Elder Morley Haley Santa Fe Argentina Mission: 42 Years Looks Good on You!

Yoooooooo my people of the USA and of other parts of the world! How y’all doing’? I’m alright. Not too much to mention this week, but hey it wasn't too bad of a week at all. We got a few people taught and ended up meeting a few of our goals for the week. But first of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA! WOOHOO! If I did the math correctly, you still aren’t old yet, so yay for that! So let’s get into the week, ya?

It was a bit of a short, out of whack week after being in La Paz until Tuesday, but it was still pretty good. We had a few really good experiences and taught a few really good lessons.

First of all, we taught Pablo again this week. This time we were able to finish the lesson on the Plan of Salvation without being interrupted by his crazy drunk brother. It was really great. He really liked it and understood everything. We invited him to think and start praying about if he should be baptized or not, and he accepted to do that. We explained to him that in order for him to enter into the Celestial Kingdom, he had to do a few things in this life to help him prepare. We call these few things the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He said he would start thinking more about that and that he was super interested in what we had shared up to that point. So it was great. We also re-invited him to come to church with us. He said he would love to come, but was a little worried about how he was going to be dressed. So we explained to him that there is no "dress code" to enter the church, but that we would love to see him there, no matter what clothes he had on. He must have been comforted by that, because he ended up coming to church on Sunday! And, all by himself. I guess this would be a good time to mention something else too... Pablo has schizophrenia, but has been taking different medications, so now it hardly affects him. So we were really happy to see him come to church. And also, he already knew one of the members, the Hermano Perez. Well, I guess just about all of Hernandarias knows that guy. Hermana Perez is super old and is always doing kinds of service and food court stuff so everyone knows him. So it was great to see that Pablo already has a friend in church. All the members were super welcoming and friendly to him, and he was excited to ask us about when we would be passing by his house again this week. He’s a great guy! So we are, for now, hoping to meet with him again this week and helping him decide if he wants to be baptized or not. We think it's going to be great for him.

Also this week, we had a day in the afternoon that we had planned all sorts of citas and had a bunch of people to pass by for the entire afternoon. BUT, because we are in Argentina and because almost no one is ever home when we make plans with them, we went through our plans for the entire afternoon in just about half of the afternoon. So we knocked on the last house, and they weren't there. So we looked at each other, sweating our ties off, feet tired from walking all over town, and without a single idea of what we should do. But then, something that President Westover had shared with me came to mind. He said that I have to not be scarred to pray in public, that if I feel prompted to say a prayer, I need to say it. So that's what we did. Standing on the sidewalk we both said our personal prayers and asked about what we should do and who we should visit. After we said our personal prayers, we just started walking. We didn't exactly agree on who to visit right off the bat, but we decided to visit this one guy named Ruben who is an old investigador and was usually home around that time. So we went to his house _ which, by the way, was all the way across town. But, when we got there, the people were actually moving out. So we offered our help. They thanked us for the offer, but denied the help. So we figured we were in one of the other situations that Presidente Westover had shared with us before. He always teaches that sometimes when we are prompted to a certain house, it might not be the people that live in that house that we were sent to find. But, sometimes its just someone that lives in that area. So we decided to start contacting a little bit in that area. We didn't have too much luck at first, but after a few houses, we ended up meeting this sweet old lady. We had just knocked on her door and she came around the corner and sweetly told us that she was actually the owner of the home. (its so awkward when that happens...!) But we started talking to her and getting to know her. Her name is Rosi. We sit down with her in front of her house and listen to her talk about her kids and how about her life in general. Then she starts talking about religion and how she has been a member of this one Evangelist church for sometime now, just about 19 years or so. But she mentioned that just before that she had met and taken the lessons from the LDS Missionaries. She could still remember their names. But she told us that she still had her copy of the Book of Mormon and how she still reads it every once in a while. Then she mentioned that just a few weeks earlier she was listening to the radio and heard something about the missionaries. So that takes us to about a week or two before I got to Hernandarias. Elder Mitchell and his last comp and trainer, Elder Mortensen from my MTC Group, had been on a radio station and had shared a message on the Restoration with the owner of the station. It was a really cool experience that they could have. And so the message that Rosi heard, the old lady that we had found, was of them. So, in a crazy turn of events, we had found her and she seemed to be pretty interested in what we had to share. So yeah, pretty nuts. Not to mention that she is really good friends with Hermano Perez. Like I said, literally everyone knows that man. So yeah. So we talk to her a little bit about the Restoration and leave her with a pamphlet of the first lesson and we said we would be coming back in the next week. After that, we were walking by her house one day and she was sitting outside and told us that she had been reading a bit of the Book of Mormon since we had passed by her. Pretty great experience.

And as for Manuel, the crazy old man that plays the guitar for us and gives us peaches, we went by him this week and he had some company over. Two other men, one named Ruben and the other I can't remember. But as we were sitting there and getting to know his two friends, the one guy had a box next to him. We asked him what it was and he told us it was an accordion. Freaking nuts. So not only did Manuel and Elder Mitchell play a song or two, but Manuel's friend also played the accordion. It was pretty nuts and actually super cool. But, other than that, we weren't able to see Manuel the rest of the week, which was a bummer. But hey, what can you do?

But yeah, we had a few pretty good experiences all week. It was fun. Also, one of the less active members here in Hernandarias, named Tito, is really good at leather crafting. So, I bought some leather and he is in the process of making a set of leather scripture covers for me. Finally! I've been looking for someone to do that all my mission! I am SO excited get a set and custom made!

Right now we are actually in Santa Elena, once again. But this time we are here to have divisions with the Zone Leaders. So we are spending P-day here with them, having an Asado (my favorite) as a Zone, which I remind you is only 8 of us, and having Divisions tomorrow. It should be pretty cool!

One last thing and I'll end this super long email. Recently I have been reading and studying a book that Elder Mitchell has called The Infinite Atonement by Tad R. Calister. I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but it's an amazing book. So much great detail and Doctrinal knowledge jammed into one book, and about the most important event in history, the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It's a great book and is helping me come to understand and learn more about the Plan of Salvation, Jesus's Love and Grace, and how the Atonement applies to me. I strongly recommend it to all of you.

Thanks for making it to the end of this email! Love and miss all of you!

Chau

Elder Haley