T-Minus 9 days, 6 hours, 27 minutes, and 53 seconds

Nah I'm just joking that's a completely random guess as to how long until I'm home, but it very well could be about that long. 

Alright so as many of you already know, this will be the last week of my mission and the last week of my time here in Argentina, which means this will be my last email. So this is going to be a bit sad. But just so you all know, I'm not crying.... yet. 

I want to start by sharing with you all a few thoughts that I have on the Mission in general. One of my first Zone Leaders, Elder Duval from Utah, shared with me what he thought of the mission, and I've kind of adopted it. He said that the mission is a bit like if you take a little puppy dog and send him away for two years and when he comes back he is really big and buff and has a lot of scars and things like that. And I believe that it's a bit closer to the real thing hahaha! In a way, I started my mission as a small, innocent, and very, very cute puppy. Now, after close to two whole years of service as a Missionary here in Argentina I have come to be more of the other, more grown up dog. In more figurative ways, because it's obvious that I'm not all too big and buff. But in more than one way, I have been beaten and bruised, scuffed and scorned, and I now have a few new "scars." Some from me finding my own testimony, some from having a bit of a troublesome companion, and others from getting a Root Canal in Argentina. But through all of the hard, long, hot, humid days of tough work and rejection, I have become a new person. I can honestly say that the Mission has changed my life. I know that I wasn't a "bad" kid before being a missionary, but I now know that I am headed in a good direction with lots of blessings and happiness awaiting me. But don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not perfect! Far from it. And don't worry, I'm still pretty immature and goofy at times. But my Mission experience has changed my life. Something that I heard before coming to the mission is that these two years shouldn’t be the "highlight" of our lives, but it can be the "highway" TO our lives. I can testify of these words. 

And now as I look back on these two years through all the good times with lots of success and joy, and through the rough patches, I can't help but be grateful and feel reverence for all that has happened. My mission has been by far the hardest thing in my entire life. But, like Presidente Westover said in my first interview with him, "All beautiful things are hard." Without the hard times, what are the good times? So, even though I know I haven't been the perfect Missionary, I have worked hard. I know that through my efforts I have been made an instrument in the Lord's hands. I have seen miracles in the lives of those I have met and taught, and also in my own life.

I have come to know my Savior and Redeemer in a very personal and real way. I know that He lives. I have a strong and unbreakable testimony of Him and His Atonement. I know that He suffered for all of us, and that through His suffering and sacrifice we can all make the decision to accept His extended hand and be healed. I have had the opportunity to witness the power of God's Grace in my work here in Argentina. Miracles exist. The only thing that keeps us from seeing them in our own personal lives is our faith. Everything is possible through our Oldest Brother, Jesus Christ.

I have come to love the Argentine people and their culture more than I ever thought would be possible. It's ridiculous the things that I love from this great country. It has come to be a part of me and I can't wait to be back here again. I am going to miss everything so much. I only hope that in my last few days I can soak in everything that I can. So many have become my “family” and they will always be a part of my life.

I can’t wait to be back home with my family, but I also know that I need to treasure my last few days as a full-time missionary. We are going to bust out this last week of the transfer and I can’t wait to see the blessings that the Lord has in store for us. I love missionary work and all of the joy that comes from it. 

To end I want to share with you all one of my favorite scriptures in Alma 26:11-12

11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.

12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

I love you all and thank you for all of the love and support that you have offered me during all this time. I hope that these emails and blog posts have helped you in some way, if only to bring a smile to your face or help you feel the Spirit. 

Chau

Elder Haley

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!

New Book of Mormon Videos!

Well alright, alright, alright...

This week sure was a fun one, but not going to lie, we weren’t able to get too much work done. This week consisted of traveling, working on financial problems in the Branch, and visiting less active members. 

So here in San Cristobal we are helping our Branch President a lot with his responsibilities and duties that come with his calling. He is a great, humble man, but does not understand too much about technology and things of the sort. So, every time that he needs to do something church related in the Chapel, we are there to help him. So this week we had a bit of a problem with the Finances here in San Cristobal and we ended up spending a fair amout of one day helping Presidente Lisardo sort it all out. It was quite the process and we even ended up calling in a friend (my dad), but in the end we solved the problem!!

Then, also, we had to go all the way to Santa Fe for Elder Smith to do some tramites so he doesn’t get kicked out of the country. It was good to see a few friends in the mission offices and hang out a bit. 

This week we were able to talk to a few other less active members. We are trying to look for the part member families here so we can work on both of our objectives, Reactivation and Missionary Work. There are quite a few, but we are trying to help them be more interested in the church and coming back, and especially to help a few of the members of the family to chose to be baptized. It’s a bit tough right now in San Cristobal, but after last weeks attendence was high, we are a bit more enthusiastic. 

But this week was a historical one. The new Book of Mormon videos were released!! I remember when they were announced! And that was about 3 years ago or so when I was still in High School haha but if you havent seen the first video, watch it!! It’s right here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edg-0hAM3iA  

I just want to end with my testimony of the Book of Mormon. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that through this book we can come to learn more about God and Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was the Prophet that translated the Book of Mormon. I know that if one choses to read the Book of Mormon and to pray to know that it is true, they will also be able to know that it is true.

Thank you all for the love and support.

P.S. Elder Robinson is ending his mission in a week. Gracias capo por ser tan buen de un misionero y por ser uno de mis mejores amigos. Te quiero mucho amigo!!

Chau 

Elder Haley

First s'more on my mission!

Working with the Menos Activos

Hi

This week was a pretty decent one. We are seeing some blessings here in San Cristobal and having a bit more success!!

So this week we had divisions with the Zone Leaders here in San Cristobal. They helped us find a few new people to teach and Elder Packer helped us find a few of the people that the other Elders had be teaching but that we weren't able to find. So that was a good time, especially to have some time with other missionaries. Being the only two missionaries here in the entire town is a bit tough. I love Smith, but we need more people here hahaha. But other than that, they were here for about a day and we had a good time with them. 

Another thing that happened this week was a small activity that we did with a few members from Rafaela. The District President, Presidente Peralta (who was also my Branch President during my times in Rafaela) came with his second counselor and a few other people to help us and a few members here in San Cristobal go and visit a bunch of less active members. We could only work for about 2 hours or so, but it was really good! And we saw the fruits of the efforts! Yesterday in church, we had 18 people come!! So that was about 10+ people than what we had last week! Amazing! So we are starting to see a bit of improvement and progress in that part of the work.

Sadly, we still don't have too many investigadores that we are teaching. We are having a bit of luck and success teaching first lessons, but its just really hard to find them again for the second visit. But don't worry! We are trying our hardest to be able to find the people that are prepared here in San Cristobal. The field is white, and we are thrusting in our sickles. 

Also, last week as we were visiting a Sister, I noticed that she had 3-4 copies of the Saints book in her house. I asked her why she had so many, and she said that she was going to offer them to the other sister missionaries that we replaced. But she offered them to us instead! So now I'm reading Saints! I was going to wait until I got back to read it, but this is even better! Haha I can't believe just how awesome the book is. There are so many great stories that we can find and truths that we are taught through the experiences that the early Saints had. I love the diligence and faith that they had in the first few years of starting the Church. To think that if they hadn't worked as hard as they did, we would not have the blessed opportunity to now have the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I appreciate the sacrifices that those faithful early Saints had. 

As I have been reading Saints and working here in San Cristobal, I have been reminded of two things, both of them being in Ether 12. First, that Life is not easy. Like it says in verse 27, God lets us have trials and problems in our lives to help us learn and grow. I have seen that in my own life, and as a missionary, and in the lives of others. I understand that God does not want us to hurt or feel punished, but that through our trials we can grow to be better people and better disciples. And second, found in verse 12, that God will only come to us, show himself to us, and work miracles among us, if we first have faith in Him. Like in the stories found in Saints. The Saints were persecuted and mobbed, but when they showed faith, they were saved from their afflictions. 

I know that in our lives we have trials and challenges to help us learn to trust God and become more like He is. I know that these things are true. And I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Thank you all for all that you do!! Love you all!

Chau

Elder Haley

We like food!

Package arrived after almost 3 months! S'mores! I put the insoles in my shoes before taking a picture.