Hola from Argentina!
I hope everyone has had an amazing week. Hopefully it was better than the one we had here. It was one of those weeks where nothing really works out the way you want and you just have to keep telling yourself to keep going trusting that things are going to work out. We didn't have much success, but there were some highlights. Here they are:
On Wednesday we had interviews and a training meeting with President. It was a really good training. President Gulbransen is one of the best men I have ever met. He pretty much just radiates love where ever he goes. He is an amazing example of applying the gospel is one´s life and being filled with the love of God for all men. My interview with him really helped me because I was feeling a little downhearted but he lifted me right back up. And in the training meeting we watched a powerful talk by Elder Holland and then we talked about the importance of working with the members. It helped me get a better vision of what we need to do in this ward. The real measure of success of a person (be it missionary or anything else) isn´t in what s/he does by himself, but in what he helps others to do. We can work all our life on our own projects but we won´t get nearly as much down if we don´t have other people help us. And if we don´t have other people help us we are denying them the opportunity to grow and to learn how to do it.
Other than the training with President the best part of the week happened on Saturday night. Last Saturday we were walking down a street on the way home to eat lunch when some guys sitting at a table drinking wine called us over. I ignored them but my companion went over to talk to them (I don´t know what he was thinking, talking to drunk people doesn't usually turn out well). But one of them said that he was a less active member and but us each a choripan (a really good Argentine sausage in bread type thing). This Saturday (a week later) we saw them on the street again and stopped to talk but they didn't buy us anything. But later that night we were walking through the local villa and heard someone yell my comp´s name. It turned out to be one of those guys at the table that invited us in and showed us around. He is really nice man; an alcoholic but has desires to stop drinking. We talked about the gospel with him and how God can help him stop drinking and we told him we would come by his house on Sunday morning to go to church together. He accepted and was really nice. He even gave us a wooden doll house that he built! We have no idea what to do with it but we couldn't say we didn't want it so we took it. I´ll have to send pictures of it next week. Sadly when we went on Sunday morning he wasn't home. But I felt the spirit really strong as we talked to him and I´m sure he can stop drinking and change his life if he accepts Christ in his life. And we are going to help him on the journey.
That´s all the really exciting news. On Sunday there was a Boca vs. River soccer game so there was NO ONE in the streets or willing to talk to us. Boca won 2-0. ¡DALE BOCA! It´s awesome how into soccer games everyone gets here. We knew every time there was a goal and when the game was over because a ton of firecrackers would go off and everyone would be yelling. Too bad we don´t do that in the states.
Well that´s all I got time for. Make sure you all keep swimming this week and don´t give up no matter how fast the water seems to be going in the opposite direction. I´ll talk to you next week.
Love,
Elder Gardner
Monday, May 16, 2011
¡Feliz dia de la madre! (Loma week 1)
Well, I have made it through one week as senior companion. It hasn´t been too much of a struggle. The gift of tongues is real. This is the first time I have really needed it and I have definitely felt it. I have understood better and spoken a lot better this week than I did just a week ago when I was still junior companion.
This area is pretty interesting. It is a lot closer to the capital city and is therefor a lot more city like. The streets are all cement and there aren´t really yards are plants. It´s a lot different. The ward, however, is rather similar. There are a lot of inactives and the majority of the members are older people (like mom :)).
It quicly realized that the missionaries before had been doing missionary work in the wrong way. They hadn´t been working all that much with the members. My companion wasn´t even sure where the bishop lived. So we have a lot of work to do here. People to reactivate, members to strengthen, and people to baptize.
The best investigator we have right now is a nine year old son of a less active member. He came to church yesterday with his eleven year old brother but the rest of the family, including the mom, didn´t want to come. So we have work to do with the rest of the family too.
There isn´t much else to say. It was nice being able to talk to and see the family yesterday (even though you couldn´t see me). I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life.
hasta la proxima semana,
Elder Gardner
We were bored. So we decided to practice our Dragon Ball Z skills.
I got it down pretty good...
It's probably better if I don't explain this one.
But I'm sure no one is too surprised to see it.
My favorite picture with one of my favorite families.
Adrian and Rocío (blind man and wife) and Alex (the kid).
This is the view from the lady we taught who lives next to the river. It is awesome.
¡Viva la Argentina!
This area is pretty interesting. It is a lot closer to the capital city and is therefor a lot more city like. The streets are all cement and there aren´t really yards are plants. It´s a lot different. The ward, however, is rather similar. There are a lot of inactives and the majority of the members are older people (like mom :)).
It quicly realized that the missionaries before had been doing missionary work in the wrong way. They hadn´t been working all that much with the members. My companion wasn´t even sure where the bishop lived. So we have a lot of work to do here. People to reactivate, members to strengthen, and people to baptize.
The best investigator we have right now is a nine year old son of a less active member. He came to church yesterday with his eleven year old brother but the rest of the family, including the mom, didn´t want to come. So we have work to do with the rest of the family too.
There isn´t much else to say. It was nice being able to talk to and see the family yesterday (even though you couldn´t see me). I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life.
hasta la proxima semana,
Elder Gardner
We were bored. So we decided to practice our Dragon Ball Z skills.I got it down pretty good...
It's probably better if I don't explain this one.But I'm sure no one is too surprised to see it.
My favorite picture with one of my favorite families.Adrian and Rocío (blind man and wife) and Alex (the kid).
This is the view from the lady we taught who lives next to the river. It is awesome.
¡Viva la Argentina!Monday, May 2, 2011
Last Week (Cazador Week 24)
Well, for those of you who pay attention and know how the mission works should know that today is transfers day. And you might have been able to tell from the title of the email that I was transferred. But I will tell you the details at the end, for now I will tell you what happened my last week in El Cazador.
Last p-day we went to the church´s field to play soccer and football with the other elders in the zone. It was really fun but kind of far away so we got back late and didn't have much time to write emails and go shopping. The rest of the week wasn´t all that exciting, lots of walking, as always. Here are the two highlights:
On Friday we went with Adrian and Rocío (the blind man and his wife) to go visit some of their family members that live far away, off the map. They live next to a river and it was a good 15 minutes in bus to get there, but they live within our area limits. One of them lived literally on the bank of the river, we sat in her backyard about two feet away from the river as we taught. It was awesome. We taught two families that are both really nice and interested in learning more of the gospel. The only problem is that they live kind of far away.
Then on Sunday we went to the despedida (farewell meeting) for Elder Southern, my last companion. We took Silvia and Tatiana with us because they wanted to say goodbye. We left two hours before it started thinking we had plenty of time to arrive at the mission offices. After getting off the bus, wandering around a city we don´t know, and then taking a taxi, we got there about 45 minutes after it started. And then we had to be back home before nine so after waiting at the bus stop for 20 minutes Elder Clarke and I left Silvia and Tatiana and we ran to go find a taxi to take us home. It was a crazy night but we made it home safely and then waited for the phone call to tell us about transfers.
The phone call came and here is what happened. Elder Clarke is staying in El Cazador and he is going to train a new elder and be district leader. I got sent to a place called Loma Hermosa, with means Beautiful Bump. The also told me that I will be senior companion, which made me a little nervous, especially since my companion´s name is clearly a gringo, Elder Rose. I´m not sure I´m ready to take charge, but the Lord called me to do it so that is what I will do.
Right now I am in my new area. It is in the province of Buenos Aires. It seems like a bigger city than my last area but nowhere like capital. My companion is Elder Rose from Salt Lake City. This is his second transfer, which means he has only been in Argentina for a month and a half. Which means he doesn´t know Spanish all that well yet. He actually talks pretty well (a whole lot better than I did at that point) but I am still nervous. I have always had companions that knew Spanish better than me. This means I am really going to have to step it up and take the lead in the lessons and in talking to people. It´s a little scary but with God all things are possible.
I don´t know much about the area yet. I´ll know more next week. That´s all for today. Hope everyone has a great week!
les amo,
Elder Gardner
Last p-day we went to the church´s field to play soccer and football with the other elders in the zone. It was really fun but kind of far away so we got back late and didn't have much time to write emails and go shopping. The rest of the week wasn´t all that exciting, lots of walking, as always. Here are the two highlights:
On Friday we went with Adrian and Rocío (the blind man and his wife) to go visit some of their family members that live far away, off the map. They live next to a river and it was a good 15 minutes in bus to get there, but they live within our area limits. One of them lived literally on the bank of the river, we sat in her backyard about two feet away from the river as we taught. It was awesome. We taught two families that are both really nice and interested in learning more of the gospel. The only problem is that they live kind of far away.
Then on Sunday we went to the despedida (farewell meeting) for Elder Southern, my last companion. We took Silvia and Tatiana with us because they wanted to say goodbye. We left two hours before it started thinking we had plenty of time to arrive at the mission offices. After getting off the bus, wandering around a city we don´t know, and then taking a taxi, we got there about 45 minutes after it started. And then we had to be back home before nine so after waiting at the bus stop for 20 minutes Elder Clarke and I left Silvia and Tatiana and we ran to go find a taxi to take us home. It was a crazy night but we made it home safely and then waited for the phone call to tell us about transfers.
The phone call came and here is what happened. Elder Clarke is staying in El Cazador and he is going to train a new elder and be district leader. I got sent to a place called Loma Hermosa, with means Beautiful Bump. The also told me that I will be senior companion, which made me a little nervous, especially since my companion´s name is clearly a gringo, Elder Rose. I´m not sure I´m ready to take charge, but the Lord called me to do it so that is what I will do.
Right now I am in my new area. It is in the province of Buenos Aires. It seems like a bigger city than my last area but nowhere like capital. My companion is Elder Rose from Salt Lake City. This is his second transfer, which means he has only been in Argentina for a month and a half. Which means he doesn´t know Spanish all that well yet. He actually talks pretty well (a whole lot better than I did at that point) but I am still nervous. I have always had companions that knew Spanish better than me. This means I am really going to have to step it up and take the lead in the lessons and in talking to people. It´s a little scary but with God all things are possible.
I don´t know much about the area yet. I´ll know more next week. That´s all for today. Hope everyone has a great week!
les amo,
Elder Gardner
Monday, April 25, 2011
Happy Easter! (Cazador week 23)
Matthew 27: 39, 42, 22, 23, 35, 37, 46, 50, 59, 60
Matthew 28: 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 20
¨And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
¨He went away the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, they will be done.
¨Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
¨And the crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots.
¨and set up over his head his accusation written: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
¨and about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?
¨Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yilded up the ghost.
¨And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb.
¨In the end of the Sabbath came Mary to see the sepulchre. . . And the angel said unto the women, He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go and tell the he is risen from the dead.
¨Behold, Jesus met them, saying. . . lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, Amen.¨
I hope you all had a great Easter and remembered why we celebrate the holiday. If you didn´t have a chance to read the Easter story (all four of them in the Bible) I invite you to read them today; For it is because of Easter that we do everything that we do. I know that Christ lives. Through Him we can find goy in this life and eternal life in the world to come.
With love,
Elder Gardner
Matthew 28: 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 20
¨And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
¨He went away the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, they will be done.
¨Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
¨And the crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots.
¨and set up over his head his accusation written: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
¨and about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?
¨Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yilded up the ghost.
¨And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb.
¨In the end of the Sabbath came Mary to see the sepulchre. . . And the angel said unto the women, He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go and tell the he is risen from the dead.
¨Behold, Jesus met them, saying. . . lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, Amen.¨
I hope you all had a great Easter and remembered why we celebrate the holiday. If you didn´t have a chance to read the Easter story (all four of them in the Bible) I invite you to read them today; For it is because of Easter that we do everything that we do. I know that Christ lives. Through Him we can find goy in this life and eternal life in the world to come.
With love,
Elder Gardner
Monday, April 18, 2011
Baptisms are stressful (Cazador week 22)
Hola familia y amigos y conocidos,
You know, baptizing is hard. First you got to teach the person the gospel and help them come to church and help them want to get baptized. That´s actually the easy part. The hard part comes the week before the baptism when you have to get everything ready. At least when you do it kind of last minute like we did this past week.
We had been working with a few people that could be baptized, but the only one that was ready was Michael (the 15 year old son of the lady who has to get a divorce). Here were some of the problems in planning the baptism: Apparently he didn't tell his family about his baptism, and we didn't either (totally our fault) until Thursday night. They were all very surprised, but by the next day they were very supportive. We then asked Michael who he wanted to baptize him but only person he wanted to do it declined the night before. The morning of the baptism the family asked to change the baptism to two hours later so that the step father could be there; so we had to call lots of people to change the time. We then had to fill the baptismal font, which took longer than we thought it would so we had to fill up a trash can with water in the bathroom and throw it in the font to fill it in time. Michael and his mom arrived 45 minutes late, but finally they arrived and we started the service and everything went well. Except that they had to do the baptism twice because Michael´s foot came out of the water. So after all that stress Michael was baptized on Saturday and confirmed a member of the church of Jesus Christ on Sunday.
That was the most exciting news of the week. Other notable events: We had zone conference on Wednesday. It was really good and motivational; and I got some letters! Thanks to Natalya, Danielle, and Bridget for the letters. Now the rest of you should write some too ;). We made pancakes twice this week at family home evenings. For some reason they didn't turn out right. When I make them in our apartment they are all nice and fluffy and delicious. But both times this week they turned out flat and rubbery and I don't know why. If anyone has any ideas on why let me know.
That´s all for this week. We are working hard and having lots of fun. I hope everyone is doing well and not having too much fun without me.
Love,
Elder Gardner
p.s. New experience of the week: running at 9:15 at night with a blind guy holding on to my shoulder, pans in one hand, a Book of Mormon in the other, and a bag on the other shoulder. It was tiring, but we made it home right at 9:30.
You know, baptizing is hard. First you got to teach the person the gospel and help them come to church and help them want to get baptized. That´s actually the easy part. The hard part comes the week before the baptism when you have to get everything ready. At least when you do it kind of last minute like we did this past week.
We had been working with a few people that could be baptized, but the only one that was ready was Michael (the 15 year old son of the lady who has to get a divorce). Here were some of the problems in planning the baptism: Apparently he didn't tell his family about his baptism, and we didn't either (totally our fault) until Thursday night. They were all very surprised, but by the next day they were very supportive. We then asked Michael who he wanted to baptize him but only person he wanted to do it declined the night before. The morning of the baptism the family asked to change the baptism to two hours later so that the step father could be there; so we had to call lots of people to change the time. We then had to fill the baptismal font, which took longer than we thought it would so we had to fill up a trash can with water in the bathroom and throw it in the font to fill it in time. Michael and his mom arrived 45 minutes late, but finally they arrived and we started the service and everything went well. Except that they had to do the baptism twice because Michael´s foot came out of the water. So after all that stress Michael was baptized on Saturday and confirmed a member of the church of Jesus Christ on Sunday.
That was the most exciting news of the week. Other notable events: We had zone conference on Wednesday. It was really good and motivational; and I got some letters! Thanks to Natalya, Danielle, and Bridget for the letters. Now the rest of you should write some too ;). We made pancakes twice this week at family home evenings. For some reason they didn't turn out right. When I make them in our apartment they are all nice and fluffy and delicious. But both times this week they turned out flat and rubbery and I don't know why. If anyone has any ideas on why let me know.
That´s all for this week. We are working hard and having lots of fun. I hope everyone is doing well and not having too much fun without me.
Love,
Elder Gardner
p.s. New experience of the week: running at 9:15 at night with a blind guy holding on to my shoulder, pans in one hand, a Book of Mormon in the other, and a bag on the other shoulder. It was tiring, but we made it home right at 9:30.
My companion and Michael
Me, my companion, and Michael.(I gave the camera to a member to take the picture, he didn't do a very good job)
Michael and his family. His mom Silvia holding her 5 month old daughter.And his step father Rafael, an inactive member.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
¡Hola! (Cazador Week 21)
Hello everyone,
This week has been all right. For those of you who remember that I said we had baptisms planned for this week, they did not happen. The two people need more time to prepare. The two are the 91 year old grandfather of a member and the 15 year old son of the lady who can´t get baptized because her husband has to get divorced. They are both great people and we are working hard so that they can be baptized this Saturday.
Besides that there isn't too much to say about this week. We have lots of really good investigators that we are teaching. It makes missionary life a lot nicer because we spend almost all our time teaching instead of walking around looking for new people to teach. But we still walk a lot because all the investigators live far away from each other. One day we walked from 4:00 in the afternoon until 8:15 without stopping because we went to visit a lady that lives really really far away and she wasn't home. But that´s the life of a missionary, you got to do what it takes to help people come unto Christ.
I've learned a lot this week about the importance of attitude and outlook. If we had a bad attitude about life then we won´t be happy no matter what, even if we have a good life. It´s so easy to just focus on what we don´t have. And if we have a bad outlook and expect things to go wrong then they will go wrong. But if we expect things to go right there is a chance they will go wrong but they are a lot more likely to go right. Not so much because our thoughts magically make things happen, but because we will work harder to make things happen the they we want them to. We get the things we work towards and pray for. And if we have a good attitude and always look on the bright side of life we will always be happy, even if we are stuck inside a box that is glued to the bottom of a tree that is being chopped down by a beaver. I've always wanted to see a beaver in the wild.
So those are my thoughts for this week. I hope everyone had a good week and that everyone will make this week be even better.
para siempre Dios esté con vos,
Elder Gardner
p.s. I've been trying to send pictures for the last few weeks but I never have good luck with the computer. Sorry, I really am trying.
ok. only one. I finally got it to work but don´t have time for more.
This week has been all right. For those of you who remember that I said we had baptisms planned for this week, they did not happen. The two people need more time to prepare. The two are the 91 year old grandfather of a member and the 15 year old son of the lady who can´t get baptized because her husband has to get divorced. They are both great people and we are working hard so that they can be baptized this Saturday.
Besides that there isn't too much to say about this week. We have lots of really good investigators that we are teaching. It makes missionary life a lot nicer because we spend almost all our time teaching instead of walking around looking for new people to teach. But we still walk a lot because all the investigators live far away from each other. One day we walked from 4:00 in the afternoon until 8:15 without stopping because we went to visit a lady that lives really really far away and she wasn't home. But that´s the life of a missionary, you got to do what it takes to help people come unto Christ.
I've learned a lot this week about the importance of attitude and outlook. If we had a bad attitude about life then we won´t be happy no matter what, even if we have a good life. It´s so easy to just focus on what we don´t have. And if we have a bad outlook and expect things to go wrong then they will go wrong. But if we expect things to go right there is a chance they will go wrong but they are a lot more likely to go right. Not so much because our thoughts magically make things happen, but because we will work harder to make things happen the they we want them to. We get the things we work towards and pray for. And if we have a good attitude and always look on the bright side of life we will always be happy, even if we are stuck inside a box that is glued to the bottom of a tree that is being chopped down by a beaver. I've always wanted to see a beaver in the wild.
So those are my thoughts for this week. I hope everyone had a good week and that everyone will make this week be even better.
para siempre Dios esté con vos,
Elder Gardner
p.s. I've been trying to send pictures for the last few weeks but I never have good luck with the computer. Sorry, I really am trying.
ok. only one. I finally got it to work but don´t have time for more.It is of me and a rabbit in a farm that a member owns that lives really far away.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Divisions (Cazador week 20)
Well, here we are again. Time is flying by as always. This week was busy and I am exhausted! But I feel good. Being busy is the best way to be.
Last week on Sunday our ward mission leader asked if we wanted to do divisions every night this week. We said yes. Divisions means that I go with one member of the ward to one area and my companion goes with another to another area. So every night this week I went with Adrian (the blind man I baptized a few months ago) and Elder Clarke went with Nahuel (a 19 year old who is leaving on a mission in June). It was interesting working with a blind man, I had to pretty much do everything since he couldn't see where we were; that´s probably what it is like training a new missionary. But at least he knows Spanish and has a great testimony and loves to share it with people.
I´m not sure if I told you why he is blind. About five years ago he shot himself in the head trying to kill himself. He used to lead a crazy life. He was telling me stories as we were walking of when he used to do drugs, of some gun fights he was in. He got shot in the foot but he shot someone in the arm. He had some crazy stories. But now he has really changed his life around and is leading a life centered in the teachings of Christ. You can tell that he is a lot happier now, even though he can´t see. God saved his life five years ago and now he is giving him the chance to help others by working with the missionaries.
We´ve got a lot of work to do here. We have two baptisms planned this weekend and two more planned for next weekend. We are working hard to complete families. There a lot of people who get baptized without their children or parents and we are trying to help the whole family be united in the gospel of Christ. General Conference was amazing. I love listening to the prophet´s and apostles´ voices. We got to watch it in English which was nice. The spirit is always strong during Conference. I hope everyone watched it and is trying to follow the prophet´s counsel. If you didn't watch it, go to lds.org and watch it right now. And if you did watch it but aren´t following the counsel, repent.
That´s all for this week. My time is up. I hope everyone is happy and healthy. Talk to you next week.
Love,
Elder Gardner
Last week on Sunday our ward mission leader asked if we wanted to do divisions every night this week. We said yes. Divisions means that I go with one member of the ward to one area and my companion goes with another to another area. So every night this week I went with Adrian (the blind man I baptized a few months ago) and Elder Clarke went with Nahuel (a 19 year old who is leaving on a mission in June). It was interesting working with a blind man, I had to pretty much do everything since he couldn't see where we were; that´s probably what it is like training a new missionary. But at least he knows Spanish and has a great testimony and loves to share it with people.
I´m not sure if I told you why he is blind. About five years ago he shot himself in the head trying to kill himself. He used to lead a crazy life. He was telling me stories as we were walking of when he used to do drugs, of some gun fights he was in. He got shot in the foot but he shot someone in the arm. He had some crazy stories. But now he has really changed his life around and is leading a life centered in the teachings of Christ. You can tell that he is a lot happier now, even though he can´t see. God saved his life five years ago and now he is giving him the chance to help others by working with the missionaries.
We´ve got a lot of work to do here. We have two baptisms planned this weekend and two more planned for next weekend. We are working hard to complete families. There a lot of people who get baptized without their children or parents and we are trying to help the whole family be united in the gospel of Christ. General Conference was amazing. I love listening to the prophet´s and apostles´ voices. We got to watch it in English which was nice. The spirit is always strong during Conference. I hope everyone watched it and is trying to follow the prophet´s counsel. If you didn't watch it, go to lds.org and watch it right now. And if you did watch it but aren´t following the counsel, repent.
That´s all for this week. My time is up. I hope everyone is happy and healthy. Talk to you next week.
Love,
Elder Gardner
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