Alright, last Monday, after P-Day ended, we had a really fun
and awesome Noche de Hogar with the Familia Quiroga. They are a member family
with the mom and dad and 4 daughters. So it was pretty crazy. We had a good
Spiritual time when we talked about just how important the family is and how we
can help one another in our homes through prayer and scripture study. Then we
had the games part and one of the girls, named Alma, shared one of her matching
card games and we taught them how to play Don’t Eat Pete. They really liked the
game because they could all yell really loud. And then they taught us Tuti
Fruti, which is a really fun and intense kind of category game. I had a lot of
fun with them. And of course, they had 4 pizzas for us to eat together, so we
left full and happy.
Tuesday. We taught a few people and had a pretty productive
day. We taught Andrea and Belen in the morning, the mom and sister of Rodrigo.
Sadly, Rodrigo wasn’t home, but it was still a good lesson. We taught them
about the Restoration and they had a lot of really good questions and comments.
They understood all about prophets and priesthood and how Jesus restored his
church on the earth through Joseph Smith. And then we invited them to read the
Book of Mormon and afterwards pray to know if it is true and they both said
they would. We also asked them that when they found an answer, if they would be
baptized, and they said yes! So now, we have all of the Familia Suarez
preparing to be baptized! Before District Meeting, we made some homemade peanut
butter with the help of Elder Sandler and then used that to make some No-Bake
Cookies from one of Elder Robinson’s recipes from home. It was super good and
now I know how to make peanut butter from scratch. Afterwards, we visited
Hermana Soledad and she was happy to see us, and us to see her. She made us
some Mate Cocido and added some dehydrated milk powder, so it was a terrible
milk gray color. But now, I can testify that the gift of tounges is real
because it honestly didn’t taste too bad. Ha. We also visited Gabe on Tuesday
night and he is doing alright. He still isn’t convinced that God is real, so we
taught him about King Lamoni and Ammon and also told him that if he is reading,
praying, and keeping the commandments, to the best of his ability, he will find
his answer. He is a really good kid.
Wednesday we went to Santa Fe in the morning for some
tramites for Elder Robinson. Remember, it takes about 2 hours, sometimes a
little longer, to get to Santa Fe by colectivo (train). So we left first thing
in the morning. We got there, he signed two papers, they took his fingerprints,
and we left after about 5 minutes. So a 2 hour long trip to do 5 minutes of
work. Kinda ridiculous. But, we got to see a few other friends who were doing
tramites too and it was a good time. By the time we got back to Rafaela, we
were able to visit Emiliano. He is such a good kid. I love him a lot. I decided
to give him one of my BYU-I shirts in exchange for one of his shirts that I
like a lot. It will be a cool recuerdo. Then, we were invited to eat with Gabe
and his mom and it was super good. We had Milanesas de Pizza y Pure de Papas.
Muy rica!
In the morning on Thursday, we went out to find a few
contacts and references, but didn’t have too much success. We also stopped by
the Familia Suarez, Andrea, Rodrigo, and Belen to see how they were doing. They
are all good and happy. We invited Rodrigo to the English Class that we teach,
and he said he would go. So after lunch with the Familia Palota and studies in
the pench, we had plans to visit a lot of Contacts and other Futuros
Investigadores, but sadly, almost all of them either weren’t home or weren’t
able to talk to us at the time. But, it was okay anyways. We brought Tommy
Palota )HNA Palota{s grandson= and Rodgrigo to english class and they had a
good time. Afterwards, we asked Rodrigo if he had been reading and praying and
he said he read a little bit of Nephi 1. Yay! He also accepted our Baptismal
invitation and is excited for that day to come. After all of that, we went by
to see Adrian and Liza really quickly because it was Adrian’s birthday on
Thursday. We didn’t have much time to talk, but made plans to cook and eat
hamburgers on Saturday.
On Friday, really the only thing that happened was a noche
de hogar activity in the church of Juan de Garay, one of the Ramas (branches)
here in Rafaela. We have three Ramas, but one two chapels. So our branch, Rafaela,
and the branch of the ZLs (Lehmann) share one building while the other (Juan de
Garay) has a different one really far away from ours. We had invited a few
people to the activity, one of which was Rodrigo, our super awesome
investigator. At about mid-day we got a phone call and it was him asking us at
what time the activity was and where. So we told him and made plans to have him
catch a colectivo that we were going to riding on and that we would go to the
activity together. So, the time came for the colectivo to pass where he was
meant to be waiting, and he wasn’t there. But then, when we got to the church
building, he ended showing up! He wasn’t able to catch the colectivo because he
was taking care of his little niece. But his sister gave him a ride on her
moto. So he came and had a really great time! The Hermana Missionaries did a
really good job with the activity and everyone had a good experience.
Afterwards, we were talking to Rodrigo and following up on him to see if he’s
been reading and praying and he said he’s been doing both! But when we asked if
he has been able to ask God to know if its true, he said no, and that he doesn’t
have to... So I asked him what he meant, and he said that he doesn’t have to because
he already knows. He can tell by the way we talk about the Book of Mormon that
we know that it is true. He figures that we wouldn’t come all the way from our
homes to Argentina just to lie to people about some dumb book. So obviously, it’s true.
He also said that we could have knocked on anyone else’s door and talked to
them, but we knocked on HIS door and talked to HIM and HIS family. He knows
that we are sent from God and are messangers of the truth! How awesome is that!
Such a huge blessing in my eyes.
Saturday was a pretty unorthodox day. We had an English
Class in the morning that no one showed up to. We usually try to invite anyone
and everyone to the classes because close to all of the kids here are learning
English in High School so they need some help and It’s a good way to meet other
people. But usually, no one shows up for them unless we are the ones that bring
them to the classes. So we are probably going to stop doing the classes twice a
week. After waiting for a little bit at the church for the class, we went
looking for a few contacts and futuros investigadores who weren’t home either.
Then we went over to the house of Adrian and Liza and made some Cheeseburgers.
We were finally able to do the cheeseburgers after having talked about doing
them for the last few months. So we had lunch with them to celebrate Adrian’s
birthday and also Friends Day, which was Friday. We had a good time, like it
always is when we get to talk with them. In the afternoon, we had a meeting
with all of the missionaries in Rafaela to plan a big activity in a few weeks.
We are planning to do a Talent Show with all three of the Ramas, which is going
to be a good way to invite menos activo members and other investigadores to the
church. After that, we didn’t really have any appointments planned, but we were
able to visit a few people and teach a few mini lessons. One of which, was with
a really cool lady named Maria and her younger brother and two sons. The kids
have about 12-14 years each and they are super funny. Maria is really
interested in what we have to say, but is always really busy so it’s hard for
us to meet with her. But, we hope to be able to meet with them more in the
future.
Sunday morning, we went looking for Rodrigo and his mom and
sister at their house, but they didn’t answer the door. So we went to
church without any investigadores, but that’s okay. It was still a pretty good
set of meetings and classes. We listened to a talk from a young woman about the
Sabbath Day and another sister spoke about the talk that Presidente Uchtdorf
gave about the Wonder Dog and his crazy journey back home. In our classes, we
learned about the Doctrine of Christ, and in Priesthood, we learned about why
bad things happen in the world and if it really is the will of God. So yeah, a
pretty good time in the church. In the afternoon, we didn’t really do anything
too big and special. We just visited a bunch of people. We talked to Soledad
for a little and shared something about Temples with her. We stopped by to see
the Familia Quiroga and we read all of 2 Nephi 2 with them. It was really good
and afterwards we played a few rounds of Tuti Fruti. Afterwards, we stopped by
Familia Fernandez and Ariel and HNA Estela weren’t home, so we talked to Alma
for a bit outside. She just got home from being in Santa Fe after 2 weeks for
vacations. So we had some time to visit a few other Antiguos Investigadores and
some futuros. We were able to contact a few houses and talked to a few people,
but not much to recount from that. Just doing what missionaries do, talking to
lots of people and trying to help them. We were never able to find Rodrigo at
his home or contact him through phone calls, so we don’t really know what
happened this morning, but we are sure everything is fine and he just slept in
was all.
Some other notes from this week. We just found out today
that Presidente Westover has changed the rule for drinking Mate. We are now
able to drink mate in our penches. So that’s pretty nuts!! So tonight we are
going to end the night with some mate and it’s going to be a good time. But don’t
worry. The email was sure to emphasize that it should not be the focus of our
work nor should it be a waste of money or time. But it is going to be cool to
finally be able to do that!
Also, this week, we opened our freezer to find a dead fish
lying in it. At first we were confused as to if we were in the right pench or
if we were accidentally opening some random persons freezer, but it ended up
being that the ZLs had found a dead fish lying in the middle of the road one
morning and decided to take it to their lunch appointment and later put it into
our freezer. Quite the surprise for us.
So yeah, that was the week. I’d just like to end with a
little kind of Spiritual note. One of the things that I studied was the talk by
President Eyring this past General Conference titled “His Spirit to be with
You.” The talk was a lot more powerful than I remember it being, I really
enjoyed the Spirit I could feel while I read and studied his words. It helped
me realize that at times, I’m not exactly focusing on the Spirit or trying to
listen to the promptings that I could be receiving. So, from this talk, I
learned that I should really be trying harder to seek out those Spiritual
guides, and not doing my own thing. I’d also like to invite all of you to do
the same, to really look for the ways that the Spirit might be affecting your
life and then make the effort to follow the promptings or enjoy the Spirit when
it is present.
I would like to end with a small note on the reason why I’m
here serving a mission in the first place. I would have to say that the real
reason is that I know without a doubt that God, my Heavenly Father loves and
cares for me. I know that becuase Heavenly Father loves me, and because he
loves each and everyone of us, he wants us, his literal children, to be happy
and have better lives. So, because I know this, I want to be someone that helps
other people have more happiness and more blessings in their life, and what
better way to do that than to share the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ with
other people. That is why I am here in Argentina, to share the happiness and
joy that I know can be found through the Church of Jesus Christ. I know and
love God and Jesus Christ and am a representative of them. I am here to share
the message of truth with other people so, in the end, they can live in
happiness and joy for the rest of eternity while in the Heavens with God. That
is why I am here. And I share these things with you in the name of our Savior
and Redemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Con Amor,
Elder Haley
Noche de Hogar with the Familia Quiroga
"Don't Eat Pete" game
Cooking in our pench
Members drew pictures of Elder Haley y Elder Robinson
Rodrigo at our activity
Finally cheeseburgers with Adrian y Liza
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