Week 32 - May 24, 2014

Sat May 17. Today was the day I have been waiting for in a while for a couple reasons. 1. I had studies like President taught us in our conference with 5 zones. Start with a song and then pray with sincerity. You should have prayer be something to work for. During the studies really focus on what you are studying and EXAMINE the doctrine. Look for things all during the day and be mindful about what miracles you see happen all around you. Have a notebook or something to write thoughts in with you. I did that and it was awesome. After studies, we bought bizcochos and a couple souveneirs. Then we went to the corto plazos house and took him to Tres Cruces. Then we went to the Montevideo sign on the rambla (highway on the beach.) Then we email and went to Nicole Priggionis birthday party that was happening in the gym of the church. We had an awesome lesson with Fernando planned. When we got there, Joaquin (11 year old son) and his friend were there. We talked to them for a while and found out that they didnt know anything about God. That was the first lesson where I taught someone who didnt know who God was. We basically ended up teaching the plan of salvation according to their questions and where they led. It was actually a great lesson. At the end of the lesson we committed them to pray and invited them to church that is down the street from them. They all took turns praying too and they were some amazing prayers. Elder Castellanos is a great teacher too. I will learn a lot from him.

Sun May 18. Today was a nice day of rest. Elder Castellanos and I taught Gospel Principles class about exaltation. We had a good turno ut and a pretty good lesson in my eyes. We had pizza for lunch and then we had our weekly planning sesión. We did a ton of organizing. We havent had any fights yet for our companionship inventories. We had good things tos ay so far.

Mon May 19. Today was a pretty normal Monday. We spent the morning on numbers and then we had the bolsa preparation. We also got everything ready for a Brazilian Elder who is coming tomorrow. We got home about 10:15after the bolsa run. We did a ton of work today, we could just use a Little help with the bolsa from ANYBODY. Sometimes its nice though because I can make sure I know whats going on and make sure everything goes to the right place.

Tues May 20. Today we woke up early to go get the Brazilian from the airport. We showed up way early to the airport and Heard his flight got cancelled. So we went and studied in the church hotel on the temple grounds. Elder Braga, showed up at 10:50. At first I started talking to him and asking him all about himself. Then after I payed the parking fee, when we jumped back in the car, President said, “He speaks English!” It was true… Elder Braga had gone to two weeks of the MTC in Argentina and he could speak better English than he could speak Spanish.President and I were laughing about it while I was driving everyone back. It was pretty funny to hear Elder Castellanos from El Salvador and Elder Braga from Brasil talking in English in the backseat, while we discussed somethings that were going on with a couple of Elders in Spanish. Usually its the other way around. Elder Braga learned his English from playing video games and listening to music. Thats crazy to me. We went to district meeting after we dropped Elder Braga off at his bus to go to his area. We visited the Varela family later at night and I feel like they really trust us now. I think they need the bishop and member help, so we will see what we can do about that.

Wed May 21. Today was an interesting day. We spent a lot of time in the offices. We went to ge tour licenses at 2, right after lunch. While waiting to be called, I got a call from our church lawyer who told me about 22 missionaries that need to come down to Montevideo this Monday to sign residency papers. Usually I have a month notice or so in advance, but not this time. I spent the rest of the day making the bus Schedule and routes for everyone and making sure they have companions. Then I sent out a ton of messages to the ZLs and individual missionaries to let them know the Information.Then we ran Elder Amaral and Teloma to Independencia to do divisions with Elder Watts and Elder Chuyes.

Thur May 22. Today was pretty packed. W eran all over the place in the morning dropping off mail, picking up mail, going to the distribution center, getting President to sign things, buying tickets, and getting the bolsas. We got lunch at 1 and went home and ate. We were in the offices until we met with bishop to make some visits. We first went to the Varelas house because I felt like they could really use his help. Then bishop had a meeting to go to so we went to the church. We had a karate activity with the Sayago and 18 ward but there were only 5 people there. It was pretty fun to have a Little 12 year old girl lead us and teach us karate. Hilarious story of the day. Elder Castellanos was going to get something from the financers house and he went with Elder Averett because I was in the drivers seat waiting outside with Elder Brown. We talked to a lady a bit who was cleaning their glass doors to the building. The other elders were in a rush and so they were going pretty fast. They ran out the door pretty quick. Elder Castellanos didnt see the nicely cleaned glass door that was following the first one and ran face first into the door, at a pretty fast pace. The poor kid got knocked back and then he just stopped and held his face. Elder Brown and I were blessed enough to watch the whole thing. It was hilarious. I have been waiting my whole life to see something like that. But when Elder Castellanos got into the car, we had to stop laughing and ask if he was okay. I was glad too because he just said that his face really hurt and then he started laughing about it. We all gladly joined in and laughed about it. I would pay to see it again.

Fri May 23. Today was pretty good in the offices. WE had bizcochos in the morning that were good. A homesless guy came up to us and asked for one. Trying to be a Christlike person, I gave him one. Then he asked for another, after pausing and thinking for a second, I gave him another. Then he asked for another one but it was a big nice golden Brown roll with Dulce de Leche inside. That was where I asked, “yeah we just gave you two, we have these for other people that we are going to give to.” And then he said, “yeah thats why you should give them to me.” I was pretty steamed on the inside so I just looked at Elder Castellanos and smiled. He gave him another after talking about it a bit and then we walked on. I am still working on patience. In the offices I did reservations for the temple, hotels for the oros, hotels for President, oro cards, papers for the health test, etc. Then we had a lunch and also a free singing concert at the Olivera house. Then we went to get plaques. We contacted in our area after that. It was very interesting, but we had no luck. Then we had coorelation. It was alright but I feel like the bishop just tells us to go visit less actives a lot. He says he has visited everyone and he doesnt know what to do anymore. Then we went home and had a good Little talk before we went to bed. PRetty good day but man we would sure like to have some more investigators! 

Week 31 - May 17, 2014

Sat May 10. PDAY! Today was not a day of relaxing or preparing for anything… We played futbol before studies. After studies we picked up the APs and then we had lunch with Mary. She made lentejas. It was super good. Its like a bit meat soup with a couple vegetables thrown in there. We had a giant dulce de leche cake with flan for dessert. Then we went to Tres Cruces to pick up the bolsas. We went to Plaza Independencia with Elder Woods to try and get souveniers from a certain store, but it was closed. We drove to the offices and cleaned the place like CRAZY. Then we emailed. At 5 I ended my pday with my secretary job that was to call all the missionaries who had not got Ahold of their parents to tell them when the best time to call home would be. As the night came to a close, I had called over 40 missionaries mothers, fathers, bishops, and stake Presidents to try and get Ahold of someone to let them know. I ended my calls around 11:45 and headed home. I will be happy to have a stress free day.

Sun May 11. MOTHERS DAY! Today was started off pretty good at church. Nothing new or mind blowing but it was a good Sunday with a couple good lessons. We made leftovers for lunch and then we took the sacrament to a lady in a health home. She was once again very thankful for us. After that, we got the APs and their proselyting companions, as well as the Cerro ZLs to go to the offices. All twelve of us took turns calling our families. I called my family at eight. The phone call honestly just jumped up right on me. I remember my first skype home I was thinking about it for a couple weeks and writing things down I wanted to say or ask my family. This time I was just happy to see their faces and hear their voices. It was kind of weird at first but time FLEW by and it seemed like we hardly talked. I had a couple of my best friends there too and it was awesome to hear from them. After all the calls ended and we kicked everyone out of the offices, Elder Castellanos, Elder Averett, Elder Brown, Elder Amaral and I were stuck in the offices without a car or keys. We had to clean anyways, so we cleaned until just after twelve oclock at night. Then Elder Amaral made a quick meal of things we found in the kitchen, then we slept in the offices. We had a wrestling tournament for the couches, and I ended up winning the biggest couch. (Thats totally a joke. We didnt have a wrestling tournament but somehow I got the big couch.)

Mon May 12. Today when we woke up in the offices, we sent out the number sheets and then we took a bus home. We showered and then went back to the offices to do the numbers for the week. I taught Elder Castellanos how to do the numbers and he picked it up pretty fast! We had lunch with the Olivera family. It was a good lunch and they seem like a Strong family. We were in the offices until we had to take Elder Woods to the mission home to head to the Reno Nevada mission to finish off his last 6 months. He forgot his Passport and so we had to go back. The financers came with us and then they dropped Elder Brown and I off in Ciudad Vieja to go get a health exam for our drivers license. We are finally getting drivers  licenses next week because we just got our Cedulas (Uruguay Identification cards)! Elder Brown and I walked around looking for this place for about 25 minutes, asking a couple people where to go. We passed our vision, hearing, and blood pressure test. However, the doctor told me that I have poor vision and I need to eat and drink more. After all that happened, we did the bolsa run and got home at 11:30. Another crazy day.

Tues May 13. Today was quite a day. We had to run to 3C in the morning to buy a couple tickets. Then we took the bolsa to Cerro. We ate lunch and then had our zone conference. Our new District Leader is Elder Amaral from Brasil. He is a stud. Then we cleaned the offices until they were cleaned almost to a scary point. Then we took Elder Arbon to his area in a taxi, and then we came back. Then we got the bolsa from the ZLs from Cerro, and went to our area. We went around contacting people and a couple references we had. A couple girls that were probably about 18-20 called us huevos, and Elder Castellanos said we should contact them. They were cracking up the whole time and when we were talking to them. They were super embarassed too. Then we contacted a man called Fernando. He let us in his house and we taught him lesson 1.1 about the restoration and prayer. He had a lot of great questions. He doesnt have a great family situatioon and he smokes, but we have faith! Then we went to the Salas family and talked about perspective and attitude. I really enjoyed that lesson. It was a GREAT to get out to work and to FINALLY FIND an investigator!

Wed. May 14. Today the financers had a big audit that they have been preparing for. Also, Elder Zaballos, from the 70 was coming to have a tour of the offices. President first arrived and was very impressed with the cleanliness of the offices but he said there is always more to do! We worked in the offices and then we had to take the auditor, Gomez Paz, to the airport. Then we stopped at 3C to pick up bolsas and send vean bags for the Winter. Then we went to the Varelas and had a great lesson about families. Then we stopped at Disco and I bought Yogurt which is the first food I have ever bought for this house.

Thurs. May 15. Today was complicated with the cars. President was in Tbo with the van. We took Jerry home from school, went to Carrasco and back in a taxi, and had a ward council and mission meeting with our new ward mission leader. We also picked up all the bolsas and bought Colonia tickets for the week.

Fri. May 16. Today we had a conference with Elder Zaballos. We learned about prayer, effective studies, and learning languages. It was a really good conference. I loved Presidents talk he gave about good prayer and studies. He proposed a really cool and new way to pray and study that can affect the rest of the day. I also came out with a desire to learn Portuguese. 80% of the LDS members can speak Spanish or English. 90% of the LDS members in the world speak either English, Spanish or Portuguese. We had to make a run to the grocery store to buy 18 6 liter jugs of wáter for the conference. Then we had lunch and talked for a while. Then we worked in the offices. We went to go play futbol but the other ward had the chapel. Then we went to a corto plazos house who will serve for 3 months that is leaving tomorrow. We helped him pack, calm down his parents, and give him a blessing. He will leave tomorrow to work in Rivera for 3 months. 

Week 30 - May 10, 2014

This week we had changes. My change is up to Senior Companion now. Elder Castellanos is my new companion. He has one more change more than me here but we will end together. He is from El Salvador. He is a stud too. Comes up to my shoulder and weighs a whopping 115 lbs. Its a bit of a change from Elder Woods who is 6 foot 2 and 240. He is awesome. I like him a lot. He is a go getter and wants to work hard. So far, we have. I now live with 3 latinos. The last time I lived with three latinos was in Florencio Sanchez my first change. I remember the first night sitting at the dinner table just eating my food while the other elders were laughing their heads off. I felt so lost and helpless. Now I feel like I am somewhat in charge and I can even crack the jokes now! Its pretty fun living with latinos though, as long as they keep everything clean. 

Sat May 3. Today was an alright day. We got hair cuts after our studies and I went short again. Then we went to get the APs in Cerro. They dropped us off to go eat with the financers. Elder Brown made his noodle dish that he likes to make a lot. IT was pretty good. Then we went to the offices and wrote our families. Then I started on changes to be on top of it. Then we went at 5 to get the bolsas. Luis got baptized too. We went to his baptism. It was really cool. We found Luis the last week that we were in Barrio 5 before we changed areas. He shared an AMAZING testimony and I was very impressed. We had a lesson with the Salas family about agency. They yet again promised to go to church, so I hope they do this time!

Sun May 4. Today was fast Sunday at church. I was able to pass the sacrament too! After church, we found food mixes of mashed potates and stuffing. We made all that together with some chicken that I made. It turned out really good despite our first thoughts about it. After that, we went to take the sacrament to an Hermana in a health home. She was super nice and it was nice to have Hermano Betancour there. He is awesome. He is the only member that asks us if he can come work with us. He is pretty impressive. We went to the offices after that and worked on the changes until about 1:30 in the morning and then crashed on the couches. 

Mon May 5. Today was the most stressful day of the 7 months of my mission so far. We woke up and continued to work on changes. The thing that messed up our day was that one of the mission couples had to go take a health test and we had to be the personal taxi. We worked on concilio, changes, and the oro information all day until we bought tickets. Then we spent about an hour and then we took our taxi home. 

Tues May 6. Today the oros got here. Their flight got delayed so they got here late. Too bad that they didnt make it to breakfast, because we got to feast on all of what was ready for them to come. Then we took President and the financers around to run errands. On the car ride, we all talked about music and bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd. President also told us that he is taking his daughter Starla to the One Direction concert. What a fun mission president/dad. We also talked about high adventures that we have had. We had a great time together and I wish we could have more time with President like that. We did all the suitcase moving and then they kicked us out before lunch. We worked in the offices and took the oros to Flores and to a Choque de Fuerza. Then we went to 3C to buy the tickets for the concilio meeting. Then we took the oros back to the mission home. We came home so Elder Woods could shower. Elder Averett and I went to buy chorizos. On the way back, a guy that lives on the street called us over. He asked us about God and His plan. He told us about all of his problems and how he used to believe but now he doesnt. He doesnt believe God loves him and would let him live like that. We testified to him that we know that God has a plan. It was kind of a cool experience because we didnt know what to say to him, we just had to testify. 

Wed May 7. CHANGE DAY. Today was insane too. Elder Woods spent the night with our ZLs in Tres Cruces and Elder Brown slept with the oros. Elder Averett and I woke up at 5:45 and went to Carrasco. We got there and made sure that the oros were ready to go and their rooms were clean. Then we went to tres cruces to get Elder Woods and pick up Elder Castellanos. We took them to the mission home. The oros got back really early so we talked with them until it was time to meet their trainers. When they went to the temple after they had met their trainers, we went back to the offices to work. Then we were eating lunch. President called all the office elders in to their secret side of the house for a meeting. The meeting ended up being about Elder Woods. They got a letter in the mail with Elder Woods new call. He will serve his last 6 months in Reno Nevada. He leaves the 12th of May. The video is on the facebook page if you want to see the opening! After all that, we took the oros to 3C. Then we got the bolsa run ready and done. Then we took the Artigas ZLs, Elder Bulloch and Elder Aqueveque to the mission home. Got home at 11:15.

Thur May 8. Today was crazy. We woke up early to go fix President car. We took it to a Honda dealer in Ciudad Vieja. Then we went to concilio. Within a few minutes of feeling the spirit, I was asked to take Elder Larson and Elder Zapata to the airport. It was pretty cool but sad too. Elder Larson is a stud and I will miss that kid! Then I went to concilio to stay. Concilio was awesome. We were all sharing things at the end about what we learned and the spirit was SUPER STRONG. Its so cool to be with a ton of the studs in the mission. After it all ended, we made three trips to Tres Cruces to take the ZLs to make their buses. We finally ended in our own house at 12:15.

Fri May 9. Today was crazy too. I know its new news but still... We were running all around trying to get stuff done, but people from higher authority always let us know that we had to do something for them PRONTO. I ended up printing the list of the converts for every ward in the mission and making them into two different folders. We also had to get Presidents car from downtown and take it to his house. Then we went to the bienvenida for a missionary that just got home from Peru. We also met with the bishop and he gave us a couple more less actives to visit! Hopefully PDAY Will be relaxing! 

Week 29, 2014 - May 3, 2014

Sat Abr 26. This morning we had futbol really early. I got a dead leg that is STILL killing me and already looks like it might be a good lookin bruise. After studies we had to go get the APs. We played baseball catch with gloves that we found in the APs house. Then we went to nuevo shopping mall, just to look around. We had lunch with Mary. We had lasagna and a birthday cake for Elder Arbon. Then we went to the offices, hung out and emailed. We had an adult stake meeting tonight. It was really good. A lot of talks about missionary work and doing the Little things so we can always progress. Laura, a member of the Salas family went too!

Sun Apr 27. Today we had our zone conference. All the missionaries sang put your shoulder to the Wheel. We had our weekly planning after the conference. It went very well and its always fun to have the last companionship inventory together. Elder Woods says that he really admires my work ethic and politeness. The thing I am going to work on that he brought to my attention was doing things that are in my control. We had our offices inventory. We are starting morning devotionals as the offices too. That should be fun. Then we worked on number sheets for tomorrow. Pretty calm day. Wish we could have worked though!

Mon Apr 28.  Today was alright. The financers had the car almost all day and we ended up missing a bus that a corto plazo from Paysandu was going to take, because the financers were late. After we figured out all the bus situations for him, we went to a lesson, but they werent home. Then we did the bolsa run and a McDonalds hamburger finish.

Tues Apr 29. Today was pretty slow. We had our last district meeting together before changes. We worked in the offices for most of the day. I felt really ineffecient though because we had to run errands and the financers had the car all day again. We had a lesson with Hermana Mello. She is an only member of her family and hasnt been to church in a very long time. Her husband doesnt even want to meet or see the missionaries. We had a good lesson with her about the lost sheep from the Restoration lesson. Then we went to the Salas house and talked about how Laura liked stake conference. We also talked about doing the Little things to help us become constantly converted to the gospel. We had two really good lessons that we were happy about!

Wed Apr 30. Tpday we started off by getting the information done for our Uruguayan identification. Then afterwards, I was running all over Montevideo with Elder Averett. We took the APs to buy shirts for the concilio soccer game, then we went to two different Banks, and then we took the APs to the hospital, then we got plaques. We had lunch with the bishop and his wife. They had home made milanesas, which were bomb. They only lesson that didnt fall through today was with the Varelas. We finally met their son Andreas and he is a stud! He just needs to go to church.

Thur May 1. Today is the feria. Its a day where almost no one works, much less gets out of bed. We had service right after our studies with the Varelas. We helped them put in another door in the house and put cement around that. It was actually a really fun service Project and I liked it a lot! Afterwards we made an asado that was amazing. We helped them make a good fire after they failed a couple times trying. Then their son came over with a big bottle of gas and lit ´er up. We went back home to shower and change, and then we went to a lesson with the Munilla family. We talked about all the things that the church has revealed in the last days through revelation. Then we had a lesson with the Betancours. We taught the first half of the plan of salvation. It went really well. It was a really touching lesson for me too. I loved the input from the dad of the family. I really thought about the sacrifice that Christ made for US and how scared he was to experience pain and suffering for the first time. We went to the offices and Hermano Cancela from the 5th Ward was having his birthday and he brought us food. Then we went to 3C to look for the bolsa, but EVEN TRES CRUCES was closed. I thought I was part of the movie I am legend walking through streets today. Thats how dead the city was. I lost my voice today too.

Friday May 2. Today we had a change meeting with President. He told me that Elder Castellanos will be my new companion. Our change meeting went very well too. We had basically everything ready to go, so we didnt have to go over much! Then we had the Restoration lesson with Hermana Devita, who is inactive. It was a really good lesson. She asked us to come back to read the BoM with her. When we were walking back, a lady stopped us and asked if we could come speak English for a class before a big test they take at school. We had a lesson with an ex investigator that we found in the area book. We talked to him, but he has no desire. This was the sentence that basically made it sure, “No sé quien inventó diezmo, pero esta LOCO!” I dont know who invented tithing, but they are CRAZY. We went on to teach him how tithing has been a commandment since the olden days even before Jesus Christ. After that lesson, we played futbol for the church activity and then we had chorizos!

My cool story about my new companion. About two weeks ago, I had been praying so President would be inspired to send someone to the offices that would help me and the offices out the most. Later on, I came to find out that President had changed my future companion from Elder Diotaiuti to Elder Castellanos. President told me that he had felt inspired to bring a spanish speaking Elder to the offices. President also told me that he had a very spiritual experience in the revelation that he received. That was really cool for me to hear, especially after a couple days of praying that President would know who to send to the offices. I love Elder Diotaiuti and all but needless to say, I am really excited for the next two changes!

Week 28 - April 26, 2014

Sat Apr 19. Today we started with a super fun futbol game. Then, since we are tired of taking the APs from their house to their area every day, we made them move on our Pday. Then we bought bizcochos and Fagar that we found in Cerro! We went to the beach with the APs and we all talked about our honey moons. Then we went and toured this museum and japanese gardens. We spent the whole pday with the APs, which was super fun. I made lunch/temple then we emailed. We planned and then set up residency tickets. Then we went to cerro and brought tickets at 3 Cruces.

Sun Apr 20. EASTER! Literally the only reason I knew it was easter because my bishop said happy eater to us. There were no talks or classes in church, no easter egg hunts, pretty spring colors, NADA! After church we had lunch with this lady that was super nice but a super nervous personality. She lives alone in a TINY house and she had 6 missionaries over to eat. She didnt stop talking for 5 seconds I dont think for the whole time we were there. It was a super fun lunch though. We worked in the offices for a while, then we talked to the financers about getting out of our house. I dont think it will work though. Then we contacted for the rest of the night. We even contacted 2 references we received from the Choque de Fuerza that we had, but they didnt turn out well. Then elder Woods decided he wanted to go contact these kids by playing basketball. I wasnt a big fan of the idea because they had zero interest, and it didnt work out. Then we moved some more furniture to the APs new house in their area FINALLY.

Mon Apr 21. Today was a nice Monday. We met with President and a man who is in charge of statistics of the two missions in Uruguay. It was a really good meeting and we learned a lot of important things about baptismal records. Then Elder Woods and I went to 3C to take the passports to the missionaries signing residency. We had to take two elders to the residency place by ourselves because they were late because they forgot.... I made a new format for the announcements that we do every week in the bolsa. Then we prepped and did a pretty small bolsa run! We sang hymns all the way to 3C together. It was super fun. We also had to buy a couple tickets for Hermana Aragao and Fullmer to come down because Hermana Aragao got bit by a dog on her hand and its swollen. We had milkshake monday afterwards!

Tues Apr 22. I liked today! WE had our district meeting and song prep for stake conference. Then we came back to the offices to find the internet SHOT. I decided we should pray and then clean the offices. Thats what we did. We cleaned for a couple hours until we finally got a hold of the bishop, who came and fixed the internet. We cleaned the whole offices and they look great now. Later we had a lesson with Tania, who just got baptized recently. She is a great example to her active family members and wants to progress even more! We then went to the less active Salas family. We had the best lesson we have had with them yet. Everyone in the whole house came to listen and it went really well. Then we went to Oeste 10 and helped Elder Owen and Elder Finlay move to their new house. We got home at 11:15.

Wed Apr 23. Today we had interviews for the Oeste and Flores zones. We decided we would wake up early to be able to excercise, but I ended up being the only one that excercised. We went to cerro and brought the APs to the interviews. The interviews were amazing. President Smith is such a stud and I learn so much from him every time he talks. The APs had time to teach also. They did the activities that they did in the last concilio, so I had already seen them! Then we had a lesson practice. Elder Woods and I were able to teach. I thought it went pretty well, and we got great feedback to be able to learn off of! We taught the plan of salvation. We worked on the bolsas, plans for tomorrow, and bought some more bus tickets. It was a pretty good day! I wish we could listen to President teach more because he is such an awesome teacher! We didnt have enought time for the office elder interviews, so we will have them another day soon.

Thur Apr 24. Today after studies we went to 3C to look for clothes for Hermana Aragao and Fullmer, who had to have the missionaries in Paysandu send more to them, because they will have an unexpectedly longer stay. The clothes ended up not being there yet. We went to Carrasco to drop the mail off, and we talked to Hermana Smith for a while. Later in the day we had a lesson set with Shirley Devita, a psychologist who is inactive. She actually wasnt there, so we went back to the offices and worked a bit. Later we had to pick up Elder Eiker from 3C, as well as the bag of clothes for the two hermanas. We took the clothes to the pugmire couples house. Their house was right on the rambla, which is the highway right along the beach. SUPER COOL HOUSE! We went back to the offices to study for the lesson with the Salas family. Elder Eiker had served in our area, and his first convert was one of the Salas sisters! We went to their house and they were SUPER excited to see Elder Eiker! We ended up having a GREAT lesson with them! We taught in a trio, but it went really well and balanced!!! We talked about the church being the way to salvation. On our way back from the lesson, Elder Eiker talked us into stopping at a chorizo sandwich vender on the side of the street. We bought some, and they were BOMB for just three dollars each! We took Elder Eiker to the financers house to sleep, and then we went home. Later that night, Elder Baggett called and I talked to him for a while! What a stud! I love that kid.

Fri Apr 25. Today was somewhat crazy. We went to interviews with President. I made brownies while we were waiting for Elder Woods, then I had my interview. President told me a lot of great things that I will write in another journal. He talked about his respect that he and his family all have for me, what I will do to fix things in the offices, and maybe my potential companion. I was super humbled by everything that President said to me. When I came out, Hermana Smith had lunch ready for me, and then after lunch, I made brownies! They werent finished baking by the time we left, but it was alright! I GOT TO LICK THE BOWL! Permission given by Hermana Smith. Then we went to the aduana, the customs offices to get out packages. We had a super nice lady that literally gave us the packages without paying or even looking why they got stopped! MIRACLE! I got my easter package too! Then we had singing practice for the zone. The missionaries of our zone will sing put your shoulder to the wheel for stake conference this weekend. Then we picked up Hermana Beatie and had to help Hermana Fullmer and Aragao get to 3C. After that, we had futbol with our ward. It was a bunch of street guys that came, and they definitely did not speak spanish! 

April 19, 2014 - Week 27

Sat Apr 12. Today we slept at the oeste 5 house where weused to live. I slept on the ouch. We woke up at 5:30 toplay soccer. We had our studies and then slept for the firstwhile of our pday. Then we went to burger King but I feltabsolutely disgusting after. Then we emailed, went to getice cream, and hung out at the offices. We had to go to 3Cto get tickets. Then we met with the Salas family. Theywere super cool. Two ladies. Daughter and mom with acouple kids. It had been raining all day and we didnt havecoats or umbrellas. On our way there and home, the windwas blowing like crazy, with cold rain. The rain wasblowing so hard that we had branches and leaves hit uswhen we walked.

Sat Apr 13. Today was alright. We had a good dat atchurch and fast and testimony meeting. We had a meetingwith bishop for more people to visit and our follow up forlast weeks visits. I really like the bishop. We were givenpizza for lunch. Then we had to bring the financers to theoffices later. We looked up all the peoples names in theWard directory to see who is in our area and who is in theother area. Then we read and contacted ex investigatorsfrom the area book. This was all part of our giant planningsession. Then we came home and killed TONS ofcockroaches.

Mon Abr 14. Today was a pretty good day. We hadpersonal study, then went to the offices, I helped with thebolsas, and then I went to Disco to buy a computer mousewith Elder Brown. Then I went to Carrasco with Elder Brown to do a bunch of things for the offices and theSmiths. We brought home a ton of easter packages for allof the zone. We worked in the offices until President gothome from travels with his family. He told Elder Woods and I to come over. We helped him figure out the changeshe did, then we had dinner with President and Hermana Smith, as well as Jerry and all five of their daughters. Itwas super fun and we ate some great food. Then we saidbye to Audrey, then had our companionship study. Wewent to a FHE with the Betancour family, and we taughtthe restoration. It went really well. Smooth and they gavesome great input. Then we did the biggest bolsa run that Ihave been a part of. We took two cars and they wereFULL! It took two rounds and we got home at 11:30.

Tues Abr 15. Today was a pretty crazy secretary day. Wehad to run to 3C in the morning to buy tickets. ElderGutierrez was at the offices when we got back, and he hadto go to Paysandu, so we told him to go home and pack hisbags. We stayed at the district meeting for 10 minutewsand then we took Elder Gutierrez to catch his bus toPaysandu. We made it back for the last 30 min of districtmeeting. We were stuck in the offices because thefinancers had the car. We answered like 5 calls frommissionaries and house owners who were mad that theyhadnt been paid. Elder Larson came by, and he alwaysmakes my day. Great guy. He didnt have reembolsos, so he did his own because he was an ex financer. We had alesson later with the Salas family. We were really straightup about why count they go to church. We shared a storyfrom John 6 and it was really good. They were reallyreceptive and I hope they complete their promise to go tochurch this week! Then we picked up Elder Finlay and Elder Owen and took them to their new area which isOeste 10. Then we took the APs to their house. One otherthing is Hermana Aragao, who just recently came fromBrazil, just got bit by a dog. She was at the hospital, butbecause she is so new, her name wasnt on the list that thehospital had. I got a call from Hermana Fullmer askingwhat to do. I told her I would just have to talk to the ladyto let her know that Hermana Aragao is a part of ourmission. I was joking with Hermana Fullmer and tellingher that I didnt think I could talk to her. She ended upgiving me a pep talk that made me crack up. I talked to thelady at the hospital and it was no a big deal and HermanaAragao was able to get treated!

Wed Abr 16. Today was crazy. W eran from the offices, 3C, and other places. We picked up packages, had to getplaques twice, and went to the distribution center. We hadabsolutely nothing but junk for food today. We had cereal and cookies all day until 9pm. We had chicken that amember brought us. We had a lesson about focusing ongood things in life with the Varela family. We had aninteresting story. This is the holy week and people aretraveling everywhere. I tried to find a hotel for President,with no luck for an hour. He had let me know that heneeded a hotel during the busiest week of the year here,within 3 days. I was freaking out because I could not finda hotel. I found the last room of the hotel, when I calledthe 18th hotel in Colonia. I was so relieved to find it. It allended up well.

Thur Abr 17. Today was another crazy and stressful day.We worked in the offices until lunch, doing bus tickets andupdating calendars. President then called us and told us wewere going to have a meeting at 2. We scarfed downlunch, and then we drove to get the financers, and the APsworking in their areas. We were 40 minutes late.Hopefully this wont happen when I am senior comp. Thatis my goal anyways. In our meeting with President, hedropped the cane in a really nice way. He is really good atthat. We were having a Choque de Fuerza in our area,where all the missionaries go to our Ward and work for acouple hours. Unfortunately, we were with President andwe couldnt make it. We went to 3C and bought more tickets, gota ll the bolsas, and got denied trying to send asuitcase to an Elder that went home early because of hishealth. Then we had a quick study and went to a lessonwith the Salas family. We had a decent lesson, we justshared a scripture. Then we had to take the APs and twocorto plazos home. We got home at 11:30.

Fri Abr 18. Today was less stressful.

Week 26 - April 12, 2014

Spiritual Lessons and Conference Thoughts

I have been studying my study journal a lot that I have taken to meetings and otheractivities. I have a couple things I want to mention to you all.

1.

¿Qué es lo que tú deseas? What do you desire? We talked about this in Concilio. This is found in 1st Nephi I think around chapter 11. This is when theangel asked Nephi what he desired. At this moment in time,  Nephi wanted toknow the interpretation of the dream of the tree of life, that his father Lehi had.We thought a lot more about it and broke  it down.  Another statement was fromGeneral Conference when Russell M. Nelson said ´Where is our faith?´ Is ourfaith in celebrities, teams, people, or things? The other story is when OliverCowdery wanted to take his family the scriptures to show them how great and true it all was. Oliver asked the Lord and the Lord said no. The second time, hereceived the same answer. No. The last time, the Lord said yes, because of hispersistence. As we know, these scriptures are now lost because there were takenfrom him. The point of these stories is to teach that we need to desire goodthings, but not only that, we need to try and find out what the Lords desires are.If we can find out what the Lord wants, we can make them our desires. The goalis trying to make the Lords desires and our desires the same.

2.

See it. Own it. Solve it. Do it. This is one of the things that President Smith hastaught us, that he has written in his New York Times best selling book. When wehave problems, we need to see it. Whats the problem? Own it. What can I do totake control and do my best to change it. Solve it. Find the best way to solve theproblem. Do it. Do all in your power, do be able to do what you think should bedone.

3.

Jeffrey R. Holland. Saturday morning, I believe that Jeffrey R. Holland said asentence that was more powerful than anything else during general conference. He said, ´I am more certain that this church is true more than I know that I amstanding here in front of you today.´  

4.

Obedience. I have learned a lot about obedience in the mission. I honestly havea testimony about obedience. I have seen the difference of my energy the nextday. Even if I go to say my prayers at 10:32, two minutes late, I feel way moretired the next day. As a missionary, you are constantly thinking about goodthings and trying to help others. You can literally feel the spirit leave if it does. Ilove being able to be an example of Jesus Christ at ALL TIMES in EVERYTHING that we do. Robert D. Hales said that obeying and willinglyobeying are different. I have seen that a lot. We sometimes keep rules justbecause we know we should, but not because we really want to. Its cool to thinkabout that. Elder Hales also said that you lead by example. Obedience is taughtby example. I have definitely seen all the leaders in the mission do this. Just leadby example. I have learned a lot from Elder Bulloch, one of my ZLs in Colonia.Everything he did, was almost perfect. He always smiled. Walked with purpose.Always testified. Absolute stud. I also learned a lot from the APs while beinghere in the office. They have shown their fun and goofy sides with us too. Theyare always super fun to be around, but they never get out of control or forgettheir purpose. Great examples of humility too.

5.

Service. Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf said that there are UNLIMITED opportunitiesto serve. Isnt that crazy to think about? The natural man always wants to seekpride. The greatest leaders I have seen and met in the mission and in life, dothings selflessly. They dont worry about pride or the glory. They do it becauseits the right thing to do. Our savior was chosen to come to this world, and toldthe Father that the glory be thine. Another cool quote from President Uchtdorfwas ´will web e able tos ay we rolled up our sleeves and worked with all ourheart might mind and strength?´ There are UNLIMITED opportunities to serve, so there are NO EXCUSES. I think about boot camp in football off season. Weonly had three answers when coaches said something to us. Yes sir, no sir, or no excuse sir. I have tried to apply that with President Smith too. I try and alwaysdo the best that I can and do it fastest I can, with absolutely no excuses. Putothers interests before your own. I have had the chance to really practice that onthe mission. We have to really listen and think about what the people we serveneed. Last quote from President Uchtdorf is, ´Being a disciple of Christi s aneffort for once and for all.´

Other great quotes from General Conference:

•

Are you the same person wherever you are, whenever it may be?´- President Thomas S. Monson

•

NEEDED is the courage of men like Daniel, Nephi, Joseph Smith, and Abinidi (I forget how to spell that name in English). –President Thomas S. Monson

•

The apostles didnt quit after Jesus died; they worked hard becuase of theirtestimonies, and then they changed the world.  - Dieter F Uchtdorf

•

There are no endings, just everlasting beginnings. – Dieter F Uchtdorf

•

No great how your message is, you will still need consistant and persistantfollow up. – M Russell Ballard

•

I am a competitor and I will do my best, but I want my competitors to dotheir best too!

•

Bearing a load is an essential part of the plan of happiness. – David ABednar

•

Perhaps you may forget the kind words you say today, but the recipient maycherish those words for a lifetime. – President Thomas S. Monson

•

Of all the titles our Heavenly Father could use, he chose the name Father. –Boyd K. Packer

•

Always be ready to receive that gente tug from the Spirit. – L. Tom Perry

•

Obedience is a choice. – L. Tom Perry

•

Christs reign over death solved the human predicament. Now there are onlypersonal predicaments. – D. Todd Christofferson

Weekly Journaling:

Sat Abr 5. Today we woke up at 4:30 to go pick up the Elder who came down from Rivera. I got a phone call at 11:30 from Elder Arbon the night before letting me know we needed to go. We got there at 5, and waited for his bus until 6. Then we went top lay soccer. It was almost all the gringos with all the latinos, plus 2 gringos. It was sprinkling rain so it felt great. We worked as a team and once again beat the latinos, who are just skilled single man teams. Then we printed emails, got home to get clean, then we went to the offices and worked until conference started. I LOVED general conference! We watched it as North American missionaries in the offices. I took a bunch of notes and it was amazing how much I was able to learn and pick up. We wrote our families in between sessions. Then we confirmed the Elders flight home, and studied conference notes while Elder Woods did baptismal records.

Sun Abr 6. Today we woke up and took  the Elder to the airport. We came back to the offices and then we watched priesthood session of conference. I loved priesthood conference and felt like I got the answer to the question that I came into conference with. After that, we ate lunch and then reviewed precious talks. Then we watched the Sunday morning session. Then we snacked and chatted until the 2nd session. After the 2nd session, we talked with the members from the stake. I went back into the offices and found myself an email from my brother asking if I would fill out his Eagle scout recommendation. I almost cried when I read what he wrote to me. I told Elder Brown what happened and then a couple moments later, he turned around with tears in his eyes. He said he was thinking about his brother, who had given him his mentor pin when he got his Eagle. We both shared  a special Little moment, tears, and a hug. After I finished the recommendation, We had our weekly planning. We did that until it was time to go home.

Mon Apr 7. Today was pretty good and almost normal. We had our personal studies, then we picked up the APs, and drove to Presidents house. We had a meeting with President. The meeting was a lot of feedback from the last change and how we can do better next change. Hermana Smith set out things for us to make paninis. They were amazing sándwiches. We finished the meeting at 2 and then worked in the offices. We finished the meetings at 2 and then we worked in the offices. We had to do a lot of the bolsa prep because the Hatchs were learning and not super fast. We got the car washed, finished the bolsa prep, and headed to 3 cruces. We had to buy some tickets for special changes that President is doing tomorrow, and we happily enjoyed Milkshake Monday.

Tues Apr 8. Today is Calebs birthday! We woke up and went to Presidents hosue. We had two Brazilians come in today from the MTC. We got them from the airport with President, then took them to the mission home for a while. We left and took the 2 oros to 3C to stay and do divisions with some of the missionaries in our zone. We went out and got Elder Nuñez from Cerro, took him to his house in Oeste 10, let him pack, and drove to district meeting. We were only there for a Little bit, then we took the Brazilians to 3C so they could go to their areas. We worked in the offices until 5:30, and then we took Eklder Nuñez to 3C. He had to leave at 7:30 because we barely missed his bus, because of the traffic. We then stayed until 7:45 until Elder Gutierrez got there, then we all waited 30 more minutes until Elder Owen arrived. Then we took them to the Oeste 10 house so they can work there this week. Then we came home. Elder Woods started to cut my hair, then the Peruvian, Elder Sipan took over, with just scissors. The APs called us so we could go find them. I asked Elder Woods to go with Elder Santos da Silva but he wanted to sleep until I was done. He told me that the APs could wait. I wasnt too happy about that. Then I got out of the chair after Elder Sipan said he was done. I looked in the mirror and I almost wanted to cry at the first sight of the mohawk that I had. Literally a mohawk. I just decided to wash my hair, and then we went to pick up the APs. They had us stop at McDonalds because they were hungry, and we got to bed around 11:45.

Wed Apr 9. I woke up today and immediately cut my own hair so I would look alright. It does look better now. We had our personal study, and I restarted the BoM with a new scripture marking strategy. After the study, we went to take the APs to their area. Then we prepped things for our errands. First, we went to Asunción to pick up packages. Then we went to the aduana (customs) and got treated very poorly by this older lady. Then we went to get plaques and order some for ourselves. Then we went to pick up all the BoM orders at the distribution center. We literally filled Hermana Smiths car. Oh yeah, I have been driving Hermana Smiths car all day, because their family is coming in and they need the van. We finally ate lunch at 3:30, our first food for the day. Then we worked in the offices until 7:40 when we went to a birthday dinner for Elder Santos da Silva. We played a cool math game and ate tortas and cake. Then we took the APs back and got to bed at 11:30.

Thurs Apr 10. Today was pretty good. We had our preparación, we were about to start our studies, then the financers called us. We ended up going up to Carrasco to drop off mail and get more offices supplies. We worked in the offices until lunch. We went to a members house. He was older, super nice, and lunch wasnt bad. We worked in the offices until 5, I worked on hotels, flights, and reserving other things for the fieles and oros. Then we bought tickets and bolsas from 3C. Then we contacted some less active members and visited the familia Varela. We learned more about them and more why they dont go to church. Then we went to Cerro to get the APs, but they then told us they were in Flores, so we went home. I was in a great mood today!

Fri Apr 11. Today was pretty good! We studied, then we had BIZCOCHO VIERNES. Its a great start to the day. Bizcochos are awesome too. Yall are missing out in the states. I Then we worked in the offices. I am super ahead of the game with all my jobs. I work pretty hard and diligently now. I am already done with things I should start next week. We had milanesas from a member at lunch. Then we worked in the offices until 4, then we went to get plaques. Again, we went and got shut down because they hadnt done them. We come so often that they dont make us a priority, even if they say they will be done.