Elder Morley Haley Santa Fe Argentina Mission: Service with a Smile

Welcome, welcome ladies and gentlemen to this week’s review of my life. I’m glad you are taking the time to read this. It really means a lot. Well, this week has been a pretty good one. We had a few really good lessons and we were able to do divisions with the Zone Leaders. Oh wait there was one more thing... oh yeah. I PASSED ONE YEAR BABY! So yeah. Pretty nuts. Buuuuuut let’s get to it.

Tuesday. So, Tuesday morning was one of those mornings. It was raining pretty heavily when we left to visit a few people that we had made citas with. After walking super far, most of it through mud, the citas fell through. Usually the Argentine people completely shut down when it is raining, so we weren’t too surprised when the people were "busy" and couldn’t talk to us. But, because we were without plans, we took the time to do some contacting and try to find more people to teach. Almost all the people didn’t answer their doors. But hey, that’s how it is sometimes. We were actually so far away from the pench that we decided to contact the house that was the absolutely farthest away from the pench. Why not, no? The lady that answered was actually super nice and said that she would invite us to come back some other time, but that she doesn’t really have a work schedule and that she was afraid that if we set up a cita, she would been gone. But, we wrote down her name and we will probably go back some other time and hopefully find her there. Then we went all the way back to the pench, cooked, then went to District Meeting. By the time we got to the church, we were pretty well soaked, even with my rain jacket and Elder Gonzales with an umbrella. However, District Meeting was super good! This week we talked about using the scriptures more in lessons and how we can study more effectively to help us prepare to use the scriptures in lessons. As part of the meeting, I had prepared a few slips of paper with a "Questions of the Soul" on the slip. Then, each person took one paper and tried to find a few scriptures to answer the question. For example, my question was "Why is the family so important to the Plan of God?" Then, with about 10 to 15 minutes, we would take the time to seek and find a few scriptures that we could use to answer the question. It turned out to be really good! After everyone was done, we shared together what we had found and how we could use the scriptures. As we shared the answers we had found, the other missionaries would write down our question and the scriptures that we found. That way, they could use the scriptures everyone had found too. Then, after the meeting, we started divisions. Like I said last week, I was stayed here with Elder Loveridge. We had set up stuff with his two coverts here in Santo Tome so he could visit them, but neither of them could do it. So by the time that we had walked all over Santoto to visit them and then find out that they couldn’t meet with us, it was already time to go to FML Pennos house. This last Tuesday was the birthday of Ari, she turned 14 years old. So we showed up and had a good time with her and the rest of the FML Penno and a few other members and friends. It was a lot of fun and a night I’ll never forget.

Wednesday. In the morning we went to visit Gianfranco, one of Elder Loveridge’s converts. We weren’t able to meet with him the night before, but we were able to set something up with him for the following morning. So we went there and had a good time with him. We talked about life and how he had been doing and everything. I had heard from the Hermanas that Gian was having trouble with some of his friends making fun of him for being a member of the church and everything, so we helped him with that. He also told us that we had been reading the Book of Mormon every day and was just about to finish Alma. So that was pretty cool to hear. Then we talked to him a little bit more about Patriarchal Blessings. He told us that he had already set up his appointment to get his blessing sometime in December. Then he showed us a board game that he was developing that was actually super cool and then we had to leave. He is a great guy and it makes me happy to see how converted to the Gospel he is. Then we went to Las Vegas to visit a few people that we had citas with, but they weren’t home either. So that was pretty disappointing. Divisions with Loveridge was pretty great. A good time with him having a bunch of fun. Then, that afternoon after we ended divisions, we had a service project with HNO Amarilla. We helped him lay a bit of concrete in front of his house to level out some of the rough stuff he had. It was super fun to see how Argentines do their thing. The HNO Amarilla had made his own concrete mixer using a drill and a few pieces of welded metal. But the service was pretty good because HNO Amarilla could do just about everything that he needed to, so it was nice to see how he is really progressing and healing after his accident. He even let us write our names in the concrete, which was a complete honor. And, after we were done doing the work, which took almost the entire night, we were invited to have dinner with them also. And of course it was super good, like it always is in that house.

Thursday. In the morning we had set up a few citas in Las Vegas. So we went to visit Celeste first. When we got there, she told us that she had been pretty busy and the week had been crazy because she had been running to the hospital in Santa Fe for her little baby of 9 months that was super sick. So we offered a to give a blessing to her baby and she accepted. So we did that and the baby seemed to start feeling better almost immediately. He was super calm and at peace. Then we taught Celeste about the Plan of Salvation and how she actually does have a purpose in this life and how she can come to have more happiness and peace in this life, and the life to come, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and especially through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It was a pretty good lesson and we committed her to read and pray again. Then we went to visit a few other people to teach them, but they weren’t home. So we took the free time we had to visit Liliana, the lady who calls us “spies” who just had open heart surgery. We visited her and offered her a blessing also, to help her feel better and recover a bit faster of what she was going through. After the blessing she described to us how her surgery was. So, it turns out that Open Heart Surgery means that they literally rip open your chest and then cut your heart out, clean it up a little bit then put it back where its meant to be, and then flick the heart to get it going. They literally flick the heart. But if that doesn’t work they have to use drugs. Pretty crazy. So there’s a reason she wasn’t feeling too bright and happy after something like that. We know the blessing will help. After lunch and the siesta, we went to the House of our Ward Mission Leader to talk to him about a service project that we had set up with Celeste. We went to him because he has a weed wacker, and the service was to cut the grass in front of Celeste’s house. But, because the weed wacker wasn’t working, we decided we would go to the house of HNO Amarilla to ask him for his machete and then use that. Yes, a machete. Then, after visiting with them for a little bit, we went to look for our clothes from the HNA Maciel. Then, after that, we dropped the clothes off at the pench and headed to the house of FML Penno. This time the brother of Jose and his wife were there. So we were able to talk to them and get to know them a little better and share a good night with them. Then, toward the end of the night, we were able to share a little bit of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the wife and we left her with a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet of lesson one. She was pretty interested and told us that she would read both of them. But, she sadly lives all the way out in a small town called Kima, which is about 40 or so km from here. So the only way we would be able to teach them is if they are by some luck in the house of FML Penno. But, we were happy to at least share the message with her. Then, after we got back to the pench, I celebrated ONE YEAR IN THE MISSION by burning a shirt. It’s pretty nuts to think that it’s been so long already, but it’s more of a kick in the butt than anything else to realize that I really have so little time left in the mission. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The mission is by far the best thing that has ever happened in my life and I want to take advantage of this time the best that I can. I love the mission so much and I don’t want it to end. But, when it does, I’m going to make sure that I feel at peace with the knowledge that I tried my hardest and use the time I had the best I could.

Friday. Friday morning we had to go to Santa Fe so I could have a small meeting with the Zone Leaders and the other District Leaders in the Zone. In the meeting we talked once again about what we had learned as part of the conference with Elder Villar. It was a pretty good meeting. We studied the scriptures and talked about how we could become better missionaries and better leaders. It was also pretty cool because I got to see Elder Robinson and Elder McCown, two of my former comps, and also a few other guys from my group. So we took a few pictures because we all had just passed a year. Then we went back to our area and in the afternoon we went to visit a few people. First we went to see Estela, the lady that we are teaching in Las Vegas. We got to her house and she was sitting outside with her husband, so we talked with them, sat down, and reviewed what we had taught in the first lesson about the Restoration. Estela had read a little bit of the Book of Mormon. So we tried to talk to her about that and what she remembered or what she had learned. But, she told us that she couldn’t remember too much because she has a bit of a problem with learning and remembering everything. So, we reviewed the lesson and this time we tried teaching more to her husband because the time before, he didn’t get to listened to much of it. It was a good time and they said they would try to go to church on Sunday. Then we went to the house of FML Amarilla again to ask permission to use the machete for the following morning. Then, after that, we went to the house of Poula to talk to her and teach her a little more. When we got there, she told us that she hadn’t read anything, so we decided to read with her. So we read 1 Nephi 1 with her and then explained what was happening and all of that. It was a good time. And then, afterwards, we somehow got on the subject of Abril, the daughter of Poula, being bullied in school. So we talked about how we have to treat well to the people who treat us bad. We talked about the Atonement also and how Jesus knows how we feel in all times. It was super good and spiritual and Abril was there and she even started crying. It was a good lesson and a super good way to end the day. We were really looking for a way for Poula to open up to us more, and I think that through this lesson and the way the Spirit was working I know we had the lesson that she needed.

Saturday. In the morning we went to look for the machete from HNO Amarilla. Then we went to Las Vegas and spent the rest of the morning cutting the grass for Celeste. She was happy that we did it, especially because she thought it was some kind of joke that we were going to cut the grass. She didn’t think that we were actually going to do it. But, we showed up, cut the grass, and left. It was fun. Then, after the siesta, we went to visit a few people and contact a little bit. Then we went to the house of Ricardo and gave his wife a blessing because she was feeling sick and wanted to go to church the next day. So we did that and then set up another time when we were going to past by and talk to Ricardo more about the lessons and the Book of Mormon and all of that. Then, after him, we went to visit the FML Varino to just talk with them and have a good time. We spent the rest of the night there because I really wanted to talk to them about the upcoming temple trip because they were planning to go, but I just wanted to make sure that they were going to do it. But, we never got to the subject, so sadly that was something that I didn’t get to do.

Sunday. Sunday was super chill and great. The highlight was that at church, one sister attended at our ward that I had met. Her name is Hermana Fernandez, and I met her outside of the mission. The night before I entered the MTC, my family and I went to Temple Square. There, we met a sister missionary that was from Santa Fe! So we took a picture and we were able to say, hope to see you soon. Then, just yesterday I say her in the church. So, I went up to her and introduced myself, and she didn’t have a single clue who I was, but after I showed her the picture, she was super happy to see that we had actually met! SO that was super cool. Sunday is always a great day!

That’s how the week went down. right now I don’t have too much time to write more I can’t wait for this week to go down. We are ending the transfer this week, so well get to see if I stay here another 6 weeks or not.

Love ya all!

Elder Haley

Chau