Results and Rafaela

It has been a really good week this week! I'm happy and having fun!

Right now we are in Rafaela, one of my favorite places on the Planet, and sadly I don't have too much time to write, but ill try to fill you guys in on everything that happened!

We were finally able to find some really cool people this week! I mean, every week we find people, but these people have a lot of potencial!! One is a guy named Elias. He is a super nice and super humble man. He lives with his girlfriend and their two kids. We weren't able to meet the girlfriend, but we had a GREAT lesson with Elias. He had a few questions about what we do and what we believe and it was super awesome to see him be really interested in what we had to say. A few times he would be staring off and looking super confused, so I would ask him if he had a question and he would say "No, but I didn't know this stuff before, but its super cool!" It was awesome. And he really wants to give us lunches! Even better!!

Then, another day, we were knocking door in a neighborhood that we hadn't tried yet. We were able to have a few really good contacts and one family even let us in to hear us out! It turns out that the entire neighborhood is owned by the government and that they offer the homes for the Police officers and their families. They were all super awesome and we are excited to meet with them again this week!

Tomorrow we are going to have divisions with the Zone Leaders here and hopefully there will be a bit of time to be able to meet with some of my old friends who are basically my family and say my last goodbyes!! It's hard but there is always the afterlife to be with them!!

Dont forget the Book of Mormon videos!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqtkfn0Fs68  

Love you guys a lot!!

Chau

Elder Haley

I conducted sacrament meeting!

Howdy y’all!

This week was quite the week in deed. We spent most of the week traveling between here and Santa Fe, had a really good Zone Conference, and just had a good time in general. 

This Zone Conference was really good. They always are, but this was especially good. First of all, it was my last one so, like I said in my last email, I gave my testimony as part of my last Zone Conference. I was one of six missionaries in the Conference that had the chance to bear our testimonies. It was a great experience, one that I won’t ever forget. In one way, I’m sad that that moment has already passed, but in another, I’m happy that I got it over with. As I spoke, I choked up a bit and felt almost like I was giving my first ever testimony in Spanish hahaha crazy how that happens. But after all 6 of our testimonies, we got to hear from the Hermana Westover. She always has a great lesson to teach us and she always leaves me spiritually uplifted. This time around, she talked about the Joy that we feel through missionary work and the miracles that we can see. As I was listening to her speak, I looked back on my time in the mission and I could feel the Joy and the Love that I have felt during this time. Missionary work really does bring enduring joy into our lives. Presidente then spoke to us about how we can use our time more wisely as missionaries and how to use the sparse spare time that we have better. It was a great reminder of how we can always improve and be better each and every day. I really love President and Hermana Westover and I appreciate all that they do to help us and for the love that they offer us. 

The day after Zone Conference Elder Smith had tramites in Santa Fe. It was cool because my last companion, also named Elder Smith, and one of the guys from the MTC, who is (believe it or not) also named Elder Smith all had tramites the same day. So I was able to catch up with them and have a good time. It was great to see Elder Moore again too! Also, about half of the new guys who came into the mission this transfer had tramites all the same day too. So, not only did I catch up with a few old friends, but I got to meet new people too. This new group of missionaries is super awesome. It was great to be able to meet them and see just how new and young they are. It made me feel really old to see them and all of their excitement and fear as they are just now starting their missions. It made me feel especially old that they were asking me all sorts of questions about how to best learn the language and everyone asking me "How does it feel to almost be home??". But it was more fun than trunky. 

And don’t forget this week’s Book of Mormon video!!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ-6BtQzo4A

I really like the video this week. One thing about the videos is how they show the emotions of the scripture characters, such as the fear of Lehi, or the determination of Nephi, or the anger and rage of Laman and Lemuel. I really appreciate the videos and the way they help me learn more and ponder more deeply the scriptures.

Also, yesterday was quite the day for us here in San Cristobal. It was raining when we woke up for church so we kind of figured that not too many people were going to show up. But, when we got to the church, we realized that we didn’t have anyone to direct the meeting! Presidente Lisardo is still in Jujuy taking care of things for his brother who had a stroke and we haven’t heard anything about him and have no idea when he will be coming back. In addition, the Branch’s First Counselor didn’t make it either, so I ended up directing everything. It was quite the experience and a good learning opportunity. 

I would like to end this email now by sharing with you my testimony of Prayer. I have come to love prayer and the chance that it gives me to speak personally and privately with my Loving Heavenly Father. I have come to grow very dependent on the power that prayer offers me, especially in these last few weeks of my mission as I pray every day that the Lord will bless me with the Strength and Faith that I need to work hard and end my mission well. I know that through prayer, God is able to touch us and bless us. I know that these things are true and share them with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Thank you all for the love and support. Thanks for reading!! Oh, also, I was FINALLY able to pick up my leather scripture covers!  I love how they turned out and I will treasure them forever!

Chau

Elder Haley

This weather needs to stop!

This week has been a really, really hard week! But, we have been working hard and having some good times and experiences. If had to describe the week in one word, I would have to say crazy. From the weather to the amount of walking that we did all the way to the fact that I’m writing this email in Santa Fe right now, this week has been crazy. 

Alright, to start off, let me draw out the weather for you guys. This last week has been really, and I mean REALLY hot. Like 90+ weather all the week. We even hit 102 one day. Then on Saturday night everything got really, really bad. At like 11:30 at night our power shut down. We were already sleeping by that time and had left the air conditioning and fan on because it was so hot. So we wake up at like 11:45 and we are sweating in our beds. It turns out that all of San Cristobal and other cities around the area were all without power. And let me tell you, the heat we so bad that we couldn’t even be in the bedroom, let alone fall asleep. So we went up on our balcony and sat outside for a while in the cooler air as we waited for our power to turn back on. We ended up waiting for a good 2 hours or so and never got power back on. So we decided to just try sleeping outside. I set up my hammock, Elder Smith pulled a mattress outside, and we fell asleep. Then, at about 5 in the morning, our power came back on and we decided to go back to sleep in our actual beds. So, a pretty rest less night... Hahaha good times in Argentina. 

But then, after that night, the weather changed completely. The blazing heat that we had turned into rainy cold and we ended up trading our short sleeved shirts and sweating all day for long sleeved shirts and sweaters and being cold instead. Quite the change. 

And now, we are currently in Santa Fe. This week we have a few things going on, first of all will be our Zone Council that we have tomorrow. For some reason, we are having ours here in Santa Fe instead of in Rafaela, so we are hoping for some kind of big announcements or something. It’s weird, but I’m enjoying what could be my last trip to Santa Fe.... Not to mention that tomorrow I will have the opportunity to give my testimony during the Zone Council. Crazy to think that it’s my turn now.... Hopefully they have tissues for me Hahaha but honestly I can’t believe that its getting so close... BUT ANYWAYS!! Enough of that!!

This coming week we will also have Tramites on Wednesday, so we are going to be sticking around here in Santa Fe for another day. 

This week we were able to do a lot of contacting, which was good because we were working hard to find new people, but bad because it wasn’t as effective as we hoped and because the heat killed us, and the rest of San Cristobal pretty badly. But, we were able to find a few really cool people and have a few citas set up for this week. We are trying our hardest to find the people that the Lord has prepared for us in San Cristobal. It’s a bit tough at times, but we know that through our work and by God´s will, we will be able to find the people that will really progress and accept the Gospel the best. We are having a bit of a rough patch, but we are trying our hardest to bust through and get some investigadores. At the same time, we are working to get more and more less actives to come back to the church. We are having a bit of luck with a few people, but it’s a bit tough to help them get over the reasons that they stopped going to church. Despite the difficulties, we know that as we help them to feel the Spirit and desire more blessings in their lives, they will take the steps by themselves to accept the Gospel and return to activity. 

Don’t forget the Book of Mormon video from this week!! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBRiC1slfTw  

I would like to share with you all my testimony of holding firm to the Iron Rod. I know that, as the hymn says, "the iron rod is the word of God." I know that as we hold fast to the word of God and apply the things that we learn that we will by guided in our actions and we will, in the end, reach the Tree of Life. I like how in the video, even with the dark and shaded view of the Darkness, those who really wanted to reached the Tree of Life were able to do so. Or, in other words, even with the evil and temptation that is so evident in the world these days, we can be saved and gain Exaltation. It’s not easy, but believe me, it’s completely possible. All we have to do is hold fast to the rod. I share these things with you all in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

As always, thank you for the love and support. I really appreciate it all!!

Chau

Elder Haley

General Conference! Yes!

Howdy Y’all,

This week was a bit different than last. It was a bit chilly and rainy, but it is all going well. We are working hard to be able to find new people to teach while at the same time trying to get even more people activated in the church again. This week we had a lot of really good contacts and we hope to be able to meet with them again this week and get some lessons taught. 

Before I forget, this is the new video for the Book of Mormon that was released this week. I promise you all that if you watch it, you will feel the Spirit of the Lord and you will be comforted in your own afflictions. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKrXCRSLQBc  

I really love the story that they showed this week. The faith and courage that Ishmael and his household needed to have to leave everything that they had and be able to obey God's will and plan for them is amazing and really admirable. I really love that they were humble enough to hear what was hard to hear and follow with faith and love for the Lord. 

Also, this week was General Conference!! I loved Conference this time around. I do every time! I can’t explain the love that I have for the Prophet Russell M. Nelson. I can’t express enough the fact that he is the only one that receives revelation for the entire church but at the same time be able to direct his messages to everyone as a single person. I love his faith and knowledge. I can’t wait to hear what he and the other apostles and leaders of the Church have in store for us in April. 

Having the other Elders here is really nice as well. The newest Elder is Elder Burchell, a really good guy from Utah who is ready to work hard and serve the Lord. I love his energy and enthusiasm. I think he and Elder Ramirez are going to do some good work here in San Cristobal. Working in a smaller area is nice and relieves a big load. But also Presidente Lisardo is currently in Jujuy, a different Province that is across the entire country. He had an emergency with his brother who is really sick and had to leave for what can be up to 2 weeks. So please pray for him to stay safe while he is gone and that he can come back soon, because if not, I might end up having to direct Sacrament Meeting this coming week!

Thank you all for reading and quédense en la fe!!

Chau

Elder Haley

Since when is eating ice cream stressful?

Alright quick story. Yesterday it was really, really, really hot and so we decided to take a few minutes to go and get some ice cream and try to fight of the heat. So we got the ice cream, I had 3 scoops in total, one of Chocolate Peanut Crunch, one of Tramontana, and one of Cherry Cream. So we walk out of the ice cream place and go to sit down somewhere to eat the ice cream. But! Not even 5 steps out of the ice cream place my ice cream starts to melt all over my hand! So we hurry over to a bench and start eating but my ice cream is melting faster than I can eat it! So I was a bit stressed eating my ice cream and pretty upset about the entire situation. Why does it have to be so hot again already?

Well! This has been a pretty good week! It was the last week of the transfer, so we had our Deep Cleaning on Saturday and we have now officially started this new transfer. And not to sound trunky, but if I’m correct, this is now my last transfer of the mission. The last 6 weeks... It’s crazy to think about, but it’s a great motivation. A good reason to kick it up a gear and end the mission like the end of the 400m race. I can’t put into words the mix of emotions that I have right now. But why am I talking about that?? I still have 6 weeks hahaha!! I stayed in San Cristobal with Elder Smith.

Other news for the transfers! Elder Robinson is officially a dead man-a goofy term used when a missionary is finished with their mission and goes home! He is currently returning home in the exact moment that I am writing this email. So CONGRATS TO HIM!! Love you buddy. And Elder Moore is going to be training in his area, which just happens to be my first area!! Rafaela! So that is super cool. I’ll be able to see my trainee train his own trainee in the area that my trainer trained me as his trainee. Did you get that? Haha AND! This transfer we are going to have 2 other Elders here in San Cristobal. Hooray!

Yesterday was also the last day of Alexis, or should I say, the first day for Elder Lisardo! Alexis has officially started his mission! He is going to the Brazil Florianopolis Mission. He is going to do great and I can’t wait to hear about his experiences. It was fun to see him be nervous and anxious and see in him my same feelings about 2 years ago. 

But once again this week there was another Book of Mormon video!! So I’ll drop the url in right..... HERE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVzRaLuzJ2I

As I end this email, I would like to share with you all my feelings on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I have come to know my Savior and Redeemer more during these last 2 years than I ever have before. The Atonement of Jesus Christ has always been something very close to me in the way that Jesus suffered for my own sins and for all of us. I have come to learn that through the power of Grace, which is available through the Atonement, that I can have my own efforts amplified. As I work my hardest, Christ takes my efforts, and puts His own power to my efforts. I am so grateful for this enabling power that I have thanks to Christ and know that it is through this power that I can do things to help other people. 

Thank you all for reading and hope you have a good week!!

Chau

Elder Haley

Last supper with Alexis before leaving on his mission

I gave him one of my favorite ties!