Rough week

Welllll not going to lie. This last week was a bit of a bummer for us, for several reasons. But, we are still trying our hardest to find some people and get some progress done here in Santo Tome. Honestly, this email is not going to be too long this week. Sorry, but there’s only so much that you can write about, but we just didn’t have too much happen for us this week. 

So, I say that this week was kind of tough for us because on Tuesday morning, we went to see our amazing investigadora, Magdalena, and to have a lesson with her and talk more about what she had been reading and all that good stuff. When we got there, she came out and said pretty directly "Sorry guys, but I have some bad news. I won’t ever be able to go to your church and you guys also won’t be able to continue coming here to teach me..." So we just started talking to understand what was going on and if there was anything we could do to help her and figure out what was happening. She told us that her husband and mom and other family members had all started to talk to her about not coming to our church and how if she continued then it would make a lot of problems in between all of them. So that was the part that made the week the hardest I think. She seemed to be progressing so well. She did say that she knows where the church is, and if at any moment she needs anything or becomes able to take the lessons, that she would try to contact us. We are just happy for the time that we did have with her.

This week we also had divisions with the other Elders in the District. Elder Carter and I were together in my area and it went alright. We visited the Antonia and Mario family that we taught a few weeks ago. With them, we basically just sat down and talked to them, chatting. We didn’t get to share too much with them because Antonia´s sister was also there, so we were mostly just sitting and listening, but we also got to know her and talk to her a little about what we do. Later in the week, with Elder Moore, we were able to pass by for them again, and this time share a little about the Book of Mormon and how we can come to have more blessings and peace in our lives by reading it. The visit went really well and we are hopefully going to be able to call them real investigadores this week if they can read a little bit of the Book of Mormon before we go by again.

Also, that same afternoon that we had divisiones, there was a super big, crazy storm that passed through Santo Tome. It was pretty nuts with tons of rain and a load of lightning, so we weren’t able to leave that night. Pretty nuts. There was only one brutal day of heat this week.  It was cool enough we could even wear a sweater one day.  Most days have been rainy.

And also, this week, we have met and come across a man in the streets a few times. His name is Jonathan, not the same Jonathan from Las Vegas. This Jonathan was dating a lady that we were trying to visit and start teaching, but now they have broken up and Jonathan has moved out. We figured that he had gone to live with someone else, but after seeing him in the streets a few times this week, we stopped to talk to him and learned that he is actually living in the streets now and is without work too! Super nuts. So we trying contacting a few members to try and get some help for the guy, but none of them where picking up. So we basically had to wish him luck and hopefully get to see him again. So today, we were walking to the church to write and have lunch, and we see him again! Just as we say hi to him, Elder Moore pulls out a huge coke bottle filled with water and a little bit of food in a bag and hand it to him. I didn’t even know that he had that stuff! He is awesome. It was great though. We are hoping to be able to help him a little more and then try to introduce him to the gospel also. He is honestly a pretty good guy, he just has a bunch of crazy stuff happening to him. Sometimes those kind of circumstances in your life help you accept the gospel a little more because we are more humble. 

Spiritual thought this week: Read your scriptures, say your prayers and be kind.  To everyone. When we are doing the right things, Heavenly Father can bless us. I know this is true.

Thank you all and I love you!

Chau!

Elder Haley

Noelia took a picture of the drawing I did one night at dinner. Masterpiece.

Dinner with Penno's

Divisions and dinner again at Penno's.  Noelia sends these pictures to my mom on Facebook.

Jose's birthday was Tuesday.  We bought him two gifts, one being a car.  His is broken right now so it was the best we could do for him.  ha 

It was cool enough one day this week that we could actually wear a sweater!

Elder Moore made AMAZING pizza

One of the little girls from the ward after the baptism

A family that was baptized

Ping Pong after the baptism

My beloved Guarana

Hermana Ferreyra had us take this picture after church on Sunday.  It was pouring rain.  The family is so awesome.  They are so funny and the children are entertaining.

A close up of yours truly 

First email in 2019!

Yooooooo what’s up my people. This is Elder Haley, tuning in for this week’s review in Argentina. Let’s just say, the work is going pretty well.  The people we are teaching still don’t want to be coming to church, which is honestly pretty frustrating, but that just means we have to work even harder. But y’all know how it goes, so let’s jump into the week. 

This week we have been passing by quite a few people and we actually had a bunch of really good charlas and lessons with a few of our investigadores. Our investigadora that is progressing the most right now is probably Magdalena. This week we had two lessons with her. First was a lesson when we just talked more about the Book of Mormon and answered her questions about that. We also read with her the introduction to the Book of Mormon and that helped her understand a little more, even though she told us that the introduction was the same thing that we had explained in the previous lesson. It was a great discussion that we had and she seemed to be really interested. But, because she hadn’t read in the Book or Mormon since the last time that we passed by her, we left with her the same invitation for the next time that we went by. Sooo, skip ahead a few days and we went back again. At the beginning of all our lessons we like to just sit down and chat for a little bit to get to know the people we are teaching a little better and also to try to find if there is anything else that they specifically need. It’s always really nice and fun to share experiences and plans for the future and everything. But, the discussion that we had was super good this time too. We asked her about her reading assignment, and she told us that she had read! It was great. She had read all of the witnesses and the testimony of Joseph Smith and all the way up to 1 Nephi 4. She even remembered all that she read too! So we talked about that and she was super interested and told us that she really wanted to read more. Then, after that, we taught her the Plan of Salvation. The discussion was, once again, super good. We were able to ask her a few things, and she answered all the questions really well. She also had a few questions for us, that we were able to answer too. But, in the end, we got through the entire lesson and she seemed very satisfied with what we shared. We also talked about what we do in the church on Sundays and she told us that she was really wanting to go because she felt that since she hadn’t received her "answer" to her prayers, she thought that it would be a lot better to go to the church and look for her answer there. We completely agreed! It was amazing. She really understands how it all works and how she can benefit from what we teach. But, when it came down to Sunday morning, she wasn’t able to come to church. From the last lesson that we had, she told us that her boyfriend would be able to take her to church. So we planned to call her the night before, just in case, but when we called, her number wasn’t working, which was really wierd because it was the same number that we had used to talk with her before. So we don’t know what happened and what kept her from coming to church, but we are going to pass by her as soon as possible and try to figure out what had been going on and make sure everything is okay.

Other than Magdalena, we are still teaching Paola too. But, this week we weren’t able to get in and teach her because her mom is still not doing too well and she is always having to take care of her and never has time to meet with us. And, at the same time she isn’t able to read the Book or Mormon or think and ponder about what we have been teaching her. So that is super lame, but we are trying our hardest to stay positive and hopefully we can catch her at a good time this coming week to be able to teach her and get everything nice and in order. But, for now, it looks like we are going to have to not focus on her too much. 

We are also trying to start teaching a family that we met this week. The dads name is Mauro and the moms name is Leonela. They are super great and super nice. We met Mauro on the bus last week and have been trying to find his house. After finding where he lived, we learned that he had actually just moved, but luckily he was still in our area. So we finally found them and we were able to sit down and chat with them for a while. We were able to explain what we do as missionaries and about where be come from and about our families and a little bit about who we are. They explained to us a little of themselves too. We learned that they are super devoted to an Evangelical church and go not only to the public meetings that take place 3 times a week, but that they also go to "Prayer Meetings" about 2 or 3 other times a week also. It’s great to see just how faithful they are, we are just trying to teach them the true gospel to be faithful to. But sadly, since the first time we passed by, the rest of the week we weren’t able to teach them. But, the Leonela seems to have a lot of interest in what we do and what we have to share, and Mauro seems open to hear us too. Even if it is only because he is a really nice, religious man. If we do get into their house to teach them this week, we are going to make it a really great, Spirit packed lesson that leaves them pondering about what we shared. They are a great family, we just want to set them on the path to Eternal Life, where they can spend the rest of forever as a family. 

We have also been trying really hard to get a menos activo family active again. They are the converts of Elder Peña, one of my old Zone Leaders from my time in Rafaela. They have been members for about a year or so now and haven’t been to church for a few months. So, we are trying our hardest to give them all the opportunity to come to church and receive the blessings that come from that. We had planned a family home evening with them on Wednesday, but there ended up being a really crazy rain storm that got us suuuuper wet and when we got to the house, we clapped as loud as we could, but the rain us too strong and the family couldn’t hear us outside. But, we had passed by again, later in the week, and invited them to come to church, but yet again, they were not able to come, for one reason or another. But hey, what can ya do? Well keep trying and hopefully they will finally be willing enough to drop all pride and shame, and just come to the church to feel the Spirit. 

We are trying to teach a few other people too, but for now, I don’t have too much to share on that. 

BUT! This New Year has brought the first Sunday with the new schedule of two hour church. Let’s just say that it’s going to take a little bit of getting used to. BUT! This week was the week for Sunday School and guess who taught the lesson lead the discussion¡¡ You know it! Noelia Benitez! Or, because many don’t know that her last name actually isn’t Penno, it’s the mom to my convert family! It was great. She was definitely a little nervous and uncomfortable with the assignment, but she actually rocked it and lead the discussion really well. Adding a few of her own thoughts and also leaving everyone else to a few thoughts of their own. She is going to get a lot more comfortable with the calling, but I am actually really proud of the great job she did on the first attempt! 

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

I took a few days this week to read one of the best, "get down to the business" scriptures in the Book of Mormon. I studied Alma 5 this week. It was amazing. I can’t tell you just how great that chapter was for me this week. I took one of the verses and changed it to my mission experience a little bit. It was the verse 27:

27 Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? 

That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?

I took this verse and changed it a little to say something along the lines of, "If you were called to go home from the mission today, could you say that you had been sufficiently humble, faithful and hard working?" So that is something that I have been thinking more about, just how hard I should be working, as if every day were my last here in Argentina. 

That’s basically all that happened this week, but it was a pretty great week all in all. We are still hoping to improve even more this coming week, but thank you all for the prayers, love and support that you are always sending and sharing. I am really grateful for the blessings and help that we receive as missionaries to be able to find people to help and teach. We would never be able to do it on our own. Thank you all. 

Chau

Elder Haley

Our skies are amazing here

our water got knocked out for a little bit and then it came out nice and green like this

one of the streets after a bit of rain

This is a plant called burrito. When you dry the leaves, it is used in mate. Super good!

Dinner one night this week.

Noelia teaching Sunday School for the first time

If "SNOWED" in Argentina! Thanks mom!

Feliz ano nuevo!!

Well hello. This week was actually super dang good. We got a lot done, taught quite a few first lessons, and now we have even more plans for this coming week or two. This week actually made me pretty happy with just a bunch of good old fashioned work, and with results from that work. 

Christmas day was so amazing.  I talked to and saw my family for an hour!!! Our connection wasn’t super great, but we made it work. They said I have an accent. I saw Drew’s new leg and saw him walk without his crutches!! It was great to hear their voices and see their faces.  I loved all of the gifts that were sent. I played my ukulele for them and also bore my testimony in Spanish for them.  I know they couldn’t understand me, but I know they could feel the spirit of what I was speaking. We had Christmas dinner with la familia Penno.  We exchanged some gifts, it was awesome. Mari also gave me a Christmas gift.  A mate mug with ingredients. She gave me a plant the helps it taste more minty. It was very thoughtful of her. Christmas in Argentina was something I will never forget.  

Wednesday morning we started divisions with the other Elders, and since we live right next to each other, we can just have divisions for all of one day, and not carry it over into the next day. I was with Elder Sandler and in my area. We left to visit a few people and hoped that we would have a few lessons. The first house that we passed by, the person was home. Her name was Araceli. She is the daughter of a lady that Elder Gonzales and I had contacted a long time ago. The mom turns out to be a former investigador who didn’t really want too much from us. BUT! Her daughter, Araceli, who is about 26 years old or so, was interested in what we had to say. So, after a few weeks of trying to find her when she was at home to set something up to teach her, we were finally lucky enough to catch her at home. She let us pass by into her backyard area and sit with her and chat for a little bit. So we got to know her, and then shared with her the message of the Restoration of the Gospel. It was a great lesson! One of the best I’ve had in a while. I really love training Elder Moore and his Spanish is actually pretty good, but having a companion who could speak and understand everything in Spanish and add to the conversation helped a lot with this particular lesson. We could really go off of each other and Araceli was loving it. She followed along super well and understood everything. She even did the one thing that I love. As we were sharing the First Vision and everything about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, she just sat there smiling, saying "Wow... I didn’t know that. That’s amazing." I love it when people do that!! And then, in the end of the lesson, we were explaining about how she could come to know for herself that what we were saying was true, and when we extended the Baptismal invitation, SHE ACCEPTED!! WooHoo! It was a great morning. The lesson did take quite a bit of time, but with this lesson, the Spirit was present the entire time. She was loving it. And I was too!! After that, we went to the pench to change quickly and head to lunch. We changed because after the lunch, we had a service project with the family that we ate with. It was a good time. Super hot and humid, but for the project we used a machete to cut some crazy tall grass and chop a few tree branches. At the end, we were pretty well tired and dirty, so we headed back to the pench, changed again really quickly, and then headed out again to visit a few people. We didn’t have too much time to visit a bunch of people before our weekly meeting with the ward mission leader, but we passed by a few people. But after that, we had the meeting, and that was the end of the day. 

We also taught and have a new investigador named Magdalena. She is super cool and the lesson went really well with her too. We had contacted her last week sometime and planned to go by again in the morning this week. We went over and started talking to her and when we asked her about the pamphlet that we had left her with, she told us that she had read the entire thing! It was great! She told us a bit of what she remembered and a few parts that she liked. She could remember most of the main, important parts. But the part that was the best was when she said "But my question is how can I know if Joseph Smith actually was a prophet?" And that’s when we said "Well! Lets talk about that!" So we sat down and went through the lesson and taught her all that she needed to know and answered her questions. It was a pretty good lesson and the Spirit was working on her a lot, even when her little baby daughter was walking around and falling and crying every few minutes. And, in the end, we were able to extend the baptismal invitation also. She didn’t accept quite as openly as Araceli, but she still accepted the invitation to be baptized IF she comes to know that the Book of Mormon and the Church are true. It was a great lesson. And, Elder Moore was able to participate a little bit more than usual and share his testimony, which he totally rocked! Even though he doesn’t say too many words, he doesn’t have to because the Spirit he brings is more than enough. 

And yet another lesson that we had was on Sunday, after the siesta. When we went by to visit a woman that we had met the day before and get to know her husband and teach them. When we showed up, Juan, the head of the house, answered the door and let us pass into his home. So we chatted for a little bit to get to know him a little more and his wife, Antonia, who we had met the day before, and shared with them a little bit more about what we do to help them understand a little more. It was a good time. They are a really great family with the mom, dad, and two kids. The oldest is a 10 year old boy and a four year old girl. We were able to talk to them and share a few laughs and about where we come from and all that, then we got into the lesson. The lesson, once again, went pretty well. We were able to teach about the Restoration again and to explain to them why there are so many different churches, and which of them is the one, true church. They were pretty attentive to what we were saying, Antonia more than Juan, but it was a great lesson anyways. In the end, we didn’t really feel the Spirit prompting to extend the baptismal invitation, but we will be passing by again soon to follow up on the commitments that they did make and also to teach them a little more and get the baptismal invitation in. 

Also, another day as we were looking for a reference from the other Elders, we were contacting and met this girl named Ingrid. She was super great and seemed to have a lot of interest, even right off the bat. She invited us in to sit down with her outside (something a lot of people do here because of the heat and the sun that turn almost all of the buildings here into complete ovens). So we sat down and started to get to know her a little more. She is a college student and likes to do what most college kids like to do. We were able to share a little bit of the Plan of Salvation with her and explain to her what the Atonement of Jesus Christ is and why it is so important to her. It was a great little time to share something short with her and set another time to pass by again. We also met her mom, who right away told us that she was already attending another church and that she didn’t want us trying to "preach" and "prophecy" to her, but that we are more than welcome to teach her daughter. Yeah, well see about that....

Oh yeah, and we are also starting to try and teach the mom of one of the less active kids in our ward. The kids name is Uriel, I think I talked about him last week. Well, long story short, he got baptized about a year ago and his mom took the lessons from the missionaries too. But she couldn’t get baptized at the time because she was living with a guy and couldn’t get married to him because she was still technically married to her old husband and just never did the divorce papers. So now she is actually divorced, but still lives with the guy. So, we are trying to get the kid to come back to the church, especially because in our ward we have very few, or should I say, almost no young men. We have 1. Well, two, but only one comes to church every week. So we are trying to get all the young men active again and also get some more young men baptized. But, last week when we passed by them and met them for the first time, the mom was a little closed. Not that she didn’t like us, but she just didn’t open up to us. We were trying to find a way to get her to open up to us a little more. So, when we visited this week, we were just chatting, talking about the weather or something super basic like that, and then started to talk to her about what she does for work and stuff like that. She told us that she cleans houses and different places like that, but her work is super hit and miss, as in she almost never has a set schedule. But, she also didn’t finish high school. So she told us that she is trying to finish school and then hopes to move on to college and take a nursing course that would be her dream job. So, as we were talking to her about that, she was really opening up to us and we were finally able to have more a conversation with her and not only us talking. So that was amazing. We then turned the subject onto the church and how she was investigating before and reading the Book of Mormon and stuff like that. It was a great little chat that we had about that. She showed us her copy of the Book of Mormon and all the scriptures she had marked and all of that. She actually seemed pretty excited when we invited her to start reading the Book of Mormon a little bit more and start praying normally. We also invited her to talk to her boyfriend about coming to church again and maybe taking the lessons again. She said she would do it, so we are hoping to pass by her again early this week and follow up on that. 

As for Paola this week, we were able to pass by a member family and set up plans for a family home evening with Paola and her daughters in the house of this member family. So we passed by a day or two before to invite Paola and her two daughters to the FHE, and they said that would go! So we were super stoked to help them meet a few members and they they would have a few people to be friends with and see in the church and not be complete strangers. But, just before the thing on Saturday night, we were passing by to pick them up and go to the house of these members, who lived just a block or two away, we were met by Paola in the street. She approached us and told us that she had to take care of her mom and wasn’t going to be able to go to the activity. Her mom was super sick from diabetes and she was the only one that was going to be able to take care of her. It was pretty disappointing.  We weren’t too excited to have to pass by the members home, just when we were meant to be showing up for the FHE and have to cancel on them. It was pretty lame, but the members were at least pretty understanding. It always stinks when we plans don’t go down too well. Hopefully we can do it again in the future. 

That’s what was going on in the week. We had a bunch of lessons that we were super proud of and happy to teach. Elder Moore is starting to become a little more confident with talking and teach a bit more. So we are getting that going and starting to see real results from the work we are doing. It’s amazing. 

I love the work I am doing here. It’s something I say a lot, but it completely true. I love the people of Argentina, I love the culture, I love the Gospel that I can share, and I especially love the Spirit I can feel as I share this Gospel. 

Love you all for all that you do inside and outside of the church. You are all amazing people, and I love you.

Chau

Elder Haley

Saying hi to Elder Moore's family during his call

Christmas dinner with Penno's

My Christmas gifts.  Forgot to include my American flag and family calendar.

Family on my computer during our call.  Drew's leg is sweet!

Crazy weird animal we saw this week.

Christmas gift from Mari.

The plant is a kind of weed that people use in their mates. You have to grow it out more and dry the leaves, but it gives a kind of minty flavor to the mate

We love pizza!

Elder Haley!

These are pictures we took of Elder Haley during our Christmas day video call.