabRPhXWtBuIwLQX5hfK37ZIF8s9TQndVG76qwYZcJC9vhdX9ldIMBvhS_T6ZBgF5pJTWSUleHaY/s1600/P5260336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAbqxTwWkzNZNkK7aYA5CngEQY6bceEcCyMYJHlykQjXqf1fXeMEzm6YJ_Mw_KaKxabRPhXWtBuIwLQX5hfK37ZIF8s9TQndVG76qwYZcJC9vhdX9ldIMBvhS_T6ZBgF5pJTWSUleHaY/s320/P5260336.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Holy cats!! Nicest bus EVER !!!</i></span></td></tr>
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<b>An eventful week</b> <br />
Besides the missionary work, our week was also super full of other
stuff. Yesterday, Elder Caceres had to go up to Corrientes to do some
visa work, and I went up with him. (This is why I couldn't write to you
guys on Monday or Tuesday. Don't worry mom, I am not dead ...but you
should have seen what Elder Caceres' mom did hahaha). We got up at 2:00
am and went to Corrientes. While waiting in the immigrations office, we
met a gringa! Her name is Allison. She is from Georgia and
came down here to "teach English and be a missionary" ...but they both
fell through. And now she's just chillin' out for a while, haha. She's a
Baptist. We had plenty of opportunity to teach her the Restoration
discussion ...and a bunch of other things. We literally had like 5 hours
to talk, so we talked about everything from school to life to churches.
She was super open, and intelligent, and really funny. I ended up giving her a Book of Mormon in Spanish ('cause
that's all I had). <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnCtz7u9GClwWLDHDEpWWOcdEpU_eww9GSFhMNeEVDGvI2H4SJJIq14_yxGKd71F_EbYIFD_kHL8rjAXJfKjxE3C0SfgeEUsii6x9hKBN9u-eh5R7UEL-WNWOoypRLha3U_dbsJau75c/s1600/P5260337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnCtz7u9GClwWLDHDEpWWOcdEpU_eww9GSFhMNeEVDGvI2H4SJJIq14_yxGKd71F_EbYIFD_kHL8rjAXJfKjxE3C0SfgeEUsii6x9hKBN9u-eh5R7UEL-WNWOoypRLha3U_dbsJau75c/s320/P5260337.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Wow, they even fed us breakfast. Check out this awesome meal!!</i></span></td></tr>
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We finished visa stuff and went back to Resistencia around 4:00p to eat
lunch. We ate some pizzas that the office bought. Everyone was given 4
slices, but very few finished them all. I ate 3 ...and my companion ate 7
hahaha. But somehow he stays skinny. :p We then left Resistencia around
6:30 on the nicest bus I have ever been on. I was literally in shock
...wow, soooo nice!!! We couldn't really sleep because they were
blasting a movie called "Olypus has Fallen." Hey, since you can't really
avoid it, just make the best of your opportunities and watch. SOOOO
COOL!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
It is super weird that my mission is coming to a close :-( :-(<br />
<br />
...but I am convinced that there is still work to do and people waiting to hear the gospel! I promise I'll work to the last minute! :D<br />
<br />
Love you all!!<br />
<br />
Elder Clemons<br />
<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-27347723305144562922015-05-18T09:33:00.000-07:002017-12-29T13:16:56.023-08:00A sacred, holy experience...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRgX6SnZJMN163ukUZq2gNQYixM_dRvFutFXmwfdXHskG0Uk4iUSgioBu-ekG9z_F8-IloKXjucTfb309u7lSQyJk_XOB7nQ8EuW8vkZR6EwWdaAPn7o_eJyPEkrp6cA_CrjNvDgwdio/s1600/A+New+Watch%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRgX6SnZJMN163ukUZq2gNQYixM_dRvFutFXmwfdXHskG0Uk4iUSgioBu-ekG9z_F8-IloKXjucTfb309u7lSQyJk_XOB7nQ8EuW8vkZR6EwWdaAPn7o_eJyPEkrp6cA_CrjNvDgwdio/s640/A+New+Watch%2521.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>There are these sweet black guys that sell watches in the plazas,
</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><br />they speak Spanish, French, and their tribal African language. </i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><br />Super
tight. The watches are pretty nice and costed very little.</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>And since I broke my watch like forever ago, I decided to buy a new one :D</i></span></td></tr>
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Hello Familia!!!<br />
<br />
Alright, this semana was super successful para nosotros! We worked hard!! And ya, The Lord really blessed us this week!<br />
<br />
We have made lots of progress with Jonny and his family. We have been working with Jonny through his sister Vanina, who is essentially teaching him everything, and we just pass by to verify. It is working really well.<br />
<br />
On Tuesday, we taught the whole family about the Sabbath day. It was super calm, and you could tell they really understood it. And we applied everything we taught completely to the family, because that's what they care about the most (awesome!). We encouraged them to go to the Cultural Activity for the Córdoba Temple -- which the mom came to! -- so that was a huge step forward!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifX8f8Lj6h3o6axKrnpD9COmx4K1hpMcZFrKArGNqAQHaI8LthsDmdnoVgjBdxNPJvhP3ZHVmjQLnoOhNEgRr0ZQBq7LTyk-NYhEqeFu3HuFMNLDa6cUHQDwMBoSS1uiC_DCGD-Qewco0/s1600/P5130288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="auto" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifX8f8Lj6h3o6axKrnpD9COmx4K1hpMcZFrKArGNqAQHaI8LthsDmdnoVgjBdxNPJvhP3ZHVmjQLnoOhNEgRr0ZQBq7LTyk-NYhEqeFu3HuFMNLDa6cUHQDwMBoSS1uiC_DCGD-Qewco0/s320/P5130288.JPG" width="340" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>I made some sweet tacos the other day!</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Z-pJ5_BOcRlhXN9LBUeMwY3sgmcKX7UcHF-zRBUSUN-SEIW7gXbiZ2ZPgRLBrH5o-O-Tu17oiz9lmhA_YVbpuiy4eQ0-Qw-Oqt2PKEZnlUZjkfVvVP6lFRkDniuPiZasWnR9zEuAGXg/s1600/P5130285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="auto" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Z-pJ5_BOcRlhXN9LBUeMwY3sgmcKX7UcHF-zRBUSUN-SEIW7gXbiZ2ZPgRLBrH5o-O-Tu17oiz9lmhA_YVbpuiy4eQ0-Qw-Oqt2PKEZnlUZjkfVvVP6lFRkDniuPiZasWnR9zEuAGXg/s320/P5130285.JPG" width="340" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Then on Thursday my companion, Elder Caceres, and Elder Gonzalez (another elder from our district) went over and taught them lesson 3, about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to receive permission from the parents to baptize Jonny. Unfortunately, I wasn't there 'cause I was doing exchanges with Elder de Avellaneda. But my son (Elder Caceres) did some seriously great work! And they were able to receive permission for Jonny's baptism! :D The kid wants to be baptized sooo bad that I know he'll keep progressing to make that happen. He is such a happy little guy, and is always playing with his Hot Wheels cars or with marbles; we like to play with him a little bit before each lesson. I am certain that with the help of Vanina, he'll be baptized on the 6th of June! Please pray that the father's heart will remain soft so that he will go through with his word that he gave us.<br />
<br />
<br />
My exchange with Elder Avellandeda was super fun. I went with Elder Bingham to his area. He's been out in the mission field a long time, like me. And we already knew each other, so it was pretty chill. Elder Bingham is a funny guy. I love how he contacts people ...always interesting and funny. I went to their area to give an interview for one of their baptismal candidates named Agustin ...such a good kid. Passed with flying colors. At the end of the night, Elder Bingham and I bought 30 empanadas; ooooo they where so good.<br />
<br />
<br />
But the highlight of the week was easily the dedication of the Córdoba temple. I was extremely blessed to have been able to participate in this incredible event for Argentina. Last Saturday night was the cultural activity. We missed the first half because we were looking for investigators to bring to it. Thankfully the Lord blessed us, and we were able to bring Vanina's mom, who loved it. :D So we did catch the 2nd half. It was really nice and to watch the faithful Argentine youth celebrate their new temple. There were dances and songs from every providence and state displaying to the world their culture. It was really nice.<br />
<br />
The next day, Sunday, was the temple dedication. I was able to participate in all 3 sessiones. I loved it. You could feel this "higher power" present in the temple. Now, we weren't physically in the temple, but the chapel we were in was "transformed" into an extension of the temple. And we watched the dedication on a giant screen. The power and spirit of the temple was easily noticeable to all in attendance. We had to be an hour early, and we couldn't talk as we waited. This was a perfect opportunity to ponder about my mission and the significance of the temple. Man, how I miss being in the temple!! As we waited, pictures of temples from around the world, both inside and outside, would move across the screen. Being in this environment, in complete silence, in perfect meditation with God, made it so easy for me to receive a strengthened testimony that this is the House of the Lord. Temples are so beautiful. The temple is where He walks and where His presence is felt.<br />
<br />
There was one part that I just loved. Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Christofferson went outside to set the last stone (I forgot what it is called in English), and after they had each done their part, they invited some kids to come up and participate. It was really special to see. About 5 little boys and 5 little girls, each about 3-5 years of age, ran up to "set the stone." This reminded me of the part in the BoM when Jesus takes the kids and blesses them. They are so pure and loving; much closer to Christ than we are as adults. It was so cute to see all these happy smiling little kids run up to the apostles to help them in placing the stone. Children are clearly of the Kingdom of God.<br />
<br />
I felt the spirit the strongest at the beginning of the dedicational prayer of the first session. It was read in English, and then translated into Spanish. The spirit overcome me when Pres. Uchtdorf began to speak. His prayer was incredible. The words were definitely revelation and came straight from the spirit. You could just feel the spirit of unity in the chapel, and I'm sure amongst all the saints of Argentina. These brothers and sisters have worked so hard and for so long for their temple, and just to be there, united in prayer with them, was such a privilege.<br />
<br />
I know the temple is where families can be sealed for eternity. I am grateful that I was sealed to mine. This temple dedication increased my love for you guys, my family, and my gratitude for your faithfulness. I love you and miss you so much. Thank you for your example to me my whole life. I understand so much better now how blessed and lucky I was to have parents like you. Love you so much!<br />
<br />
<br />
Elder Clemons <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1PTSAZZNCF7yMb2XoN2IrhkDm-MioESxPPrVCiuGm46Re-TL8ijaO26UdalDT6g0DDO_iVUZFIsob7Br4YdGaW6an65W6lhp7WeJ8du8bAuNLTMdwPoSjJFy-M1JqHhy7W_3ozzakT0/s1600/Talk+to+the+Hand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1PTSAZZNCF7yMb2XoN2IrhkDm-MioESxPPrVCiuGm46Re-TL8ijaO26UdalDT6g0DDO_iVUZFIsob7Br4YdGaW6an65W6lhp7WeJ8du8bAuNLTMdwPoSjJFy-M1JqHhy7W_3ozzakT0/s400/Talk+to+the+Hand.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Talk to the hand</i></span>...<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Brother Micheli has got some sick gear!! This is his helmet and gloves. </i></span></td></tr>
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Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-14172903957856981602015-05-11T22:34:00.000-07:002015-05-15T22:57:37.669-07:00Holiness to the Lord - The House of the LordMother's Day<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0nw5fvsFtW3S2UWZwlRfKYXMEJ66lxoFNZqSSlrqQVw7QqmssPh0DlGBR59qpaoseDXqVAI2yd8pN5c-wvcuyBO7YVLrJzhrNjzXT5vdQ0-K8WCudyMLAZcwYNerceRY8O6WvIQxZWs/s1600/Skyping+Home+-+Mother's+Day+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0nw5fvsFtW3S2UWZwlRfKYXMEJ66lxoFNZqSSlrqQVw7QqmssPh0DlGBR59qpaoseDXqVAI2yd8pN5c-wvcuyBO7YVLrJzhrNjzXT5vdQ0-K8WCudyMLAZcwYNerceRY8O6WvIQxZWs/s640/Skyping+Home+-+Mother's%2BDay%2B3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Skyping home on Mother's Day...</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I loved being able to see you guys yesterday! Everyone look so good and happy! I love you all so much and can't wait to see you soon! You mean everything to me. I have learned so much about the importance of the family. I love you all and am so grateful for all that you do.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgTDRb-i9bbbCOkvgetYMn6SRD-hURIQiAVVXtDA5P9r4t-71wr0ZKn3ZWHijcvhXs_WUpb5sqVuJQwfaRSk9CWfOtHP_7dNHabSuKTe9kDnBKkmbEDA6y6gMl388KrOty0Ln4pZq_bg/s1600/P5110284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgTDRb-i9bbbCOkvgetYMn6SRD-hURIQiAVVXtDA5P9r4t-71wr0ZKn3ZWHijcvhXs_WUpb5sqVuJQwfaRSk9CWfOtHP_7dNHabSuKTe9kDnBKkmbEDA6y6gMl388KrOty0Ln4pZq_bg/s400/P5110284.JPG" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>This is a River Soccer jersey shirt that a member bought for me!<br />Super funny because I am a fan of the rival Boca team ...haha :-)</i></span></td></tr>
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So, I feel like God is trying me to the very end of the mission. We had huuuuge potential for lots of our investigatores coming to church this week (we even had members lined up to go pick them up and all), ...but then it rained. :p And when it rains, no one goes to church. :p So we took a big hit.<br />
<br />
Time is my enemy at this point. We have only 3 Sundays left in which we can bring people to church so that they can be baptized the 13th of June, just before my time in the mission is over :-(<br />
<br />
And this coming Sunday is going to be a very special Sabbath. It's the DEDICATION OF THE NEW CORDOBA TEMPLE!!! And all the missionaries get to participate!!! I am so excited to be a part of this! It's really a blessing to be serving the Lord at a time when a new temple is to be dedicated! This is a rare opportunity!! This is also a huge milestone for Argentina as they will now have 2 operating temples in the country. God bless Argentina!<br />
<br />
And it seems like Argentina is actually making some spiritual progress. Seems they
just passed a law that will also take effect this coming Sunday that certain businesses aren't
required to operate on Sundays. Argentina is actually going to partially keep the Sabbath Day!
How cool is that! :D <br />
<br />
<br />
But for me, this will also be a little bit of a sad day. You see, due to the temple dedication, we aren't allowed to bring investigatores to church. In order to participate in the actual temple dedication, they are going to extend the sacredness and sanctity of the Temple into the local chapels ...and you'll have to be a member with a current temple recommend to be able to enter the church. So I'm seeing my Sunday options for investigatores dwindling even further. :P <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtoQoEctT67J-zDG299vQdl4xSqCwFHSO0GJgOtgV7ozMNqUvCG_vhZyYDzQUZnFk8L864bvfc6n22NP5FPeNU_rhNxoNOnCnvLj0zDxQGWtOwQO66voF6u17_U-r7CZvE7mS6mGo9FE/s1600/P5110281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtoQoEctT67J-zDG299vQdl4xSqCwFHSO0GJgOtgV7ozMNqUvCG_vhZyYDzQUZnFk8L864bvfc6n22NP5FPeNU_rhNxoNOnCnvLj0zDxQGWtOwQO66voF6u17_U-r7CZvE7mS6mGo9FE/s400/P5110281.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Our Goya Zone shirts.<br />I scalded my head with some hot water :-(</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So about our investigatores. We made good progress this week. On Friday, we visited with the Romero Family and gave them the Charla Franco, explaining that if they don't read and pray about the things we are teaching them, that we won't be able to visit them as often. The next day, Saturday, we visited with them again, and they had started reading the scriptures! :D Woot!<br />
<br />
We then made plans for a member to drop by and pick them up for church. (What I mean by "drop by and pick them up" is "clap their house and walk with them to church.") But as I already sadly mentioned, it rained, and where they live it is impossible to enter or leave when it rains. So, we've set up another appointment with them for today, and we'll once again ask a member to go with them to church on the Sunday after the dedication.<br />
<br />
We've decided to focus our attention on Ori, the Romero's 14 year-old daughter. She is expressing the most interest in the Restored Gospel and seems to have a genuine desire to come to Christ. So our goal will be for Ori to get baptized on the 13th of June! <br />
<br />
<br />
We were not able to meet with Vanina's family at all this whole week. We passed by their home like 14 times, but never got a chance to hook up with them. You'll recall from last week's letter that Vanina is a member of the church who is preparing to leave on a mission soon. She and her brother are members. But her mom, dad, and one other brother are not. The good news is that the mom and brother (Jonny) have already gone to church once. But of course, they missed yesterday because of the rain. Turns out Jonny has actually already gone to church like 7 times; he often attends with Vanina. All we need at this point is his parents' permission for him to get baptized. <br />
<br />
<br />
So please pray for both of these families ...that the Word of God will touch their hearts, that they will have a desire to come unto Christ, that they will have the strength to keep their commitments, and that they will be able to be baptized on the 13th. <br />
<br />
<br />
Don't worry about me. I love the mission, and I love what I do. We are working incredible hard, probably harder than I have worked my entire mission. My companion and I both want to baptize new members into the Lord's Kingdom, and are working extremal hard to do so.<br />
<br />
Of course, true success is found in your dedication to the work, not in particular achievements.<br />
<br />
I love the mission, and love what I do. See you soon!<br />
<br />
Elder Clemons<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9WehTYWg3APcOzjCxG7G9iyMWSNHXLT-xvxnIHRs6K6A6c1jAn7LXWJ8PDP8_lZCuzwDdJp1ZDvpTgC9wif_cRe4MBz0gP-CvdCelS58Hd_xTdXyQKJcHk9wy2dAjlBjFLyCRrBJPc0/s1600/P5110283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9WehTYWg3APcOzjCxG7G9iyMWSNHXLT-xvxnIHRs6K6A6c1jAn7LXWJ8PDP8_lZCuzwDdJp1ZDvpTgC9wif_cRe4MBz0gP-CvdCelS58Hd_xTdXyQKJcHk9wy2dAjlBjFLyCRrBJPc0/s640/P5110283.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>We finally received the Zone Shirts we designed while I was in Goya! Sweetness!! :D </i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-59119336908288131782015-05-05T21:50:00.000-07:002015-05-12T22:08:25.750-07:00Tender mercies<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWATuLHi93UR5_PzYTkInIqxiG-k20Uebw838BVuFsmKF1UEt4g8tX47FnGcN7SN7rASmqu-_jOtdsEesLapmh9Sw9qEH38VP10gvK9soO8hv_n8FK-dcHZjXWoGuys60yChf6DyToXS0/s1600/New+Suits+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWATuLHi93UR5_PzYTkInIqxiG-k20Uebw838BVuFsmKF1UEt4g8tX47FnGcN7SN7rASmqu-_jOtdsEesLapmh9Sw9qEH38VP10gvK9soO8hv_n8FK-dcHZjXWoGuys60yChf6DyToXS0/s640/New+Suits+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>My companion and I bought some new suits for $180. Pretty good quality, and very inexpensive!! :D</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Just FYI, this week was transfers. But nothing changed in the entire zone ...except my district received another pair of missionaries. I am still the District Leader.<br />
<br />
So after 6 long weeks without assistants (editor: investigators) at church, we finally had 2!!!! Vanina's family (the Romeros). Vanina is a young member who will soon be going on a mission. Her family aren't members yet, so we have been working hard with them to get them to go to church.<br />
<br />
We had a super powerful lesson with them on Friday. We went with Vanina and taught lesson one -- The Restoration -- which went very smoothly. We felt impressed to also focus this lesson on the family. As we did so, the mom, Sandra, kinda' opened up and talked about some hard childhood experiences she has had and how her family has been affected. We then testified about how Christ came to suffer those very pains, and that He is the one that can help us overcome them. Luckily, Vanina had her computer, so we were able to show the video "He lives." Now I have seen this video well over 50 times, but watching it in this environment, with these people, was completely different. The spirit was undeniably present and overwhelmingly powerful. I immediately felt God's love and comfort enter the room, and I could sense that Sandra did as well. We bore powerful testimony after the video that God loves her and that Christ is her Savior. All we need to do is ask for our Heavenly Father's help.<br />
<br />
It was a very touching, simple moment. I often feel that the simple moments in life are the most spiritual, as was this one. The video, combined with our testimonies and the testimony of Vanina, was enough to get Sandra and her son to go to church ...even in the rain. Now that's what I call a miracle and tender mercy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsdOrGlsuzl0cyqIAw9Tydyo6nPL8IJTcND1hPPFI_wajkp1fEQVFcjnfsdP5sjngDwT9KSjGGLPCcws0RaQ2OO2VKOBM_wY7zVxHfYh9EvnrrRLGWQPc6qrbc712EByppCv1LQnruOc/s1600/New+Suits+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsdOrGlsuzl0cyqIAw9Tydyo6nPL8IJTcND1hPPFI_wajkp1fEQVFcjnfsdP5sjngDwT9KSjGGLPCcws0RaQ2OO2VKOBM_wY7zVxHfYh9EvnrrRLGWQPc6qrbc712EByppCv1LQnruOc/s640/New+Suits+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Now there's two hansome missionaries!!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We also had another incredible lesson with the Romero family. They are a family of 5. The mom Lorena, son Gaston, daughter Luz with her boyfriend Juan, and the youngest daughter Oriana. The kids have different schedules from the mom, so we teach the mom separately, and sometimes even share different messages with her based on her needs.<br />
<br />
The lesson we had with the kids was on prayer, and we brought their cousin Aldana (who is a member) with us. They love it when we come over and everything, but they haven't taken the initiative to actually pray! On the other hand, they do read the scriptures that we ask them to read; so that's good. The last time we visited them, we really wanted to emphasize the power of prayer. So we read with them the Book of Enos and used it to testify that God will answer prayers ...of course, you have to put in some genuine time and real effort. We then shared Moroni 10:3-5 to show them what God expects us to do before we can receive answers to our prayers. I then shared with them a personal experience I had had about receiving a real answer about leaving on my mission, and Aldana shared an experience about how she came to know the Church was true. (I don't know why, but I feel like the testimonies of members are always more powerful than ours ...like they're more simple, pure, and personal.) Aldana bore a tender testimony that really touched everyone in the room. I think the lesson was a great success, and really helped the Romero kids understand the importance of prayer and the reality of a loving, personal, and attentive Father in Heaven.<br />
<br />
On Saturday we taught the mom the Word of Wisdom. Kind of a tough lesson since she smokes about 10 cigarettes a day. Her situation is a little different than most of our investigators: she reads the scriptures and pamphlets consistently, and she already knows the church is true. But she hasn't gone to church (we're hoping next week she'll go, si o si!!!), and of course she smokes. So on our last visit with her, we explained that everything we teach her is to help her family. Thar our purpose as missionaries throughout the world was to bring whole families to Christ, and that sometimes things in our lives prevent us from doing that. She took it really well and admitted that she always knew smoking was bad; she'd just never taken the initiative to try to stop. So we encouraged and helped her to create a plan to do so ...her goal is to stop smoking by June 6.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the family wasn't able to make it to church because it rained all through the night :-( :-( And it's especially hard for them to get to church because they live in a pure dirt area of the city, and when it rains it's super muddy. So now we're hoping for NEXT WEEK!<br />
<br />
Please pray for these 2 families. Pray that they will receive and recognize the answers to their prayers strong enough that the experience encourages them to accept and live the commandments. It's sad that I've only got 6 weeks left ...please pray that they get baptized before then!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLiK-6PDwy1fg14CkAMRp10GF-dOnFs3rQacmtC55560lR-7i1hrpiR7xe74tULoU5G77RVu87SX4nPfHTKzxIoeb-F4_q58h36MHVRlmYQPLi_BLbebK7oolNJxvoNrLzejzFoBLjGM/s1600/The+Micheli's+are+boss!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLiK-6PDwy1fg14CkAMRp10GF-dOnFs3rQacmtC55560lR-7i1hrpiR7xe74tULoU5G77RVu87SX4nPfHTKzxIoeb-F4_q58h36MHVRlmYQPLi_BLbebK7oolNJxvoNrLzejzFoBLjGM/s640/The+Micheli's%2Bare%2Bboss!.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>The Micheli family is totally boss!!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
Today's p-day was a lot of fun! The zone
got together, and we played some good old basketball! We haven't played
in a looooong time ...well, I haven't por lo menos (editor: "at least"). We decided to play District against District. My District against the Zone Leader's
district. And yup, we won both games! Of course, we all played like crap (keep in mind that as missionaries we haven't played real basketball in nearly 2 years; so
we were all super bad). But igual, it was fun. Wow, I sweated so much; but
winning made it all worth while. We played for about two hours, at which point we were pretty much dead. A super good p-day!</div>
<span><span style="color: #666666;"></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
So here's a little tender mercy that happened to me this week. It was so simple, but it still just makes me smile to know that God is always near, and it was clear evidence that He works though many small and simple means. It was Saturday night, and my companion and I were in a grocery store grabbing a couple things to eat for Sunday (because obviously you can't shop on Sunday). I grabbed a few things -- bananas, oatmeal, milk -- and waited in the cash-register line to pay. When I got to the front, lo and behold, I had forgotten my credit card and was unable to buy any food! All I had in my pocket was about 30 pesos in cash. So I bought what I could with that (which turned out to be just the plain oatmeal), and walked out of the store back to our apartment. Suddenly, we heard from behind us, "Elder!! ¿Como va a comer avena sin leche?" (editor: "How are you going to eat oatmeal without milk?). This random guy ran up to me and gave me the milk I wasn't able to buy. What a sweet, simple act of kindness. I had never met him before. But he had noticed that I wasn't able to buy the milk, and
so out of the kindness of his heart, he bought it for me ...and chased me
down just to give it to me. It's just a simple testimony to me that God is
always aware of his children and is always sending us simple messages
saying that He is there and cares for us.<br />
<br />
<br />
I know God lives and I know He loves us. The more we look for Him, the more we'll notice Him in our lives ...the more He answers our prayers with tender mercies.<br />
<br />
I love the mission and love what I do!<br />
<br />
LOVE YOU!!!<br />
<br /><br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-194022345796981622015-04-27T21:12:00.000-07:002015-05-03T21:16:30.980-07:00I have seen, heard, and shaken the hand of a true ApostleI really don't know where to begin. Such a good week!<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, we lost a lot of investigatores, but we finally found a
family -- the Romeros -- that is listening to us. A family! We've taught
them about 4 times now. The parents are married, and they have 4 kids.
They like what we teach and everything, but they live super far from the
church :p So that is the hard part; we now have to get them to go to
church. :p<br />
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</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Tender Mercies</b> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Tender Mercies bag</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We had 2 tender mercies happen to us yesterday and today. Because of the visit of Elder Oaks, the office has basically stopped fulfilling its normal responsibilities and is preparing for his visit. So because of this we haven't been reimbursed for all of the church expenses we pay with our personal money. And so, we're broke ...hard core broke. I have at this moment $4 pesos in my pocket :-( So we have been trying to ration ourselves on rice this week ...and we've been starving as a result.<br />
<br />
But last night we went to visit a member to ask for some references, and obviously seeing the hunger in our eyes, she gave us a cake and some media lunas (bread things). We ate everything ...literally everything (I think we may have eaten the plastic bag). It was a feast of pure joy. I was really happy. <br />
<br />
And then today, out of nowhere a member sent us a message saying that she was outside of our apartment. When we opened the door, she had a giant bag full of food!!! FOOD!!! I was so happy! It had milanesas, a bag of cookies, fruits, potatoes, etc. The Lord understands :) We have been so hungry this week!<br />
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</div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Apostle Dallin H Oaks</b><br />
So now the best part......ELDER OAKS CAME TO VISIT US THIS WEEK!!!! BAHHH!!! The entire mission came together for this unique opportunity. It was incredible! Sooo spiritual ...and also hilarious; he's a funny guy! <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GPwr45dVQlrv-UHYGX4s7PzW9CT-EY_bOfUAO03CkE6qYDkpaoc6oSbg-BNENM32F5_8S6fL6AC3LmkzJD7DtL7uar_K_546gh7ZSr4NTERDlmxO2YgdFPBHJkfEijNjYSmr0dRon6I/s1600/Elders+Sibaja+&+De+La+Pe%C3%B1a+-+Viva+La+Mexico!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GPwr45dVQlrv-UHYGX4s7PzW9CT-EY_bOfUAO03CkE6qYDkpaoc6oSbg-BNENM32F5_8S6fL6AC3LmkzJD7DtL7uar_K_546gh7ZSr4NTERDlmxO2YgdFPBHJkfEijNjYSmr0dRon6I/s1600/Elders+Sibaja+&+De+La+Pe%C3%B1a+-+Viva+La+Mexico!.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>I've still got a part of my heart in Mexico from the beginning<br />of my mission. Elder Sibaja (left) and Elder De La Peña.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As he started out his talk, he was telling us about his wife, Kristen, and how she was a single adult for a long time. He was like "Now when we got married, Kristen was a single adult...she was an OLD single adult ...she was a VERY OLD single adult." Just the <b>way</b> he said it was hilarious, haha. She was like 50 something when they got married.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEgS9ksYXC94jGXkRaB4ZXNd2W2IhgWg8Iiv1EEYhpd4gIfIoKqweS4iq-Ml5yyk3Y8scQYVQxSqnl3oeJD2BAvnj3_RWEYDK7tXQeLeumhZz2e8hZcG38LANapV32B4MDaMGRknr7b9o/s1600/My+2+sons!!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEgS9ksYXC94jGXkRaB4ZXNd2W2IhgWg8Iiv1EEYhpd4gIfIoKqweS4iq-Ml5yyk3Y8scQYVQxSqnl3oeJD2BAvnj3_RWEYDK7tXQeLeumhZz2e8hZcG38LANapV32B4MDaMGRknr7b9o/s1600/My+2+sons!!.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>My 2 sons!!! Elder Conway y Elder Caceres</i></span></td></tr>
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Also, as he was presenting his wife, he complimented her a lot. So she got up and took the mic and said "Elder Oaks is being really nice today ...he isn't always this nice!" We all started dying of laughter at that 'cause she made it sound like he wasn't always so nice. And then he said "In English, there is a saying: 'condemn with kindness'. I believe that is what just happened. It seems to Kristen that I am not always that nice to her." Bahahahaha, that was just one of the best!<br />
<br />
At one point during his talk, his wife got up and gave him a note saying that some volcanoes in Chile had erupted, and that flights through Buenos Aires had been cancelled. Her note
said the church needed their passports and money "now." He then chuckled, turned to us, and said "Elders, when you're married, you're
going to understand that when your wife asks you for money, she's going
to want it now!" Hahaha, just so funny! At that point, his assistant got
up to get the money and passports, and take care of things. And as he was
walking out of the room, Elder Oaks pointed to him and said "And when
your wife wants money 'now,' sometimes you're going to have to visit a
banker to get that money." Bahaha sooo funny!!!<br />
<br />
<br />
I can well imagine that just reading about his jokes doesn't make them sound too funny. But trust me, he was hilarious the entire time. Simply hilarious.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirb5OrcZY872wHtRfRJ4_TOvVyhlMksX1RrHI_Dj3ycEwWu_y00b-TOu0NWY3K_cXrjCx9VjEkezASDX0NHDUUN910QVAeAik_VIKelofBh-dtaqW81ZJ-kZLeop5uhE8rnWA6qJpDLLI/s1600/Elder+Leon+goes+home+this+Friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirb5OrcZY872wHtRfRJ4_TOvVyhlMksX1RrHI_Dj3ycEwWu_y00b-TOu0NWY3K_cXrjCx9VjEkezASDX0NHDUUN910QVAeAik_VIKelofBh-dtaqW81ZJ-kZLeop5uhE8rnWA6qJpDLLI/s1600/Elder+Leon+goes+home+this+Friday.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Elder León goes home this Wednesday :-(</i></span></td></tr>
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<br />
But besides being funny, it was also an incredibly spiritual talk. He started off like this, "I am full of truth and light. I could talk to you for hours, but I am limited to only 45 minutes and must depend on the Spirit to prioritize what I say." When he said that, we all buckled up and prepared for his important words.<br />
<br />
He started out by talking about the Sabbath Day. He said that it was the center of our worship as Latter-day Saints. That it was a principle of Eternal importance, and that no one can be faithful to the church and God if they can't sanctify this day.<br />
<br />
He then shared with us, Alma 26:22:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good
works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to
know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal
things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto
such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been
given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
He pointed out that this scripture says thousands would be <b>converted </b>to the Lord, but nothing about <b>baptizing</b> thousands. He suggested the first message we should share with our investigators is that of repentance, baptism is 2nd. He acknowledged that we probably can't each baptize thousands of people, but we can certainly proclaim the message of repentance to thousands. And that is the success of a missionary.<br />
<br />
This was the point when his wife interrupted him with the note about the cancelled flights. Then he continued saying "In life, there will always be interruptions. One of these is death. It is always with us, and at any moment it can take us." He continued, "Death is just that, an interruption. It is not an end, but a gateway to continue our eternal lives." He bore powerful testimony of the resurrection and how all of us will see our loved ones again. This was a powerful moment. His words were clear and powerful ...piercing to our minds and soul. Without any doubt, with all the confidence in the world, "We will see them again." So simple. But when I heard it, in person, from an Apostle of the Lord, it became so real and simple to me. Death is just an interruption, and we will see our loved ones again.<br />
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<b>Revelation</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Elder Oaks left us with a "Spirit Hand" to help us teach about the Holy Ghost.</i></span></td></tr>
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He then moved onto personal revelation. He talked about what we can do to receive it. He said it clearly helps to be in the temple. Revelation often comes in the morning before things get too busy, when we are physically and spiritually alert, when we are studying the scriptures, when we follow the advice of our leaders, and when we believe that we will receive it.<br />
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Ways to recognize it are when we feel happy and joyous, or when the inspiration received invites us to do something that we don't want to do. As an example, if we are tired but wake up at 4am and receive the inspiration to stay in bed, that is probably our own thoughts. But if we receive the inspiration to get up out of bed to check on something, then that is probably from the Lord, and we would be wise to follow it. Elder Oaks said it is very common to receive a strong feeling to not do something, or to do something that we haven't done before.<br />
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Revelation can come in many forms; for example, in a dream. We can tell if a dream is revelation if it is clear, not confusing, and we receive the interpretation of it. It there is no interpretation, it is just a dream.<br />
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For people with a northern-American culture, Elder Oaks explained that revelation often comes in the form of words written on the backboard of our minds ...we see and read the words rather than have visions or dreams. <br />
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In all cases, the Lord will communicate to us (assuming we're listening) in ways that are familiar to us. He gave the example of a native American Indian who was called to be a patriarch. When he gave blessings, he would see simple events in his mind and interpret them into English. This patriarch gave a blessing during the time of the Iron Curtain in which he told the young man receiving the blessing that he was as a plant growing up on one side of a fence, and that a strong wind would blow over the seeds of the plant to land on the other side of the fence, and sprout and also grow to be strong plants. As this young man got older, he had opportunity to cross the Iron Curtain and preach the gospel, and had much success.<br />
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The bottom line is revelation comes in forms that are simple and familiar to our culture. Really cool and profound doctrine. <br />
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<b>Personal Witness</b><br />
As he was leaving the sacrament room, I had a really powerful experience that I won't ever forget. As is customary, we stand when a Prophet or Apostle of the Lord enters or leaves the room. And so, as he was leaving, we stood as a sign of respect. He turned back to wave goodbye. At this instant, I had the words "There is a man of God" strongly pierce my mind ...just as he explained sometimes happens. I saw the words written on the back of my mind, and they spoke strongly to me. I read them in my mind's eye, and then softly spoke them to myself, "There is a man of God." As I said the words, the spirit warmly testified to me that it was true. I felt so much joy and was so sure at that moment. I have never had an experience like this before. Those words came so clearly and powerfully to my mind. He is a man of God ...as are the other 11 and the First Presidency. <br />
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I know even more now than ever before that we have true prophets and apostles here on the earth today. I have always believed this, but I have now seen one face to face, and was able to feel his strong spiritual influence. I testify that God loves us, and for this reason sends us prophets and apostles to guide us. My experience with Elder Oaks really fortified my testimony of the church and the importance of the work that we are doing.<br />
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It also really strengthened my relationship with God. I know He loves me, and that I am his son. I really felt His love for me during this opportunity to meet a true Apostle of the Lord. I am so grateful for the privilege to have seen, heard, and shaken the hand of an Apostle. <br />
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God Loves us, and humbly, we are members of His true church. I know it. <br />
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Love you all!! <br />
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<br />
Elder Clemons<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Subway sandwiches after the mission conference with Elder Dallin H Oaks !!!</i></span></td></tr>
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<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-5063283474991229752015-04-20T21:38:00.000-07:002015-04-30T21:10:46.177-07:00An Apostle is coming to visit our mission!!!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Right now in Reconquista it is voting time...and they are crazy with
this. Everyone and their dog is trying out. Cars are driving around
blasting music with the little jingles of each candidate and there are
posters everywhere!! Like literally everywhere!!</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Lucia Lopez (from Goya) knitted the hat and gave me the flag :D</i></span></div>
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<b>Investigators</b><br />
Soooo this week was very similar to last week ...we lost all of our existing investigatores, but found a bunch of new ones.<br />
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We have some people who let us come in, but don't keep their commitments. There's plenty of work to do, so we just move on to new people who show more interest. Maybe the next time missionaries knock on their door, they'll be more receptive to the restored gospel. We had one lady who when we knocked on her door, opened it, but when she saw it was us, just slammed the door in our faces without saying anything. So we took that to mean that she doesn't want us to come by anymore, haha.<br />
<br />
But we have also found 2 super incredible families this week! We found them by "clapping" houses (kinda' like knocking on the door to announce your arrival). The first family is the Nuñuz familia. There are 3 family members. The dad is a member from long long ago. He was baptized in Goya and loooves the missionaries. But he lost contact with them when he moved to Reconquista. He and his family are members of a local Evangelica church, but they are inactive in this church. They have tons of potential ...so please pray for them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsVORDbSB22DWpBMSFyr5c8KkEBqAYHZT6YO5ZcSyJcE-kAv_BgQnpA2jZeOJOWP4DVD3V_G1tRDYEDB2W6qanMtQhzUM_TNzd4hP4qWcg1sx36d0nYitPcsX_SDJqQf1Khwbygh8QMU/s1600/P4140210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsVORDbSB22DWpBMSFyr5c8KkEBqAYHZT6YO5ZcSyJcE-kAv_BgQnpA2jZeOJOWP4DVD3V_G1tRDYEDB2W6qanMtQhzUM_TNzd4hP4qWcg1sx36d0nYitPcsX_SDJqQf1Khwbygh8QMU/s1600/P4140210.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a>The 2nd family we found is the familia Romero. They are inactive Catholics who are really nice. We have taught them about 3 times now, and they are progressing. But they need to go to church. SO pray for them as well!<br />
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We are dying to have some success here!!!<br />
<br />
On a happy note, Andres Micheli taught the class in priesthood
yesterday! Ohhhhh, I was soooo happy! It was an awesome lesson! He and his
whole family have come so far!! It was really something to see such a
huuuuge guy being soooo nervous to teach the class. But he did great!
Oh my goodness ...it was just so awesome!</div>
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<b>New Mission Rules</b></div>
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So, here's some news for you guys! President Franco has instituted a bunch of new health rules here:</div>
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<li>We can't drink the water any more (...sshhhh I still do.)</li>
<li>We can't eat with the members anymore :( This one makes me very sad ...as I'm sure you can tell, I love eating haha</li>
<li>We have to carry hand sanitizer around everywhere we go.</li>
<li>We've got a bunch of new rules about keeping the apartments <u>very</u> clean</li>
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<b>I'm District Leader now</b> </div>
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So randomly, Presidente Franco decided to make some unscheduled changes here in Reconquista. I don't know why, but my district leader got emergency transferred yesterday during Church. And then last night, I was made the new District Leader for this half of Reconquista. Needless to say, that came as somewhat of a surprise to me. I have never been a district leader before, so I am kinda' nervous about that. But I assume it's similar to being a Zone Leader; so I suspect it'll all work out. Hope so!!</div>
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<b>Visa</b></div>
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So after 22 months of being a tourist in Argentina, I am finally now a legal visitor!! Woot!! I've been doing paperwork (from Monday to Thursday of this week) in Corrientes. It was fun and adventurous to get away from Reconquista for a little bit ...but being away for so long just killed the work in our area :p<br />
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I stayed with the mission secretaries in their apartment these past few day. Holy cats! ...they live in a mansion!! It's huge and soooo super nice! So unfair! We celebrated an Elder's birthday while I was there, so we all sang, had cake, ate Doritos (haven't seen those in forever), and played some simple games. It was a lot of fun.</div>
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<b>An Apostle is coming to visit us!!!</b> </div>
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All right, here is the biggest news of the week ...AN APOSTLE IS COMING TO VISIT THE MISSION THIS FRIDAY!!! BAAAAHHHHH!!! It's Elder Oaks!!! BAAAAAHHHH!!! I am soooo excited! Super excited!! It is going to be such a huge spiritual experience! </div>
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I know the church is true. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of the Lord. I also know that the 12 Apostles are His special witnesses on the earth. I know that Elder Oaks is going to teach us vital truths. I can't wait!!</div>
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I love the mission and I love what I do!<br />
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Elder Clemons</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>My comp is from a country that has the siesta.... :p</i></span></td></tr>
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Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-13792227467588537972015-04-13T09:47:00.000-07:002015-04-24T09:47:11.975-07:00Success is not about the # of people you baptize, but the person you become<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUcT5g58TI_Jgn12yQns3V19hs42izT9fLZJCXlZKI_BQSEd_CJWOW0dM0UExu5gN8qf3EWOQN3a6ZcSttP7mfaI353TSmM49ZmW4z2yUF67mMlKdqDzVrUguTjsAvGxE9yCQus1Mhyphenhyphen-Y/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUcT5g58TI_Jgn12yQns3V19hs42izT9fLZJCXlZKI_BQSEd_CJWOW0dM0UExu5gN8qf3EWOQN3a6ZcSttP7mfaI353TSmM49ZmW4z2yUF67mMlKdqDzVrUguTjsAvGxE9yCQus1Mhyphenhyphen-Y/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Thanks for being the only person in my whole inbox dad, Love you. :)</i></span></td></tr>
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<br /> So I don't really take pictures..... you have already seen everything here in Reconquista. :P<br /><br /><b>The Work</b><br />This week was actually extremely difficult for us. But I don't really understand why. I feel like I am a better missionary than the last time I was here ...I have more experience, more knowledge, more ability, and I already have the trust of the members. I have been fasting every week for the past 3 months ...all of which should help to set us up for success, but we've had no success of late :-( <br /><br />We have two semi-progressing investigators named Giselda y Luciana. But we weren't able to talk with Giselda much this week; I one point I think she "wasn't home." So we'll pass by next week and see how she's doing. Everything with Luciana was going great, but she didn't make it to church last week, and we don`t know why.<br />
<br />Sigh. As a result, we contacted a ton this week! I have never seen soooo much rejection before, haha. I even had a few random people ask me why I came back, hahaha, so that's pretty funny.<br /><br />But I have sufficient knowledge and experience in the mission to understand that sometimes you have good weeks, and sometimes bad; it's normal. But I continue to have faith, I'm not slacking, I'm motivated, and I continue to put my hand to the plow. In time, I'm sure success will come. Maybe not in the form of baptisms, but success will come as the Lord harvests His field. I always told my zone back in Goya that success isn't about the number of people you baptize, but about the person you become. You`re your first convert, right? Just gotta buck up and go. <br />
<br /><b>District Conference</b><br />So I have been in this District (before it became a stake) for over a year. We recently had District (stake) conference. Presidente y Hermana Franco came down to Goya for it. The last time we had District Conference was when Presidente Heyman was here ...just shows how long I've been here. The conference followed the theme of General Conference; the roles of men and women, the importance of marriage, the eternal nature of temples, etc. It was really good, I liked it. It was hard to understand at times because we were watching through Skype, and it crashed like 4 times. :P But either way, it was good! At the end we got to say hello to everyone in Goya, so I got to see all the members in Goya again! :D WOOT! <br />
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<br /><b>My Visa</b><br />Oh so this coming week I am heading up to Corrientes to do some paperwork for my visa. Hahahaha ...I am still illegal! I will go up on Tuesday, sleep over with the assistants, finish the paper work Wednesday, and hopefully come back Wed night. I am super excited to go travel up there ...buuuuut then again, I don't want to loose 2 days of work in our area. :P So we'll see what happens. :p<br /><br />
<br />
<br /><br />
Oh, a funny story and after I spiritual one. <br /><br />So, well, by now I think we've contacted everyone in Reconquista. We found this one women that said she had a "gift". Anything that she touches she "knows and understands perfectly." So I immediately stuck out my hand and asked her to read it. She grabbed it, started humming, and then said I had really good energy and was a great person. Eh? :) Oh well, I guess I was pretty happy with that. Afterwards my companion, Elder Caceres, did the same. When she took his hand she immediately gasped, "Oh how cold!!! You have such a dark, angry energy!" Bahahaha, oh fetch, I almost fell over laughing. That made him so mad, and he was in a bad mood for the rest of the night. But I was laughing my head off all day. No, we take no stock in it, we were just being polite. So funny!!<br /><br /><br />
The Familia Micheli is doing soooooo good! The are seriously gospel bosses! We showed the kids, Leo y Mikaela the new church video "He Lives" and asked them for references. Leo gave us one, and he even set up an appointment for us with him. Two days later, we went over and taught his friend. The whole Micheli family was there to support us, and each one bore powerful testimony. I felt so much peace and joy as I sat there listening to their testimonies. :) Each one is sooo faithful and firm in the gospel. I feel privileged to have been a part of their conversion. Each one explained how they received their answer about the Church; Mikaela and Leo received theirs after going to church, Miriam the mom received hers after Elder Conway and I gave her daughter a priesthood blessing and the words that were pronounced really hit her. And Andres, the dad, received his answer after seeing the happiness that was entering his home. It is just incredible to be able to see how far this family has progressed in the gospel. :) Nothing can beat being a missionary. :)<br /><br /><br />
Well, that is all I got for today! Love you all so much! :)<br /><br />Love Elder Clemóns!<br /><br /><br />P.S Mom, I love you!<br />
<br />
Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-68143388262495159252015-04-07T20:15:00.000-07:002015-04-13T20:48:13.373-07:00I kinda' had a duh moment when I realized...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Happy Easter :-)</i></span></td></tr>
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Hey, sorry I didn't write yesterday ...we had interviews with Presidente Franco. He came down to Reconquista yesterday. My interview was pretty chill, we just basically talked about our families. I asked him a couple of simple questions, and that was that.<br />
<br />
<b>Conference</b><br />
So conference was pretty awesome. It got me to start thinking about life after the mission, but I still got my mission to think about for now. But all in all, conference was really nice. I must say, I've really learned to love conference as a missionary. It is so helpful and inspiring, and it also really helps our investigatores overcome their obstaculos. Of the many awesome talks, the one that I liked the most was Elder Bednar's talk about overcoming fear. And it's soooo applicable to missionaries since we often naturally fear talking with people. But we obviously have to let go of that fear, and reply upon our deep reverence and respect for God to help us overcome that fear and talk with people. Clearly, it's only when we open our mouths that people can hear the truth. If we are always too scared to talk to them, they will never have the chance to accept or reject the message of the restored gospel. And I suspect on final judgement day, if I could have shared my testimony, but didn't, I'll be at least a little bit culpable for not opening my mouth.<br />
<br />
Yup, absolutely loved Bednar's talk ...it's the one I can best liken to myself at this moment.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/therefore-they-hushed-their-fears?lang=eng&media=video#watch=video" target="_blank">Bednar video</a> <a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/therefore-they-hushed-their-fears?lang=eng&media=audio#listen=audio" target="_blank">Bednar audio</a></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<b> He Lives</b><br />
So I don't know if you have seen the new church video about Easter? I'm sure you have, it is called "él vive" ("He Lives"):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-04-1010-he-lives-celebrate-easter-because-jesus-christ-lives?lang=eng" target="_blank">He Lives video</a></blockquote>
<br />
It is incredible. We just barely received it yesterday, and my companion and I went crazy showing it to everyone we could. We have a little portable DVD player in the apartment, and with permission of Presidente Franco, we took it out with us and showed it to everyone we could. <br />
<br />
We did a bunch of contacts and set a lot of appointments for later in the week, but we were also able to actually have 3 lessons yesterday. We started out by testifying that our purpose was to bring people to Christ, and how when we come close to Him, He can help us. We then showed the video and talked about what Christ can do for them in their lives. We then transitioned into the Restauración of Christ's church upon the earth. It was very effective. <br />
<br />
I kinda' had a duh moment when I realized our message isn't so much the restoration of the gospel as it is that <b>He Lives</b> and loves us. What a great and simple message!! <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Investigators</b> <br />
So our investigator situation is a little sad. We don't have a lot of prospects right now, but we are working with a women named Giselda. And she even went to conference, but her little girl was going so crazy that she was forced to leave :p But she came, so that's what counts! She's been reading the scriptures daily and wants to get baptized. We plan on seeing her tomorrow to show her the video; I hope it motivates her and can bring her some comfort.<br />
<br />
We may have also found some others this week that could progress, I'll let you know next week. <br />
<br />
Love you all! <br />
<br />
Elder Clemons<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Thought you'd like this evening shot from our apartment window</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> </i></span></td></tr>
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Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-85786953599074774892015-03-30T14:38:00.000-07:002015-04-05T15:23:07.673-07:00It looks like my will, Pr Franco's will, and the Lord's will were all aligned!!!<table><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Elder Caceras is from Uraguay</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>He's super cool!</i></span></td></tr>
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So
I got everything I could have possible wanted for this transfer. I was
"hinting" at Pres. Franco for a couple of weeks now to put me in as a
trainer and to let me train the Uruguayo, Elder Caceras ...and bueno, it
looks like my will, Pres. Franco's will, and the Lord's will were all
in-line ...because I am super happy to report that I am now his companion!! :D BAAAAAHHHH!!<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 13px;">
</div>
<div style="font-size: 13px;">
He
is super cool, and speaks just like the Argentines do. From what I understand, life and language in Uruguay is
basically a mirror of Argentina. They drink mate, speak en
Vos, everything. Elder Caceras is a really determined missionary, and he's humble and really obedient. Back home, he went out a lot with the missionaries in his ward, so even though he's relatively new in the mission, he's already an excellent missionary with a strong desire to serve and he already knows how to do the work.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Reconquista</b> <br />
It
feels so weird to be back in Reconquista, everything is the same. I am
living in the same apartment, have the same keys, the same phone, I
already know the members, the street names, just everything. Soooo
weird.<br />
<br />
But sadly, right now we only have one investigator named Carolina. She is
super sweet; but I feel bad for her because she's passing through some hard times right now. I hope she lets us help her, and let's the gospel enter her life. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 13px;">
Needless to say, being in church was hilarious. All the members walked in, started
shaking the hands of the missionaries, and when they got to me, they just went into
a shock. Hahaha. Everyone was like "No puede ser" ("It can't be"), "volvió?"
("you came back?") Uhhh ...ya, I did! It was a really warm welcome. And it felt good
to be back among friends :)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 13px;">
But
the greatest thing of all was seeing the familia Micheli again!! They are soooooo
active in the church!! YES!!! I was sooooo happy to see
them, and them me!!! :D :D :D Their passion would impress anyone, anywhere. They feed all the Elders lunch whenever we show up (and that's no small thing). And the kids Micaela y Leo get up at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1723915895" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">5:30</span></span>
everyday for Seminary. The entire family helps with missionary work; they
come frequently with us to visit with investigators and even to do some street or door contacting. Andres, the dad, gives lessons in Priestood the 3rd hour, regularly does his
home teaching, and in a couple of days......is GOING TO RECIEVE
THE MELCHIZEDEC PRIESTHOOD!!!<br />
<br />
Wow, it's very rewarding to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ bless the lives of those who choose to follow Him. D&C 18:15-16 really rings true to me now.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div class="">
<a class="" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="15"> </a><span class="">15 </span>And
if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance
unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great
shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!</div>
<div class="">
<a class="" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="16"> </a><span class="">16 </span>And
now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto
me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you
should bring many souls unto me!</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
I have never been so happy in my whole
mission.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAI9Wpd6aooFU32NjhBFisHDsCHiagObtEl6sQxheclDLSeGhMKXAoXbeAl3YU9WyAyNGiM4tDoMmPSTvrnaFJ3kJksl-sdKkDbNkcSxWR4O4oX526Rn90Cggtp8dMtxH4aP8qEYbljk/s1600/P3250188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAI9Wpd6aooFU32NjhBFisHDsCHiagObtEl6sQxheclDLSeGhMKXAoXbeAl3YU9WyAyNGiM4tDoMmPSTvrnaFJ3kJksl-sdKkDbNkcSxWR4O4oX526Rn90Cggtp8dMtxH4aP8qEYbljk/s1600/P3250188.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>My new district ...love these awesome missionaries!!</i></span></td></tr>
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I'm super pumped for conference. They put all the English-speakers in the "Gringo Room." We do a lot of laughing, we get spiritually fed ...and we're physically fed too, they bring us tons of snacks the whole time. So ya, I'm super pumped for conference. :D</div>
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Pray
for us. Pray that we find more families to teach. Pray that our investigators each get what they need as they listen to prophets and apostles teach us.<br />
<br />
I love the mission! Chau!!<br />
<br />
Elder Clemons<br />
<br />
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Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-22799117545049462922015-03-23T22:34:00.000-07:002015-03-29T23:14:44.762-07:00What the heck?!!?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr2PWN5ITQR38SBW94ifrsBHD-2nP4C-FE9OMDDY7io9Rra_vTpmN9YcfIUuWhhKWbUgOpLPEJ4cCnDujOw7RWEiwZ0uKZ4N7wxI68P1h__OdPMX2Tm6qm_ekB1sT89axbslbCq3Y9Cok/s1600/me+and+the+branch+Pres+Arocha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr2PWN5ITQR38SBW94ifrsBHD-2nP4C-FE9OMDDY7io9Rra_vTpmN9YcfIUuWhhKWbUgOpLPEJ4cCnDujOw7RWEiwZ0uKZ4N7wxI68P1h__OdPMX2Tm6qm_ekB1sT89axbslbCq3Y9Cok/s1600/me+and+the+branch+Pres+Arocha.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgou2w1znBXxHRWJBoLQk-jBvY9jFmMbCrzbn941yf3DLZvxlfaGgaIjlwOMtsgAkgimcd4qz6ixRyS5BrM6yV3v8vJiVC75xrWSAb-n6QM7Dg7Kkqv1dMZslpB4PzG1Yd_tUeBgFxwYQc/s1600/Eurialia,+super+crazy+old+lady+but+she+is+a+member...super+crazy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgou2w1znBXxHRWJBoLQk-jBvY9jFmMbCrzbn941yf3DLZvxlfaGgaIjlwOMtsgAkgimcd4qz6ixRyS5BrM6yV3v8vJiVC75xrWSAb-n6QM7Dg7Kkqv1dMZslpB4PzG1Yd_tUeBgFxwYQc/s1600/Eurialia,+super+crazy+old+lady+but+she+is+a+member...super+crazy.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>Hey familia!! Sooooo ...transfers happened!!! And you would never guess what happened!!!!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3xgyfdImOY1i3t3SlvtvY9N_QefxgWkWnhaqrwMP_lr_dtPpYpIX21m0zBFQPt0bVAFXVT2PrJ2p8uRIpTcPG_SqV6QDoUyekuy5vp7rMt1qhXVYMGucK5AWoPOGGcFbPxbdtfR7-7E/s1600/me+and+the+famila+Perez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3xgyfdImOY1i3t3SlvtvY9N_QefxgWkWnhaqrwMP_lr_dtPpYpIX21m0zBFQPt0bVAFXVT2PrJ2p8uRIpTcPG_SqV6QDoUyekuy5vp7rMt1qhXVYMGucK5AWoPOGGcFbPxbdtfR7-7E/s1600/me+and+the+famila+Perez.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>So I predicted and wanted ...well I'M TRAINING!!!!! BAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! I still don`t know who yet, I will meet him tomorrow. Right now I am waiting at the mission headquarters here in Resistencia for him to get here. But there's more ...I'M GOING BACK TO RECONQUISTA!!!! THE EXACT SAME AREA AND ALL!!! What the heck!?!?!?!?! I freaked when I saw the transfer!!! Wow, Reconquista 4 ...again!<br /> <br /> I am really hoping I get to train a Latino. I have only had one Latino as a companion so far on my mission, and I'm really hoping he will be from Uruguay. But whatever happens, happens. And I am happy with it.<br />
<br />
<br /> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So I am going to miss being a Zone Leader. I really liked being able to help all the missionaries and seeing our collective success. And I liked all the meetings with Pres. Franco every month and receiving all his inspired special training.<br />
<br />
But what I've really wanted to do all along was to be able to focus on one Elder and start him off right; and that is exactly what Pres. Franco gave me. I couldn't be happier. :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Goya</b> <br />
Oh wow, was it hard to leave Goya!!! :(<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8quXefw3Lh9MYAHBqUPqs8RMb6oVJga83DE4GrFpxnwGstcGe-jJRjU5oHg-BEPuOPEICXgtZWOMVDixTyTbgXiGhqQz6kuZdZhugTDLSRpU7whlGDlO6E1hMqYnCq7cVvInj-B2MzeA/s1600/Lucia+lopez+y+sus+hijos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8quXefw3Lh9MYAHBqUPqs8RMb6oVJga83DE4GrFpxnwGstcGe-jJRjU5oHg-BEPuOPEICXgtZWOMVDixTyTbgXiGhqQz6kuZdZhugTDLSRpU7whlGDlO6E1hMqYnCq7cVvInj-B2MzeA/s1600/Lucia+lopez+y+sus+hijos.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>I was there 6 months and really loved the people. They're just incredible. I am going to send you lots of photos. It was super hard to say goodbye.<br /><br />
Mirta y Joana were really sad. They were both crying when I told them that I was leaving. :( They are both incredible and sooo faithful. They were always willing to help us with the missionary work and always gave us something to eat and drink any time we stopped by.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeg12Uv_wwjDDYoTH3YuerZ8uK8YfTG6GyRlEGqPQ-yshryiwKPOuoBhIJta6EkOWEitF1qpFQyzuUfmmCI5hgty09uWixKRdwitzuluGIW7jLJzNJ7U5NEH2d_ZaqltGLykpb4eo66Ig/s1600/P3220180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeg12Uv_wwjDDYoTH3YuerZ8uK8YfTG6GyRlEGqPQ-yshryiwKPOuoBhIJta6EkOWEitF1qpFQyzuUfmmCI5hgty09uWixKRdwitzuluGIW7jLJzNJ7U5NEH2d_ZaqltGLykpb4eo66Ig/s1600/P3220180.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LSsPTcvUb23FFSYXAo5iuaJaNnGRB7NECzz9NOjrq7lJ8C9MVeAbbwBL1OUtFrMr3sDtxMr7sAhM5AlWh6EloLAZRiEFEvdT2_PvesDxo8VaBGQ_zIq3pjG0zjzptaOkOZN4pugjNGA/s1600/me+and+the+familia+Oviedo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LSsPTcvUb23FFSYXAo5iuaJaNnGRB7NECzz9NOjrq7lJ8C9MVeAbbwBL1OUtFrMr3sDtxMr7sAhM5AlWh6EloLAZRiEFEvdT2_PvesDxo8VaBGQ_zIq3pjG0zjzptaOkOZN4pugjNGA/s1600/me+and+the+familia+Oviedo.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>Oh and goodness, Lucia Lopez and her children Valentina y Lucas were soooo sad. Lucia wrote me a letter saying how grateful she was
for my help blessing her family and blessing her kids ...she knit me a hat!!! Super cool! I'll send a photo of it next week. She also gave me
an Argentina Flag. Valentina y Lucas drew me a picture and said that they loved me. :) Ohhh man, that was hard!!<br />
<br />
Yup, leaving Goya is hard to do :-(<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgnj8oABisyF-oRgkhyphenhyphenJwDS7b4LlAdWZrU9QZdq2qbBdpMI3xvToRmj5JgJgpo_3UsFk4HM72XPv9tKGWZos0x_QZzD5CuJkB6-FM-COzk_EmkBxdZ12xNrT1dkd7P99SPFuoOSKRy6Cg/s1600/P3230182_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgnj8oABisyF-oRgkhyphenhyphenJwDS7b4LlAdWZrU9QZdq2qbBdpMI3xvToRmj5JgJgpo_3UsFk4HM72XPv9tKGWZos0x_QZzD5CuJkB6-FM-COzk_EmkBxdZ12xNrT1dkd7P99SPFuoOSKRy6Cg/s1600/P3230182_1.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>Oh cool experience, I worked a lot with the Old Mission leader`s son Maxi. He is 14 and really converted and dedicated to the gospel. As we were saying our goodbyes he took me aside and said he received an answer from God. He said he'd been praying to know if he should go on a mission (because none of his older siblings had gone), and he said that he'd had a dream (which even included me), and that God had recently answered his prayers to go. How cool is that!! He just thanked me for the
example and motivation and said he was going to do<br />
everything to get himself on a mission. :) What a great kid. :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /> Man, I just love the mission. There just isn't any experience in the world that can replace it. You come, serve complete strangers, and love them so easily. I really love the many things I've learned from my mission. And I love serving these people.<br />
<br />
If there's only one thing I could take home from my time in the mission, it would be an increase of charity towards those around me. I have grown to love so many people out in the mission.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTJagKTsThJ3386_Z7wM_fFD8sJ3OyYeBoxufYl2l0CONnUI77iW6jHTu1yQfll5AvFp5dvC-B6If81nIjIb7vWURejfQmLP7aVEi7O4OYQ6pZr7XA-vIUxfq8jOaOeH5nba3ZzNT2Gw/s1600/The+familia+Rodriguez+Alejandro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTJagKTsThJ3386_Z7wM_fFD8sJ3OyYeBoxufYl2l0CONnUI77iW6jHTu1yQfll5AvFp5dvC-B6If81nIjIb7vWURejfQmLP7aVEi7O4OYQ6pZr7XA-vIUxfq8jOaOeH5nba3ZzNT2Gw/s1600/The+familia+Rodriguez+Alejandro.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>First off my family. I haven't seen you guys in nearly 2 years, but
my love for you has grown tremendously.<br />
<br />
I've also grown to love Presidente Franco and his wife, the members, and
the converts ...it is just so easy to love while you're a missionary. I really do believe that I
have developed a bit more charity out here. Completely? No. But I know it has grown. And if I read the scriptures properly, that's probably the greatest thing that can happen to a disciple of Christ.<br />
<br /> Christ lives. Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. The Book of Mormon is the word of God as is the Bible. Humbly, we are members of Christ's true church. I know it, and this knowledge fills me with joy.<br /> <br /> Love you all soo much! :)<br /> <br /> Elder Clemons<br />
<br />
<br /><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ow-xoF5ZDjf5cIEdNXWaNPFTWAlGloAe-qfW87oqTw9S-Nudit1DyOn3P-iuKtejEKKiJMUmdkF3j0hQmWESIhYV9_xAKN4OqK6Hw2xT1rQK8KnlAokGrP9s69Epb8N7l93Unn5HoG8/s1600/Just+Messing+Around.avi" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ow-xoF5ZDjf5cIEdNXWaNPFTWAlGloAe-qfW87oqTw9S-Nudit1DyOn3P-iuKtejEKKiJMUmdkF3j0hQmWESIhYV9_xAKN4OqK6Hw2xT1rQK8KnlAokGrP9s69Epb8N7l93Unn5HoG8/s1600/Just+Messing+Around.avi" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Just some friends messing around...</i></span></td></tr>
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On Monday we did mini exchanges with the Elderes in Belgrano because one of them had a toe operation and couldn't walk, so we went with them so they could have some time in their area.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Leaders' Meeting</b><br />
On Tuesday we went up to the leader's meeting which was pretty interesting this time. We talked about the new inciativia de la Iglesia "He Lives" That got me pretty excited. Unfortunately, we can't really participate in much of it because we don't have the technology to do it. So our part is just going to be handing out these little cards. But I hope to eventually do what we did in the plaza with the "He is the Gift" stands and such; that was super fun!<br />
<br />
After that we talked exclusively about the Book of Mormon and why it is so important to the missionary work in touching the hearts of our investigators. One of the activities we did was to receive 10 random questions that people commonly ask us, and we had 10 minutes to find Book of Mormon scriptures to address those concerns. It was pretty fun (and I think I surprised myself with how comfortably I was able to come up with decent answers), but others had waaay better scriptures ...so I just copied theirs hahaha.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Zone Meeting</b><br />
On Wednesday we had our Zone meeting where we again talked about everything we had discussed at the leaders' meeting on Tuesday with President Franco. We also talked about our "Zone Specifics" ...the zone has dropped in essentially every statistic. :P I don't really understand what happened, but all of our numbers dropped, so we kinda' "dropped cane" (which is an Argentine saying that means "we threw down.") We then taught about all the keys of success: working with members, contacting, using the Book of Mormon, diligence in general, etc. It was actually a very productive meeting. I think we all learned a lot from the meeting, and I hope our numbers will improve. :)<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Divisiones</b><br />
Then after we got back to Goya from Wednesday through Saturday, we did divisiones with the Elders from Goya 3, Elder Calderón y Elder Diaz. I always enjoy these times getting to know other elders, and I had a super fun time and learned a lot from Elder Diaz. It was good to be with a friend from the mission. You'll recall Elder Diaz and I were together for over 4 months in Reconquista. We lived in the same apartment there; so this was a good opportunity to catch up while doing some good work.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Investigators</b><br />
So even though we had very little time this week to work in our area, we still found some great people! We found this one girl named Margarita who 8 years earlier had investigated the church and nearly got baptized. But then she moved to this other city called Esquina and kinda' lost touch with the church since we don't have a ward or branch there. About 2 years ago she moved back to Goya where just last week we found her again ...and she was suuuuper happy we did! We've really enjoyed teaching her; she's super nice and faithful, and she already understands the importance of keeping commitments (which is verrrrrry rare here). I am confident she'll get baptized. :)<br />
<br />
Also we found a FAMILY!! ...and with an adult male!!! What!?! Like that never happens here!!! And he is nice and wants to learn and wants to go to church! I gotta' tell you, my mind was blown when he said he wanted to go to church. We have already taught the family 3 times, and the even better news is they already have a member as a close friend. They have already accepted a date to be baptized (which ya, is awesome!), but we still have plenty to teach them before they'll be ready.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Transfers</b><br />
So the next letter you'll get from me will probably be from my next area. Yup, transfers are next Monday (May 23), and I'm certain I'm going. I want to train in Formosa, so keep your fingers crossed!<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Hermana Scadlock</b><br />
So I'm sure you know what happened to Hermana Scadlock; it really is a tragedy. Needless to say, the mission took it rather hard. We are all kinda' deflated down here. I personally didn't know her all that well; just met her a couple of times at zone meetings and such. It is really sad to know that she passed away while serving our Lord ...but the Lord's thoughts are not our thoughts, so I trust she is in His comfort and care.<br />
<br />
I know that families are eternal and that we can be sealed to one another in the temple. God's purpose is to give us joy and eternal life. And for that reason we have the Church. If one is faithful, they will live forever with their families in eternal happiness. I know it is true.<br />
<br />
Please pray for the family of Hermana Scadlock.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Know that I love you and pray daily for you guys. And know that I am working hard out here. :)<br />
<br />
<br />
Love you!!<br />
<br />
Elder Clemóns<br />
<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-84911359812254173902015-03-09T15:03:00.000-07:002015-03-15T15:30:41.011-07:00We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked, and walked, and walked, and walked, and walked...<table><tbody>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQG-NTOxvdI4ur3XcXaHJXUjKs7EDcc5fGjrQC5LkLGSf4OWMEkgOb1DDl7CtwF0KlDXwc33vVxXR-pxnhFzmADnOhudrO8NvTN7NWpMeHwhdm_uK-tJKpiJO7DgVENmXq46cZEMWE5cU/s1600/P3040097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQG-NTOxvdI4ur3XcXaHJXUjKs7EDcc5fGjrQC5LkLGSf4OWMEkgOb1DDl7CtwF0KlDXwc33vVxXR-pxnhFzmADnOhudrO8NvTN7NWpMeHwhdm_uK-tJKpiJO7DgVENmXq46cZEMWE5cU/s1600/P3040097.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The mission gave us each some motorbikes to help us preach in our area...</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa8X7lfWO1UQ9eFUheLqD0CkmBL0hJQJnr01hR6BdK7oU8FZqsofuGy9LQKxtY-9x7Z8EKO9YMQZFPFbunUCQGxsMbviBTynlnH5xVODNEttNusZhWNLR3CADEhJ9rIxUDX0wJW5aJtw/s1600/P3040095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa8X7lfWO1UQ9eFUheLqD0CkmBL0hJQJnr01hR6BdK7oU8FZqsofuGy9LQKxtY-9x7Z8EKO9YMQZFPFbunUCQGxsMbviBTynlnH5xVODNEttNusZhWNLR3CADEhJ9rIxUDX0wJW5aJtw/s1600/P3040095.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>...we got to design our own. Here's mine ;-)</i></span></td></tr>
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<br />
Hello Familia,<br />
<br />
How are you walking? ¿Como Andan? I hope you walk well :)<br />
<br />
Nothing super big happened this week. We did divisiones with the Elders in BellaVista, but I already talked about that in my last letter. We also did some mini-divisiones with the Elders in Belgrano because one of them had had laser foot surgery on his in-grown toenails, haha. That cost over $3000 pesos (editor: US $340)!! So we went over to their area to help them out because he couldn't work the whole week.<br />
<br />
<br />
So Mirta and Vivianna are just as happy as ever ...to be baptized, to be clean, to be members of the Lord's true church. Fills me with joy to see them so happy. And this week, we set a new goal with them... to go to the TEMPLE! Mirta is super excited to go, and has already started to plan things so that she can go. And Vivianna would like us to teach her more about the temple in preparation.<br />
<br />
<br />
So I kinda' feel like this week was one of those "trial" weeks ...and it was bound to happen, eh? We've had so much success lately, that I suppose we now have so suffer a little bit. We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked, and walked, and walked, and walked, and walked. I must have lost some weight, but I doubt it 'cause no matter how hard I try I just can't seem to lose any here.<br />
<br />
After all that walking, we found 3 new families to teach, had incredible first lessons with them, and then never found them again; they just wouldn't answer the door the 2nd time we came around. Just as an FYI, this has happened many times before ...but never with people so prepared as they were. We'll continue to visit them, and we'll see where it goes.<br />
<br />
<br />
Tomorrow we have Consejo de Lideres, a big meeting of all the leaders. I'm pretty sure this will be my last one because transfers are coming up soon. And then the following day (Wednesday) is our next Zone meeting. I'm going to take advantage of that one, and try to talk to Presidente about our zone's new goals and progress since this week wasn't so good.<br />
<br />
Well, that's about all that happened this week. See ya next week!!! <br />
<br />
Viva la vida!!!<br />
<br />
Elder Clemons<br />
<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-197491032374871612015-03-07T09:38:00.000-08:002015-03-08T21:29:42.819-07:00The Spirit said to take a taxi and chase the bus...Hey, so the power went out again in Goya yesterday, so I didn't get to finish writing my letter. Sorry. And today, I'm in BellaVista doing exchanges....<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqEXPXJF9903xufTAJ1GuVDI0YlUB4Mr4TIY1JvTgz-gDhfZHyGuChRL9attmoZOGPbR_BmAMgSDySgk8NyS7RlEgZ_zdq6SC3pJKVZcc3YhJQ2KhgiOe1bV9JWXycx8EPPsjpLabd_ZM/s1600/Mirta+y+Viviana+get+baptized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqEXPXJF9903xufTAJ1GuVDI0YlUB4Mr4TIY1JvTgz-gDhfZHyGuChRL9attmoZOGPbR_BmAMgSDySgk8NyS7RlEgZ_zdq6SC3pJKVZcc3YhJQ2KhgiOe1bV9JWXycx8EPPsjpLabd_ZM/s1600/Mirta+y+Viviana+get+baptized.jpg" height="auto" width="100%" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Miracles do happen ...both Mirta and Viviana were baptized :D</i></span></td></tr>
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<b>Mirta & Viviana</b><br />
So it happened! Both Mirta and Viviana (not related) were baptized this past Saturday!!! :D It was such a great feeling to be a part of their baptisms; we've been working so hard and for so long with both of them ...to finally see them be baptized was amazing and fulfilling. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIW_u2lZy2qFL4hdocy1_zBgNqQdnc5CHct4d-UOssN1rZck4JfuNc7GqmyOhhrbv2pGSbHb5cEwr00f85lIazOmt7xbYqOxh-SZRr7wk7s4ALOheZS9YHy7T4BpuEjrirsfCCrHx-4Ss/s1600/Mirta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIW_u2lZy2qFL4hdocy1_zBgNqQdnc5CHct4d-UOssN1rZck4JfuNc7GqmyOhhrbv2pGSbHb5cEwr00f85lIazOmt7xbYqOxh-SZRr7wk7s4ALOheZS9YHy7T4BpuEjrirsfCCrHx-4Ss/s1600/Mirta.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibH05X9nIbcTAkKsUtgt302vhZDYYbmey1QEoz3RmeLCO7TvqLudvvG_J0Hok745odHdHZD6MUZYLC1V5CSMIHbf63phWqcNxf5Qe5kljq_fX4Ga9-56MrK8wHkAXOvsOq3S3DCtqKLT8/s1600/Viviana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibH05X9nIbcTAkKsUtgt302vhZDYYbmey1QEoz3RmeLCO7TvqLudvvG_J0Hok745odHdHZD6MUZYLC1V5CSMIHbf63phWqcNxf5Qe5kljq_fX4Ga9-56MrK8wHkAXOvsOq3S3DCtqKLT8/s1600/Viviana.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>Both Mirta and Viviana have had huge obstaculos on their road to baptism, but with a bit of diligence, faith, and patience, they were able to overcome those obstaculos and get baptized. That's why I feel like these baptisms were so fulfilling, we worked and worked and worked, had tons of ups and downs, moments of high hopes and expectations, and other moments where those hopes and expectations were nearly destroyed. But all in all, it worked out, God providing the way. <br />
<br />
The baptismal service was well attended and went smooth, the baptisms were performed without errores, and everyone was just happy and in good spirits. For the snack after there was pizza, empanadas, facturas, and pop. But sadly for the missionaries, were we all fasting, so we didn't get to participate haha. But overall, this was just a happy spiritual experience. <br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOHqVIQIbenCZBmUGp0SVG2GZWUFy26GN8fLGwZQ6rwCgDbPUXUTUtLi7Tcw2KkUKMHSubNtwct63XUAJnFPcf1QtCW10J8GhXglMq6KkfhTrGwTuzn9wJGH2mlIWmDPFQUYsZea9qx0/s1600/Zone+Volleyball+P-Day+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOHqVIQIbenCZBmUGp0SVG2GZWUFy26GN8fLGwZQ6rwCgDbPUXUTUtLi7Tcw2KkUKMHSubNtwct63XUAJnFPcf1QtCW10J8GhXglMq6KkfhTrGwTuzn9wJGH2mlIWmDPFQUYsZea9qx0/s1600/Zone+Volleyball+P-Day+4.jpg" height="auto" width="100%" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Volleyball on the beach ...if you can see it on the sand, it says Parana ....our zone is Rio Parana 1!</i></span> </td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b>P-Day</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Ya ...we're cool ;-)</i></span></td></tr>
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P-Day yesterday was super fun. Presidente Franco gave our zone permission to meet up and play volleyball on the beach! Super fun! You'll be pleased to know that this time I remembered to put some sunscreen on ...but I forgot to also put it on the tops of my feet, so those got burned :-( But it was sooooooo worth it. I don't think I have walked barefoot for my whole mission, and walking through the sand was just incredible. I'm serious, I was so happy just to be able to walk on sand.<br />
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It was also really nice to just have the zone playing volleyball together. It's really quite rare that we can play sports here, but we had to end at 3 because our bus left at 4 to go to BellaVista....<br />
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We were running late, so we bolted home, didn't even change into proselyting clothes, grabbed our stuff for exchanges, and ran to the terminal (bus station). Right as we showed up ....it left! :D<br />
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Oh I felt so bad. But as we were returning to the apartment, the Spirit said to take a taxi and chase the bus. I thought "Bueno, done!!" And so we jumped in a taxi and literally chased down the bus, caught up to it, got in front of it, got out of the taxi, and made the bus stop. We then entered and paid and successfully made our way to BellaVista. I truly felt like a boss at that moment. :-) <br />
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Oh, so every Monday Presidente Franco calls us to talk about the zone and the work. This last time we talked about the work in February, which was really pretty good for our zone. Presidente Franco said that he had given each of the individual zones a goal, and the goal he had set for our zone was ....to not change anything, just to keep going as is. Needless to say, that made me feel pretty happy knowing that Pres was happy with the work here in our zone. :-) <br />
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I love the mission. Life is good and enjoyable. It is easy to be happy out here. Love you all! <br />
<br />
Elder Clemons! :D<br />
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<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-71580083065220620232015-02-23T20:56:00.000-08:002015-02-28T09:11:27.142-08:00Baptisms and Miracles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9pm-TXl8XTjmjH050clVnrrMkS8z_VszNeT-214Dr-7CDFxbgen2YfQyaHMZiXkMFDwy0Ln8sg2ZTIB_Lp_QLFabb4fKl5FOdAa7k5tHH_r73kFoY6AaW2AQtufsViCxd_CXjh936UA/s1600/Lucas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9pm-TXl8XTjmjH050clVnrrMkS8z_VszNeT-214Dr-7CDFxbgen2YfQyaHMZiXkMFDwy0Ln8sg2ZTIB_Lp_QLFabb4fKl5FOdAa7k5tHH_r73kFoY6AaW2AQtufsViCxd_CXjh936UA/s1600/Lucas.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hey family!! So this week has been busy! ...like super busy! <br />
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First off, we had like no time to work this week. (I realize that doesn't quite fit with the first sentence). Argentina just had it's "Carnival." It's a huge parade thing, but missionaries are asked to stay inside during most of festivities. Also, there have been fairly constant protests in all of Argentina against the President, so missionaries stay inside during those too.<br />
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<b>Zone Conference</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03bfftNi2aBtEOfblgZ7la8YUAhP2b3biC1HzJSO8oAf0BQUqJdJuHHKRrP5B4KtPiAdUQ8he9Zs96degz2tBtvbakmzzr-YLRZC5LfrZ9LpC_EdmlPd5o6RPcfT6d6VWmMAM5psnm34/s1600/Goya+Zone+Conference.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03bfftNi2aBtEOfblgZ7la8YUAhP2b3biC1HzJSO8oAf0BQUqJdJuHHKRrP5B4KtPiAdUQ8he9Zs96degz2tBtvbakmzzr-YLRZC5LfrZ9LpC_EdmlPd5o6RPcfT6d6VWmMAM5psnm34/s1600/Goya+Zone+Conference.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>On Thursday, the entire zone headed up to Resistencia though for a multi-zone conference which included all the missionaries in Corrientes. We were able to rent a minibus for the day, so we rode up in style ...very nice. During the conference, Presidente and other leaders talked about the importance of baptism and what we need to do to encourage investigators to come unto Christ. I was actually pretty surprised about this because our zone is baptizing a whole lot more than we used to, but you can always do more, right!? Also we made these 72 hour kits which was pretty fun. Oh, we also got to watch the "Meet the Mormons" movie (awesome!) and a slide show of the mission. So all in all, the multi-zone conference was effective and fun.<br />
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<b>Valentina y Lucas</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWyRym2cw5E85zElpPWozRNjsyo_2O48pPYzShyphenhyphenxzzzYrv0NaGjWKzlWWfdA8qcA7z5hB_TGDjZePIFin10uHc-gaZ5A1HW5TS5CTyZ0IX-kidGC6HPEqnbIAkIgpGQEW6pH4ETB_bRE/s1600/Valentina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWyRym2cw5E85zElpPWozRNjsyo_2O48pPYzShyphenhyphenxzzzYrv0NaGjWKzlWWfdA8qcA7z5hB_TGDjZePIFin10uHc-gaZ5A1HW5TS5CTyZ0IX-kidGC6HPEqnbIAkIgpGQEW6pH4ETB_bRE/s1600/Valentina.jpg" height="200" width="122" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSigi9BI429vvXsuV0Ek9_7pOg4eseYe5GTU11ipsnqG1w8zXjwuRBEvapW2xzcFGs2MnB9sj-fWuuNDiKV2oiM4FirVVvqEtmsygmm3VaFkV_KAbKNuknRzmj4lqnSfZd3QYSpqKkCMg/s1600/Lucas+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSigi9BI429vvXsuV0Ek9_7pOg4eseYe5GTU11ipsnqG1w8zXjwuRBEvapW2xzcFGs2MnB9sj-fWuuNDiKV2oiM4FirVVvqEtmsygmm3VaFkV_KAbKNuknRzmj4lqnSfZd3QYSpqKkCMg/s1600/Lucas+2.jpg" height="200" width="122" /></a>Sooooo Valentina y Lucas were baptized this week! :D :D These are the 2 happiest kids I think I have met on my mission. They are so sweet, and they just love the missionaries sooo much. :) They were truly HAPPY to be there, just laughing and smiling the whole time! The mom was thrilled as well. She sent us a message at the end of the night thanking us for what we have done for her family, and arranging everything for the baptism. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMSYuWowkQwc-90KZAFTpiTXAxzj6U1_kf-9Lu9ILxeId4_geBvcomUpQh7l3Yd_DtRnY50FpSEe2a5iF5UX1k0RTDzl9oqXwMhdEa0vEB63PQifcvDX5LDMO_EdvgXA6Rk9cJ7CAVLc/s1600/Valentina+y+Lucas+Family+++Friends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMSYuWowkQwc-90KZAFTpiTXAxzj6U1_kf-9Lu9ILxeId4_geBvcomUpQh7l3Yd_DtRnY50FpSEe2a5iF5UX1k0RTDzl9oqXwMhdEa0vEB63PQifcvDX5LDMO_EdvgXA6Rk9cJ7CAVLc/s1600/Valentina+y+Lucas+Family+++Friends.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Valentina y Lucas were baptized this week! :D :D</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUORr9bK_d8Q_8Io4sunaBjChyphenhyphen9jkkESF-3y6urHKNcH5eAl1g2G7AmJkCdbw9Zgx2glzoGzJ1bNrRt8fOb6kscv-PABg0FypimmSp2QdIoLxno4pHTZV6s0aTzVbZDS-Kp3Ns0l3C2A0/s1600/Valentina+y+Lucas+get+baptized+-+these+cakes+have+alcohol+in+them.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUORr9bK_d8Q_8Io4sunaBjChyphenhyphen9jkkESF-3y6urHKNcH5eAl1g2G7AmJkCdbw9Zgx2glzoGzJ1bNrRt8fOb6kscv-PABg0FypimmSp2QdIoLxno4pHTZV6s0aTzVbZDS-Kp3Ns0l3C2A0/s1600/Valentina+y+Lucas+get+baptized+-+these+cakes+have+alcohol+in+them.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Bummer ...can't eat either one :-(<br />Made somebody happy though :-)</i></span></td></tr>
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Oh get this, so often after baptisms, the branch opens up this little snack area behind the chapel -- for cakes, pop, cookies, etc. So our Branch President went out and bought 2 cakes because we were anticipating like 50 people at the baptism ...turns out one of the cakes was a coffee cake, and the other one had alcohol in it. Bahahaha, I mean bahahah, bahahahah ...it was a complete accident, but super funny. We ended up giving them to strangers in the street, and went out and bought 2 more. Other than that, the baptismal service was awesome. <br />
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<br />
<b>Miracles</b><br />
So I have 2 miracles to tell you. Do you remember Viviana? She had the sister that wanted to sue us. Ya, so last Thursday she came and found us and told us that she wanted to get baptized, and she didn't care what her sister thought. She came to church, and then to the baptism on Saturday, and she is now set to be baptized this coming Saturday. Whahoo!! We've already called Presidente and explained to him the situation, and he gave us the green light to go ahead and baptize her. So she is going to be baptized this week if all goes well! <br />
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Next miracle. Remember Mirta? She has been an investigator of ours since I arrived here in Goya. She hasn't been able to be baptized because she and her boyfriend have been living together without being married. But they have been working on the paper work to be married. And the entire time I've been here she's gone to church almost every week, pays fast offerings, allowed her daughter Joana to be baptized, read the entire BoM and is currently reading DyC, and many many more remarkably faithful things. She is just incredible. So out of nowhere, she and her boyfriend have decided to live in separate houses to fulfill the commandments, and will move back in together when their paperwork is finally finished and they eventually do get married. So now she is worthy to be baptized, and we've scheduled that also for this coming Saturday!! :D<br />
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I would like to believe these miracles were blessings from God in answer to our prayers. Elder Felkins and I had a special fast this last week asking God to help us find new people He has been preparing for baptism, and to help our current investigators overcome their obstaculos ...and look what happened!!<br />
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<b>Micheli's</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXiKd-Vrub0c8gLP0j3oe4Q-g0iVrmvCsSm4wag_klb3vJU7qqSqZpZJ3NgWg0epjrsZBpZ3NahuM1w2SVrl497N39-kvXW-MBGtXGHm6HqUGMgbo-i_Uel67PWnRi1rFS7BSjts_QtI/s1600/Andres+Micheli+in+Reconquista.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXiKd-Vrub0c8gLP0j3oe4Q-g0iVrmvCsSm4wag_klb3vJU7qqSqZpZJ3NgWg0epjrsZBpZ3NahuM1w2SVrl497N39-kvXW-MBGtXGHm6HqUGMgbo-i_Uel67PWnRi1rFS7BSjts_QtI/s1600/Andres+Micheli+in+Reconquista.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Oh another noticia!! I received 2 letters from the Micheli family in Reconquista!!!!!!! :D They are so faithful!!! They go to church every week! And are preparing to go to the temple!!!! :D :D Bah! I am so happy!!! :D They told me that their dream is to be sealed as a family. :D I can honestly say I have never felt such instant happiness as I did when I read those letters. It just made me so happy to know that they are going strong and are happy to be in the true church. :)<br />
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I love the mission. I just love it, and I don't want it to end. I love being able to help people receive the blessings of the Gospel and see the amazing changes in their lives. Like I have said many times before, true happiness is found in the service of others. I know it is true, for I feel the joy that comes from it daily. I know the BoM is true, that this is Christ's church, and that He leads us to salvation. <br />
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I love and miss you all,<br />
<br />
Elder Clemóns<br />
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<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-78319356039776847362015-02-17T22:23:00.000-08:002015-02-23T21:18:37.416-08:00A simple truth that has now been engraved on my soulHola Familia! <br />
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This last week was a little busy because transfers happened a little bit early. But everything has finally settled down, and we are back to normal work. :)<br />
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Right now, our mission's goals are to baptize more, retain more, and reactivate more. We've also made these the focus of our zone here in Goya. After nearly 4 months, I believe I have finally gotten a grasp on how to be a Zone Leader. And I think we're doing pretty good as a zone; I think we're on track to have more baptisms this month than for the past year. The goal was 10, and we have 5 scheduled already so far, and have 3 more we can set later this week. On the retaining goal, we are making sure that each new convert has at least the first lesson re-taught every week, and has multiple visits each week. So far, very few of the new converts have gone inactive. Yay! And we are really working hard with reactivating the members. Each week the zone reactivates around 5 people, and for Elder Felkins y Yo, we have reactivated around 23 members so far. We've also had tons of success just sitting down with members and recent converts, and just reading the BoM with their families. So things are looking pretty good.<br />
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There is a part of me that wants to stay in Goya as a Zone Leader, I really enjoy being able to influence so many missionaries. But I also want to train again! Haha. I have mentioned it multiple times now to Presidente Franco, so I am pretty sure this next transfer I am going to train again. That'll be fun!. But whether I stay as a Zone Leader, or become a Trainer again, or just work in the Lord's vineyard as a normal missionary, the calling is the same; to just serve the people. And that is what brings true happiness, service.<br />
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We have a multi-zone conference in Resistencia this coming week. So we've rented a mini-bus to travel up there together as a zone! Oh man, I am so excited! a MINIBUS!! Traveling by mini bus is a lot faster than using the local Collectivos. While it usually takes about 5ish hours to get up there, with the minibus, it'll only take about 4, and it'll be lots more fun. That'll also give us more time to sleep! :D<br />
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So Elder Felkins and I are hoping for 2 baptisms this week, Valentina y Lucas. They are the children of a recently reactivated member named Lucia Lopez. Valentina y Lucas are twins! Pretty cool! And the kids are super intelligent, like super intelligent. They understand nearly everything. In fact, we basically don't even really teach them. We just tell the mom what we are going to "teach" on our next visit, she teaches her kids ahead of time, and we just verify to make sure it's all good. And I feel really good about these baptisms because we will be completing a family. So far, only the mom's been a member; but after this week the whole family will be members. My only fear is that the kids won't go through with their baptisms because they are super shy. I don't know if they're going to be able to handle having a bunch of people watch them as they get baptized and confirmed. But we will practice a bit with them to help them get more comfortable with it.<br />
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This brings up another point I've been feeling for quite a while ...I've been getting a little frustrated in the mission because I have not baptized very many adult males. While I've had lots of opportunity to bring the Gospel to several women and children, I'm having a much harder time reaching the men. My frustration has nearly reached the point where every time I see a man sitting outside somewhere, I go and contact him and try to share a Gospel message. All too often, they just don't accept our message; or sometimes they'll let us in, but only to talk with their wife and kids, but not with them. Haha. But that's exactly what the church needs down here: Priesthood leadership. I'm obviously "a man on a mission," and so I'm energized to teach the Gospel and bring people into the church. But I'm starting to realize the best way to do that is through the Priesthood. I'm really hoping that if I keep striving and contacting, I'll start to find some men prepared for the gospel.<br />
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I love bringing people to Christ. When returned missionaries say that the mission was the best 2 years of their life thus far, I can vouch that it's not a lie. I have loved every moment of my mission. From walking in the baking sun to walking through flooded streets, I have loved every day of the mission. My nightly prayers have become really special for me as I reflect back on my day and just thank God for how great the mission is. It's really a sweet moment as I feel a ton of gratitude and love for my mission during these prayers.<br />
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I know God lives, and that he loves us. This is a simple truth that has now been engraved on my soul. The Book of Mormon is true, and everything else follows. The Gospel is simple and brings happiness. I love being able to be a messenger in the hands of God to bless the lives of others. Yup, I love the mission.<br />
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Love Elder Clemóns<br />
<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-48234501493245819162015-02-09T16:42:00.000-08:002015-02-15T16:57:38.702-08:00Each one was just shining with the Spirit...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQmLI1FtgM29HihrEklhyphenhyphenAStieZR4TOYhg1xYUxRx0qqSNExCHuAnECcmO3FqnkHXJlIeK74R3CDEGpUlQ6yIvTom1Uf3z4O4CAz_RE-jqdjlq-axDJQTwDhVfqN8pPTQEYdDjnT4Qsq0/s1600/Goodbye+Elder+Leon-+Closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQmLI1FtgM29HihrEklhyphenhyphenAStieZR4TOYhg1xYUxRx0qqSNExCHuAnECcmO3FqnkHXJlIeK74R3CDEGpUlQ6yIvTom1Uf3z4O4CAz_RE-jqdjlq-axDJQTwDhVfqN8pPTQEYdDjnT4Qsq0/s1600/Goodbye+Elder+Leon-+Closeup.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Wow, I am going to miss Elder Leon!!</i></span></td></tr>
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Hey, good news ...we now have 2 hours to write all of our letters home!!!! WOOOT!!!! I'm so glad the rule has finally changed! :D<br />
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<b>Transfers </b><br />
Also, we had transfers yesterday, we were going to have them this Wednesday, but for some reason we had them yesterday, so I will tell you what happened to me.<br />
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Sadly, after 4.5 months, Elder Leon and I are no longer companions.
He was called to be a trainer in Saenz Peña, and I stayed here as a zone
leader with my new companion, Elder Felkins!!!!!!<br />
<br />
Elder Felkins has been in the mission only 6 months! ...and has
already been called to be a Zone Leader. And it's no surprise to me
because he's super dedicated, faithful, and hard working. I'm super
excited to learn from him.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4VcM1rRrfotUTYULTFY6f-4pT3-kQIPD5V6bdcxzYLkasH_30iDSJVIPhyphenhyphenGQE3r_VHpe4IVbhNL7T04JsKrhFtrsbz9LhtBS6cOks7BMo4A6ljIfrnXyCtET7muWXzu67u9oiR0X7U0/s1600/My+new+Comp!!%2BElder%2BFelkins%2Bde%2BRossevelt%2BUtah-%2BCloseup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4VcM1rRrfotUTYULTFY6f-4pT3-kQIPD5V6bdcxzYLkasH_30iDSJVIPhyphenhyphenGQE3r_VHpe4IVbhNL7T04JsKrhFtrsbz9LhtBS6cOks7BMo4A6ljIfrnXyCtET7muWXzu67u9oiR0X7U0/s1600/My+new+Comp!!%2BElder%2BFelkins%2Bde%2BRossevelt%2BUtah-%2BCloseup.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Elder Felkins is my new companion ...only 6 months in the mission!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Also, every single companionship in the zone changed again, except one, La Valle. So once again, I get to "get to know" a lot of new missionaries. :)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJLGrmp30uCU0Eg3YIFMie-xbfzM8Q5xEyikGtWZWHIAv7JKImebPNgXgNaTx8QIrkHKtUt3LHa93wA31Sc-ikYsJngPDK2ui4LSMbrIDboYMmvu2QgBf0ijkd9x8vqBxRcDJhrl0aWcs/s1600/Elder+Morrin+y+Elder+Sibaja.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJLGrmp30uCU0Eg3YIFMie-xbfzM8Q5xEyikGtWZWHIAv7JKImebPNgXgNaTx8QIrkHKtUt3LHa93wA31Sc-ikYsJngPDK2ui4LSMbrIDboYMmvu2QgBf0ijkd9x8vqBxRcDJhrl0aWcs/s1600/Elder+Morrin+y+Elder+Sibaja.jpg" height="auto" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Saying goodbye to Elder Morrin y Elder Sibaja</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Zone Conference</b><br />
Our week was pretty busy. On Tuesday we had the big meeting with all the leaders in Resistencia. We talked about the new rules in the mission and how to improve our teaching abilities. We also got to watch Meet the Mormons! Wow, a super good movie! I loved the part of the Navy Coach. Also, the part of the missionary mom made me a little teary-eyed. It's just impossible not to miss your family while watching this movie as a missionary. I just want to watch it again.<br />
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Also at this meeting, we got to hear the testimony of of the "honrables" (the missionaries that are going home). This was my favorite part of this meeting. Each one was just shining with the Spirit, and each one of them had these just amazing experiences. Each time one got up to talk, you could just feel the room fill with the Spirit. Their testimonies were so real and so sincere. I hope one day my testimony will reach that level.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH6KAo4dpydU_pEIcH5eKFOPEL5lZiqhsZ4mnQXRmuUbQV-lWoEXoa7iNoHN4aP0XkpDbt8fkcx6HDXj41_gdDyd7vH5Fpdpg7SA1VAzlBXd7jUunGyUS1Mgy08nVW9AA5MLvQRnT8UAA/s1600/My+Zone+before+Transfers.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH6KAo4dpydU_pEIcH5eKFOPEL5lZiqhsZ4mnQXRmuUbQV-lWoEXoa7iNoHN4aP0XkpDbt8fkcx6HDXj41_gdDyd7vH5Fpdpg7SA1VAzlBXd7jUunGyUS1Mgy08nVW9AA5MLvQRnT8UAA/s1600/My+Zone+before+Transfers.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">My Zone just before the transfer...</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Investigators</b><br />
Right now in our area we have a lot of
potential. We are working with Mirta, Marta, Taresa, Valentina y Lucas,
and Telia y Mingo. I would asked that you can pray for each one of them.<br />
<br />
Pray
for Mirta so her lawyer can finish up the paperwork so that she can be
married and baptized, Marta so that she can stop smoking and have more
peace in her home, Taresa so that she can receive and recognize the
answers to her prayers, Valentina y Lucas so that they can understand
the doctrines of the Restored Gospel and want to be baptized, and for
Telia y Mingo so that they can feel the Spirit testifying to them that
they should be married.<br />
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Please pray for them all so that they can overcome their obstaculos, and pray for us so that we can know how to help them.<br />
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<b>Telia</b><br />
We had a really spiritual experience with Telia. She's 20 and lives with her boyfriend. She has a friend who is a member, and the friend has come with us to most of her lessons. We had a baptism in the zone this last Saturday, and so we invited Telia to go to see it. It was a nice service. There were about 60 people in assistance. The branch president somehow found out that I'm able to sing, so they asked me to sing "Abide With Me" in Spanish with another Elder. I'd say it went pretty well, and I think one could easily feel a spirit of love and truth during the meeting.<br />
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As we finished up the baptismal service, we went to the back of the room to eat some snacks and cake in celebration. My companion and I noticed that Telia and her friend were slow to get up, so we went over there to invite them to eat some of the deserts with the rest of the group. We found Telia silently crying, and her friend trying to comfort her. When she calmed down a little bit, we asked her what had happened, and the first thing that she said to us was, "When can I get baptized." She went on to tell us that she had never felt such love and unity in her life like she had felt during the meeting. We testified that these feelings were from God as a testimony of the divinity of the Restored Gospel, and that this was indeed the Lord's true church.<br />
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We asked her what she would be willing to do to get baptized, and she said "anything."<br />
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The very next day she got herself up and walked to church with her member friend. She stayed for the entire 3 hours. And once again, after the meeting we found her teared eyed but happy. We have another lesson scheduled with her today, so we'll see what the Lord would like us to do to help her progress.<br />
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This just stands to me as another witness of the truthfulness of this work.<br />
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God loves each and every one of us. And for this reason He has restored His church. What Telia said was correct, that love and unity are found in Christ. I know Christ died and rose for us. I know that as we come closer to Him, we also grow closer to one another.<br />
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I love the mission, I love the missionaries that I work with, and I love my family.<br />
<br />
Love Elder Clemóns<br />
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<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-39590631106508527282015-02-02T14:52:00.000-08:002015-02-08T14:56:43.229-08:00 Billions of missionaries...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmH9pyok-Vl5o647X19oi6zWw11IofpOrtuPag5zv7Qaqa9OPhhyphenhyphenqxVHUKSbdYR7K1P4pgboes3flfnOqUJJHKXBPN_RxKLSeVNB8vHK401ZiVxAVXFqMxvhB5KyTjxsUZvILY8q6v2M/s1600/DSC01180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmH9pyok-Vl5o647X19oi6zWw11IofpOrtuPag5zv7Qaqa9OPhhyphenhyphenqxVHUKSbdYR7K1P4pgboes3flfnOqUJJHKXBPN_RxKLSeVNB8vHK401ZiVxAVXFqMxvhB5KyTjxsUZvILY8q6v2M/s1600/DSC01180.JPG" height="139" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Ya sorry, but there isn't very much time this week to write home. :p But, this week was pretty good.<br />
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<b>Investigators</b> <br />
In recent days we have been finding some new, solid people to teach. We now have 5 solid people. 2 of them are the twins Valentina y Lucas; they have baptisms scheduled for the 14th of this month, and everything is going well with them.<br />
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We are also teaching an old investigator named Marta. Missionaries had passed by her home and taught her some of the lessons about 3 years ago, but she wasn't able to get baptized at that time because of a smoking problem. When we met her again about 3 weeks ago, she was still smoking about 10-15 a day. But she wanted to commit to quitting. I know it's hard, but she's already down to 2-3 a day, so that's huge progress!<br />
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We are also teaching the sister of the branch secretary, Teresa. She's had billions of missionaries pass by her house, but we are the first ones that have been able to make the right connection with her. For some reason, she's able and willing to understand the message of the restoration from us. Don't know what we're doing different, but whatever it is, it seems to work! :D She recently came to church for the first time ever! :D<br />
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And we've started working again with Mirta, who I've written before about in past weeks. Her lawyer finally got back from vacationes, and we can begin to work on the marriage paper process.<br />
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<b>So random news</b><br />
I got sick this last week ...and I'm still at this moment :P Ummm, I think it's because of my sun-burn from last week. My whole neck peeled off and also the back of my legs. I don't quite know how that happened. And now I'm even more white than I was :p<br />
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Tomorrow we have our big leadership meeting in Resistencia. So, yup, I gotta get up early again tomorrow :p! Woot!!! You never stop as a missionary!<br />
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Love the mission! sooo much! :D<br />
<br />
Elder Clemons<br />
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<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-27660428900779170502015-01-26T22:08:00.000-08:002015-02-03T22:38:44.576-08:00Ouch!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4-qKq-h8bZ1GVehP9-PVnc_7jFfPuGpsCCXYyUN5_Cu_Cqdr-TGfeg_drg7-gMccdbANeTgt_n7NaMFbJX8jSRELGEkH6rMBo52GUWgCchmWIR8WqqFCEZC9YJB0cTwm1v6xQDDEO7Y/s1600/P1131079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4-qKq-h8bZ1GVehP9-PVnc_7jFfPuGpsCCXYyUN5_Cu_Cqdr-TGfeg_drg7-gMccdbANeTgt_n7NaMFbJX8jSRELGEkH6rMBo52GUWgCchmWIR8WqqFCEZC9YJB0cTwm1v6xQDDEO7Y/s1600/P1131079.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The power goes out here in Goya about 3 times a day!</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Hey, so here's the latest that's gone down this week. <br />
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<div>
My companion and I were pretty busy. We did 2 exchanges durante this semana with other Elders. We only worked in our area for 3 days, haha.<br />
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We went on exchanges with the elders in BellaVista; I stayed in my area with Elder Vasco. He is from Ecuador. He has a super cool conversion story. Basically, he was a bad kid that did not do great stuff, but the missionaries found him, and he describes that he felt such joy when they were there that he was willing to do anything to keep that feeling with him, even to the point of leaving his girlfriend so that he could get baptized. His story is so touching ...essentially, everyone was against him. But he followed what he knew to be right, and now look where he is at! <br />
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I also went on exchanges with Elder Reynolds who is new to the zone this transfer. He is from Pima, Arizona. I can't easily explain him. He's just a really big crazy guy that had crazy friends that did fun crazy stuff, but he still stayed a faithful member of the church. He has so much energy, and it is hard to control him haha. But I have never laughed so hard during my mission. It was just awesome to be with him. <br />
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So the work here has kinda slowed down for us, but we still have some potentials for baptisms. We are working with a mom and her 2 twins. The mom's name is Lucia; she's been a member for about 2 years, but is now less-active. We have been reactivating her recently, and she's already gone back to church 3 times! :D Her twins, Valentina y Lucas, are 9 years old. Lucas wants to be baptized, and Valentina is scared of lots of people and water, so she doesn't quite yet. But Lucas is going to be baptized on the 14th, and hopefully Valentina along with her! :D They are both super happy and really intelligent kids. So they are our main focus for the moment. Please pray for this family so that they can continue faithfully to their baptisms and afterwards as well!<br />
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But we do need to look for some more people to teach.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUSqBMwvxOIvyPGlu9jOAAwKzLNKsP-Zkg9_WuFQeJASpsxt1kroNgHwr2jsK0mS1cltFWoDAR3aYfYrJ94UjZqqO467FsjwFBYSWEp4Cak1OCgVAqHAynYdz1l9awhSnWvnUUvBJYT6o/s1600/P1241148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUSqBMwvxOIvyPGlu9jOAAwKzLNKsP-Zkg9_WuFQeJASpsxt1kroNgHwr2jsK0mS1cltFWoDAR3aYfYrJ94UjZqqO467FsjwFBYSWEp4Cak1OCgVAqHAynYdz1l9awhSnWvnUUvBJYT6o/s1600/P1241148.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMJGOyhMs0Kzx1PrpE3dpupifohrMjTKelmfbATRrO1lVsWGVXmCbbQ3Gk_yQ0lE7rFUkvP4THbszhqovcyOkGSxyg08jyeQ19atqkeHXxLcylawKB3yjhknF_X-titiq3W3WvdLz20o/s1600/P1241141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMJGOyhMs0Kzx1PrpE3dpupifohrMjTKelmfbATRrO1lVsWGVXmCbbQ3Gk_yQ0lE7rFUkvP4THbszhqovcyOkGSxyg08jyeQ19atqkeHXxLcylawKB3yjhknF_X-titiq3W3WvdLz20o/s1600/P1241141.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a>Hey, so I got scorched this week! Like, serious sun burn!! We did service for some recent converts this week. The sad thing is every time it rains here, the water floods into their house because they basically live in a bowl. So we decided to literally raise the house a couple of feet so that the water couldn't come in any more; we also cut their lawn. So, needless to say, it took quite a while (4 hours), and, well, um, I forgot that I'm a white guy who's legs and neck haven't seen sun for months. Oh, they got soooo burned; and it kills super bad. And believe me, wearing this white shirt and tie does NOT help :p<br />
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But everything here is good. And the mission is always great.<br />
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Please pray for my investigators :)<br />
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Thank you so much for all that you do, for helping get things ready for when I come home, for the genealogy information, for the letters (please write more), and for all the support. I truly love you. <br />
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Ciao!<br />
<br />
Elder Clemóns<br />
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<br /></div>
Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-74696351422993984362015-01-19T21:28:00.000-08:002015-01-27T21:29:38.153-08:00Telma<div dir="ltr">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzitUkBG9EL1-IpttPtF0zucgwNfStIVH3cUzgcVdVOXSTg1T5rbOujziO8LvFbX245Tob0cspR7HBkCTEfDy5gF2LpbHnjq3RmAhxkAUjguwgnmZJIpUEA7yFqDHNBu4J2Vo6o9zkwlA/s1600/P1201120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzitUkBG9EL1-IpttPtF0zucgwNfStIVH3cUzgcVdVOXSTg1T5rbOujziO8LvFbX245Tob0cspR7HBkCTEfDy5gF2LpbHnjq3RmAhxkAUjguwgnmZJIpUEA7yFqDHNBu4J2Vo6o9zkwlA/s1600/P1201120.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Bella Vista has this huge cross. Awesome!!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Hey family! So this has been a really good week!
Sorry for not writing yesterday, the power in all of Goya cut, so we
couldn't write.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhbt6P7LqsmkbpCanPwq5W4RjdPatvWnNnXoapl1fGdP3ueNpLKKq3vUpPC6xte6JArCv5QoeipXkJkHI0CcKvAksXUSW7mvBdPzgiW2ZmQI1x7VXymkQxyVESiRLN0ega-J7WgCMvgM/s1600/Telma+gets+baptised.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhbt6P7LqsmkbpCanPwq5W4RjdPatvWnNnXoapl1fGdP3ueNpLKKq3vUpPC6xte6JArCv5QoeipXkJkHI0CcKvAksXUSW7mvBdPzgiW2ZmQI1x7VXymkQxyVESiRLN0ega-J7WgCMvgM/s1600/Telma+gets+baptised.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Telma gets baptised</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EbU8IAyYM-cfqlMJ4Fn5PIIpNKG15b5mLm86fJ3ezHL5ynZZ91vfmUS-wBia0v54KkUoVUfEzU-6v2je9RspEnMkQRPPOu1td2ZTxOodC-kfe-hKvtLXkp6pSSAg5yaWYXVcSHX_5n8/s1600/Telma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EbU8IAyYM-cfqlMJ4Fn5PIIpNKG15b5mLm86fJ3ezHL5ynZZ91vfmUS-wBia0v54KkUoVUfEzU-6v2je9RspEnMkQRPPOu1td2ZTxOodC-kfe-hKvtLXkp6pSSAg5yaWYXVcSHX_5n8/s1600/Telma.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Telma, David's cousin, was super happy on her baptism!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
To start off, we had a baptism
this week! Random right? Kinda' came out of no where. haha. Her name is
Telma. She is the granddaughter of Walter Gomez, the ward mission
leader, and the cousin of David, my first covert here in Goya. We've
been teaching her since I arrived here in Goya. She was unsure about
baptism for a long time, and out of the blue decided to get baptized. :)
It was an incredible feeling to be present durante her baptism. It clearly felt
like more of a family baptism, a ward baptism, rather than a missionary baptism. Her whole family was with her every step of the
way, from beginning to end. We only provided the teaching. As you can
see in the photos, her whole family came to support her, and there was just a
happy family spirit during the whole thing.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn81trvOnAG0-hJYyMmHXT5GwcPrAqCWv-1f8j3YcLDalHI97M_Q8d50rHkzk9jDYDmrDyPF7tZBoC88Nb4dHAEJcwaUl0_aZqvqs45WSzopgO1L1oP0SLyA6FLGHyKDq0x3v0piSMpQ4/s1600/P1171095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn81trvOnAG0-hJYyMmHXT5GwcPrAqCWv-1f8j3YcLDalHI97M_Q8d50rHkzk9jDYDmrDyPF7tZBoC88Nb4dHAEJcwaUl0_aZqvqs45WSzopgO1L1oP0SLyA6FLGHyKDq0x3v0piSMpQ4/s1600/P1171095.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
This is how baptisms should be,
the work of the members, with the support of the missionaries. The
Spirit was just so strong, and Telma was so happy. She even arrived 2 hours
early to make sure everything was perfect haha. I loved it. Was definitely a memorable baptisms. </div>
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Also our interviews
with Pres. Franco went well, and the sleepover with the assistants was
fun. We all ordered pizza and stuffed ourselves ...because Goya has the best pizza in the mission. Wow, we ate so much.
haha.</div>
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</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTb9pqtJXqF5FuBot15e-Lt4y7p1HFTTKUQ0FW_wcv4GDzY4neWRN8VaORz5lvufhfz9wV3FpzTfa_cd2wcS9JFQtua3oaXEdDd4uoQpnIi2N-abDlfiDoa5XwvJXl9bnMsjYIRIl2lXE/s1600/P1151090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTb9pqtJXqF5FuBot15e-Lt4y7p1HFTTKUQ0FW_wcv4GDzY4neWRN8VaORz5lvufhfz9wV3FpzTfa_cd2wcS9JFQtua3oaXEdDd4uoQpnIi2N-abDlfiDoa5XwvJXl9bnMsjYIRIl2lXE/s1600/P1151090.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>First sign I've found in town that actually says Goya!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Then we talked through the night, and of course woke up early in the
morning dead tired. We started out with interviews with Pres. Franco, and then we shared with him our training plans. Afterwards, President drove us up to BellaVista
in his truck!!! That was so dope! First
time I've driven with President anywhere haha. Then we did our training and had some more interviews
in BellaVista. I asked Presidente if I could finish my
mission training, I loved training Elder Conway and would love to train
again. I'm pretty sure I have one more transfer as a ZL, and then I'll
get to train again hopefully! :D But we'll see what happens. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZyRmv7t3dyVpS52KmQaNOnPE5BZsIsbUpArxVYlyjqi3VBywG67liT48y2Q5TVCdGJrYNLi2tJuskB-IE0RRYiHei1AAmx-AAAa3JeKEmMchxDR6JLI5sR9qsp5W2j4Wx0vNvsLEm7g/s1600/P1141082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZyRmv7t3dyVpS52KmQaNOnPE5BZsIsbUpArxVYlyjqi3VBywG67liT48y2Q5TVCdGJrYNLi2tJuskB-IE0RRYiHei1AAmx-AAAa3JeKEmMchxDR6JLI5sR9qsp5W2j4Wx0vNvsLEm7g/s1600/P1141082.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Goya's not always the prettiest place<br />...but the people are great!<span id="goog_467123720"></span><span id="goog_467123721"></span></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
I
hope you know that I love my mission. There really is no greater
happiness than serving our fellow brothers and sisters. I love bringing them the
gospel and being a small instrument in the hands of my God. I love
seeing the affect the gospel can have in the lives of people
individually, and as families.<br />
<br />
I loved seeing the joy the Gomez
family had when Telma got baptized. I loved seeing the happiness grow in the
Micheli's home as we taught them.<br />
<br />
I have so many evidences of how the
gospel brings true happiness to people. It certainly has brought me a great deal of happiness in my years growing up at home, and now here on the mission.<br />
<br />
I know it
is all true, and I promise I will always work my hardest to bring people
to Christ. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
I love you!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Elder Clemóns</div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEF6lVjoAb83e1jYE0_S6bueS1rh87JlK5_WdpjLsiQZ_gag7aVl-LMUF7n0R_VJqQyiF9ncKN4lFQL3yly5-25cT6XR2AfFidMrsE-hBqEJhUXpLsZAOA81av7TB3p99HuzUve9ATV0k/s1600/P1151093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEF6lVjoAb83e1jYE0_S6bueS1rh87JlK5_WdpjLsiQZ_gag7aVl-LMUF7n0R_VJqQyiF9ncKN4lFQL3yly5-25cT6XR2AfFidMrsE-hBqEJhUXpLsZAOA81av7TB3p99HuzUve9ATV0k/s1600/P1151093.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>...but sometimes Goya <b>IS</b> the prettiest place!!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
P.S. I have already told the office that you are coming to pick me up ...so ya. :) I love you all!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-73444561200030966872015-01-12T21:27:00.000-08:002015-01-18T21:52:43.257-08:00I got my papers today...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrccz_1GlDQvUN1PIHnMDvflZHNQao0LoHwYPlqJQlQr6LLCRoGQ1ndlEH8VSJYE88WstOqBvW-OsEQjifxtsmU4dxCs_4pRVnKtR4MVFJSLE7rbqPGF8xebHTO8C3hhyoDRzTFkOo5VQ/s1600/P1111063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrccz_1GlDQvUN1PIHnMDvflZHNQao0LoHwYPlqJQlQr6LLCRoGQ1ndlEH8VSJYE88WstOqBvW-OsEQjifxtsmU4dxCs_4pRVnKtR4MVFJSLE7rbqPGF8xebHTO8C3hhyoDRzTFkOo5VQ/s1600/P1111063.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>I'm in about a foot of water. Fun to be in a flood ...but it's slowing down the work :-(</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Well, this semana was difficult. <br />
<br />
We are having some family/legal problems with Viviana and Antonio. Viviana's sister doesn't want them to get baptized.<br />
<br />
Telma was going to get baptized this Saturday, but didn't make it to church because it rained. Although she's ready, I think we're going to wait one more week.<br />
<br />
Did I mention the rain? Wow, it's rained sooo much here! Of the last 5 Sundays, it's rained 4 of them! And not just rain, it's completely flooded the area! It's crazy!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjR6Z4JcCbjITOLzgNVEV6NJHbpNvlw8zCM3TlWyplwm4mWPVF9KzwoDCMFdgK6Ck1MK_95FSWN5nI6CAV4SWP1q9sn1RCF1HQLWx7eLcooaYbOIK0YwyDrSOLaA_Eqad8syiPOaYpBk/s1600/P1111064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjR6Z4JcCbjITOLzgNVEV6NJHbpNvlw8zCM3TlWyplwm4mWPVF9KzwoDCMFdgK6Ck1MK_95FSWN5nI6CAV4SWP1q9sn1RCF1HQLWx7eLcooaYbOIK0YwyDrSOLaA_Eqad8syiPOaYpBk/s1600/P1111064.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Church just started ...yup, it's only us 4 missionaries. Where is everybody?</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And as you can see, church was jam packed when it started at 9:00 haha ...we were the only 4 at this point, even 2 of the Elders didn't make it in time
haha We eventually had 9 people in church, but still 6 of them were missioneros! What the goodness! The rain is literally destroying the work here in Goya.<br />
<br />
But tomorrow we have interviews with he Pres. Franco. They come tonight to sleep over (gotta start cleaning now!) and we have them bright and early at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Elder Leon and I will travel with them to Bella Vista to finish the interviews up there. So tomorrow should be a bonding day with Pres. Franco, haha.<br />
<br />
So we could be having some baptisms soon, but we don't know when all this will happen.<br />
<br />
I love you all!! Pray for Viviana, Antonio, Mirta, and Telma!<br />
<br />
Yep, I got my papers today, June 16th is when I come home.<br />
<br />
Bye!<br />
<br />
Elder Travis Clemons<br />
<br />
P.S. Oh!!! Do you think you could make me a little booklet of My Family? Just something electronic. I need to do
it before Feb 3rd. But all I need is to go back 3 generations including birth
dates, death dates, cities, marriages, todo. Ask Lori! or Grandma!!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPuOa-A7I2y2sgLLXJzUsGb7_eUqZIqWysmHGhsjawO2qGKqu0th4h5ukhb5S7sQBClyXhJMppnbbvKToDeokrNadylHUz6GvQK8nErx1fRWSObWYSpFea6k3wIPZ6Md8VRC39wbvJVow/s1600/P1071060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPuOa-A7I2y2sgLLXJzUsGb7_eUqZIqWysmHGhsjawO2qGKqu0th4h5ukhb5S7sQBClyXhJMppnbbvKToDeokrNadylHUz6GvQK8nErx1fRWSObWYSpFea6k3wIPZ6Md8VRC39wbvJVow/s1600/P1071060.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">So we had the zone meeting last week, we asked an hermana</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">to make us some home made donuts, oh it was just divine.</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-17243029666997208602015-01-05T14:34:00.000-08:002015-01-10T14:49:21.729-08:00New Years...So once again I don't have time to write. :(<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp84ZBTlPqYf40pEfJHBDzh7lTLuw8huBM2kkec12yqdBl4pX76J8RBy_pWqr-JpQEtdDHSt7u1yL266qDS_hcsno14TtdJGgLZxolFizoc6MQ6A90k505IPfYPF-QQFPCuA1Gvr8jXtc/s1600/PC311043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp84ZBTlPqYf40pEfJHBDzh7lTLuw8huBM2kkec12yqdBl4pX76J8RBy_pWqr-JpQEtdDHSt7u1yL266qDS_hcsno14TtdJGgLZxolFizoc6MQ6A90k505IPfYPF-QQFPCuA1Gvr8jXtc/s1600/PC311043.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>New years was pretty fun. We invited some other Elderes to come over to the apartment to spend the night and play some games. Elder de la Peña y Elder Coates come over. Some members had brought over some asado (ooo, so yummy!!), and we bought some ice-cream, and we essentially spent the night playing a version of Risk. Pretty fun. I won! :D Woot!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So sad news, Viviana and her son Antonio were supposed to be baptized last week. But Viviana decided she wasn't ready yet to get baptized. So we'll give it a week, spend some time with her to resolve her concerns, and try to reschedule the baptism for next Saturday. She's been super solid the whole time, even calling us asking for more scriptures to read from the BoM. We had a lesson with her just yesterday, and had a total of 5 member friends come with us (yup, we brought a little Mormon battalion with us) to help us help her. We went in with no plan, just hope and faith that the Spirit would work through the members.<br />
<br />
And boy, was it strong!! The Spirit worked fervently through the members to provide the needed comfort and direction. My companion and I did nothing, we hardly talked, but the members were able to comfort her, and motivate her to continue on in her studies and faith. It was a really touching lesson, and testified to me the power of the Spirit and the importance of member missionaries ...when both are present, success is guaranteed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Tomorrow we have a big meeting with all the leaders, which means once again I'm getting up at around 2:00am! Ouch :P<br />
<br />
Oh, I forgot to tell you we had transfers this last week. Nothing happened to me, but once again the entire zone got changed up. :P So, I guess I'll get to know lots of new faces again! :D<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEici4u8yvpjC7C9up78HaC6jFgWHL-rm9vunkYYh35iVL4UvKcR1Y8RscGwvXqMPNFwZqFZ7iHapT0kqQc4W04BbUfSRaa0wF1e-E9tpkaCctNFKvDWic4FlYDYcvh_BdNg0Aw-uiI9kcE/s1600/DSC01085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEici4u8yvpjC7C9up78HaC6jFgWHL-rm9vunkYYh35iVL4UvKcR1Y8RscGwvXqMPNFwZqFZ7iHapT0kqQc4W04BbUfSRaa0wF1e-E9tpkaCctNFKvDWic4FlYDYcvh_BdNg0Aw-uiI9kcE/s1600/DSC01085.JPG" height="347" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I'm going to miss my zone... :-(</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I love and miss you all.<br />
<br />
Elder Clemóns<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVlZRKPj_iJz867IBdtdvvA2hJ9uXkMWUtk9MMFpMJavxjgTDwfrB0_uR6a3VWbuQUPFTaw3kihxWctIPojZJCUoO_mor3Bmw1yKjLj-QEKHYbZcF9CgXjIzGS5rwLYlF59C4G2wShgEo/s1600/DSC01081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVlZRKPj_iJz867IBdtdvvA2hJ9uXkMWUtk9MMFpMJavxjgTDwfrB0_uR6a3VWbuQUPFTaw3kihxWctIPojZJCUoO_mor3Bmw1yKjLj-QEKHYbZcF9CgXjIzGS5rwLYlF59C4G2wShgEo/s1600/DSC01081.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Men in black ;-)</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-42626460090851560902014-12-29T19:10:00.000-08:002015-01-04T19:10:36.411-08:00GabrielSorry family, no time to write a long letter home today!!<br />
<br />
This week was once again super crazy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Plaza Activity</b><br />
The actividad in the plaza was a huuuuuge success! We got tons of references, and we have already begun to teach some of them.<br />
<br />
<table><tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIfYzz9JiOQnMzqUBYbeZvt5UtZjWP0mBOz8O7e15gXHVTDHLLkceXs_5t1i-6ns_WtIutnUVDBDZ8YORetwoYlXnZu-0lC25WT0XsPtHNtTH15S5GhF7KoxL9C3tyfRMCPtabVrjvXoE/s1600/PC220960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIfYzz9JiOQnMzqUBYbeZvt5UtZjWP0mBOz8O7e15gXHVTDHLLkceXs_5t1i-6ns_WtIutnUVDBDZ8YORetwoYlXnZu-0lC25WT0XsPtHNtTH15S5GhF7KoxL9C3tyfRMCPtabVrjvXoE/s1600/PC220960.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>
</td>
<td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnz_0NEY8bCixDrjiHIV-N1sOkriUMmU6HON-ktseY4EmME9D9_S1Rb6eIt2tvkM45-fqvihR-D5ErJ906we8m9biYqs9jomhg_KgS-44KpTmLF4-oNQictKxj1MLRjJcOviUkU0gQpk/s1600/PC220968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnz_0NEY8bCixDrjiHIV-N1sOkriUMmU6HON-ktseY4EmME9D9_S1Rb6eIt2tvkM45-fqvihR-D5ErJ906we8m9biYqs9jomhg_KgS-44KpTmLF4-oNQictKxj1MLRjJcOviUkU0gQpk/s1600/PC220968.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>
</td>
<td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LqxmB068aB4mNHBkDxQRJe1XlKiemkmnoHT3p6EEFiuf64Y5S5ICl9f9G3QXGSJ1hgzNYtHmvNz9pNvv0oeRLdCyXNWl094zeLSBXbC5M37MvQY5FqrmCFbpOtL7zHKyAchhY5CfCXA/s1600/PC220962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LqxmB068aB4mNHBkDxQRJe1XlKiemkmnoHT3p6EEFiuf64Y5S5ICl9f9G3QXGSJ1hgzNYtHmvNz9pNvv0oeRLdCyXNWl094zeLSBXbC5M37MvQY5FqrmCFbpOtL7zHKyAchhY5CfCXA/s1600/PC220962.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<b>Christmas</b><br />
The zone party was super tight. The restaurant that we ate at was really nice. We ate outside where there was a pool (of course, we didn't swim. haha) and all-you-can eat asado (meat) buffet and other foods. Very delicious. Good times.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUX5WTUvN4hvNimYPBYTRHqIBfa_SC-lPlUkk-clDiRsQX704jYd0OoEPngZGJTDCISHDiVAzWD0385i4V6UsUSGOgEW14FkxCzo_eCBodhyTEsJJengioKWsGxwXjYzpMcKxc0k_jPbM/s1600/PC240995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUX5WTUvN4hvNimYPBYTRHqIBfa_SC-lPlUkk-clDiRsQX704jYd0OoEPngZGJTDCISHDiVAzWD0385i4V6UsUSGOgEW14FkxCzo_eCBodhyTEsJJengioKWsGxwXjYzpMcKxc0k_jPbM/s1600/PC240995.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Christmas was also nice. We worked the day, then came in around 7 that night. We invited 2 other Elders to spend the evening with us, and we played Risk and ate ice cream.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Gabriel's Baptism</b><br />
<table><tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqPaYkyIjLzLwcNnsaWbcMk4bgUqWPeuxcmn4B93f_Pd-6cF4WCPpkp72D83pQrEpY9MT7DPMOihTT1E1UkAv-C5MQs4Zd3OajD1E7kTJL40haGqoTG6rIlq_t90yZ5nzQXFhVTArnuY/s1600/PC271002.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqPaYkyIjLzLwcNnsaWbcMk4bgUqWPeuxcmn4B93f_Pd-6cF4WCPpkp72D83pQrEpY9MT7DPMOihTT1E1UkAv-C5MQs4Zd3OajD1E7kTJL40haGqoTG6rIlq_t90yZ5nzQXFhVTArnuY/s1600/PC271002.JPG" height="310" width="auto" /></a></td>
<td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqLqETwLtVHCpdtjXo07KYxIwNYH5jc998xeUPbn2ZKBa6q2f85t_NXWO_UwiknMXGeB5sfdmBebdVQSv1E5CZq8GptYyb-AvyH_LSWMq7SknzCwlz-EflXx_bsOEu1DNfKYUv_LhzAlI/s1600/PC271000.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqLqETwLtVHCpdtjXo07KYxIwNYH5jc998xeUPbn2ZKBa6q2f85t_NXWO_UwiknMXGeB5sfdmBebdVQSv1E5CZq8GptYyb-AvyH_LSWMq7SknzCwlz-EflXx_bsOEu1DNfKYUv_LhzAlI/s1600/PC271000.JPG" height="310" width="auto" /></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The baptism of Gabriel was incredible! He is the second person I have taught that accepted a baptismal date on the first lesson and actually went through with it. An unbelievably faithful man.<br />
<br />
Next week we have Vivianna and Antonio!!<br />
<br />
<br />
I love the mission!<br />
<br />
Elder Clemons<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>P.S.</b> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhorsxLL5LUqbF7w-nNyeW9_GiEOdnlvS9U0kTZki0T5XS65ZQgAuzWKtDg4Em0v4853f9R4DYRSgtol4sBk-5z2GhgbSi8_sQ5NU7QmS8M9n6Yz1uazLIZ4f1mRoXuC28AAI_ml4R_qKs/s1600/Flood+-+I+Love+My+Mission+-+Chau.avi" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhorsxLL5LUqbF7w-nNyeW9_GiEOdnlvS9U0kTZki0T5XS65ZQgAuzWKtDg4Em0v4853f9R4DYRSgtol4sBk-5z2GhgbSi8_sQ5NU7QmS8M9n6Yz1uazLIZ4f1mRoXuC28AAI_ml4R_qKs/s1600/Flood+-+I+Love+My+Mission+-+Chau.avi" /></a></div>
It rained so hard core that the city was literally flooded. Water poured into people´s houses and everything.<br />
<br />
Heavy rains for 3 full days. Made the baptisms and Church super hard to attend. It was like we were in Venice (I've never been there). But I loved it, took off my socks and shoes, hiked up my pants, and trucked through it all. it was awesome!<br />
<br />
Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620173837579406241.post-64679479250537015482014-12-22T16:13:00.001-08:002014-12-31T07:51:39.637-08:00500 people contacted!<b>Hola Familia!</b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYMeZS4_i2S0NsiDxzNXjQn0Oyd8PyJ0Jh3mX5M_HIW-mWaMXIwhslI2F863eH2Gsn-8K1VBhQWjQDVwGyWmUlI7YHVV6jchRKv4-TgFDCFOma6b_HGyqI62FtUZl0NIEb32zu6fStmMQ/s1600/PC160956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYMeZS4_i2S0NsiDxzNXjQn0Oyd8PyJ0Jh3mX5M_HIW-mWaMXIwhslI2F863eH2Gsn-8K1VBhQWjQDVwGyWmUlI7YHVV6jchRKv4-TgFDCFOma6b_HGyqI62FtUZl0NIEb32zu6fStmMQ/s1600/PC160956.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Elder Idrogo finished his mission this week</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
</div>
So this week was super crazy and busy.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Plaza Event</b></div>
<div>
So
I am assuming that you want to know how the activity in the plaza went ...well it was great!! The funny this is, I forgot to take
pictures!! But we've only done it twice so far, and our 3rd time will be tonight, so I'll be sure to take pictures then!<br />
<br />
</div>
<div>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDoLYR7i2-YwWcrm35SCXOtp9h8h-Dwh2sZ_oKvWR85wZBcL74IQWfNWU28M-C2kYS_dmNanx27SZjgMMtDmlYOv-N1xphqsoIziCEft4LuqdWlqWi7ZT6yv4i0H5gnACgRG4RG987kxw/s1600/PC160957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDoLYR7i2-YwWcrm35SCXOtp9h8h-Dwh2sZ_oKvWR85wZBcL74IQWfNWU28M-C2kYS_dmNanx27SZjgMMtDmlYOv-N1xphqsoIziCEft4LuqdWlqWi7ZT6yv4i0H5gnACgRG4RG987kxw/s1600/PC160957.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>What an absolutely funny guy!!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
It was a
huge success. I don't know exactly how many people came up to the stand or we
contacted, but I'd say it was around 500 people.<br />
<br />
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
We had 3 huge tables with red,
white, and green table sheet things (I forgot how to say it in
English -- editors note: tablecloths). We also had some Christmas trees, lights, and other decorations. We also had 4
giant photos/posters we had made for the event. We also had Christmas and Tabernacle Choir music blasting throughout the plaza.
It was successful, and I have to admit, a good bit of fun.<br />
<br />
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The way we ran the event is 2
missionaries would stay near the tables, speakers, and stuff, while the rest of us would walk throughout the
plaza and talk with people about our message and invite them to come and
see the stand. We would then lead them to the stand and let the other missionaries teach them and explain the posters to them. We would generally start with our first poster, "He is the Gift," then move on to discuss temple work with the photo of the temple
in Buenos Aires, then to a discussion of our belief in Christ with the "Cristus" poster,
and end near a huge wooden Book of Mormon next to a "Christ in the Americas" poster. I think all the missionaries felt it worked out pretty well :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Zone Christmas Party<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6XbCD_CyJo4cwqiYLozLYjEAwTwMP1XW_Wjb_-WlP1g6gtrLW3HsnjhW5nQu5F5nANn7QbpHMJPOVDeTaMeYdnd-r38eH_hon7coefUOT7ySkYI40ZAsH0BtVC2JyMNnaaWmkTGsmHo/s1600/PC210958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6XbCD_CyJo4cwqiYLozLYjEAwTwMP1XW_Wjb_-WlP1g6gtrLW3HsnjhW5nQu5F5nANn7QbpHMJPOVDeTaMeYdnd-r38eH_hon7coefUOT7ySkYI40ZAsH0BtVC2JyMNnaaWmkTGsmHo/s1600/PC210958.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>I've gotten pretty good at making omelettes! Yum<b><br /></b></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</b></div>
<div>
<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_456892460" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Tomorrow</span></span>
is our Christmas activity as a zone. We're heading to BellaVista for
the day and ending with a dinner buffet. It's going to be at a nice place, so we all
have to wear our suits. I'll be sure to take pictures of this as well.
:) </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<b>Elder Seamons</b><br />
We have done a lot of divisions this week
with Elder Morrin and Elder Seamons. If you remember Elder Morrin and I
were in the same class at the MTC, and Elder Seamons is a new missionary of about 4 months. Something is super sore on Elder Seamons' knee ...to the point where he can't walk. And he can't leave the apartment because of
doctor's orders. I'm really scared for him that he'll have to go home for it. :(
But we have been doing splits with them to allow them to work in their
area. One of us goes with Elder Morrin to work with their investigators, while the other stays in the
apartment with Elder Seamons. Elder Seamons is super down because of it,
so we have been trying to motivate him and help him look up. So I ask
that you please pray for him.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<b>Missionary Work in our Area</b></div>
The Lord really
has blessed us this week. I have never had such little time to work in
my area before, with the activity in the plaza, planning for the
Christmas activity, and working with the other missionaries. But this has also probably been the most successful week I have ever had. Everything just worked
out for us. With the little time we had, everything good that possible
could have happened, happened. Needless to say, it was a huge blessing of the Lord.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So about the work, Gabriel is progressing and will get baptized <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_456892461" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">this Saturday</span></span>!!!
:D And the following week we have Viviana and Antonio!! We've been
meeting with them every day to make sure that everything is fine, and they continue to progress in the Gospel. They all seem super prepared and are eager to join the Lord's kingdom.</div>
<div>
<br />
<b>Skype</b></div>
<div>
So I am super excited to
Skype you this week!!! But we'll only have 45 minutes ...the rule changed
again because some missionaries had abused the privilege. :P But igual, I'm
super excited to see you guys and talk with you. Make sure you have some
legit questions for me so we can chat. I would love to see all of you,
the dogs, and my room. And don't allow Brent to show off some food,
because I miss good food so bad. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Hahah, "Gangnam Style" is playing right now in the Cyber (place where we write). Oh the songs of the world. hahaha</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
I love you all sssuuuuperrrr much!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07113776493076599066noreply@blogger.com