Hola mi familia buenasa!
Whats crackin in Arizona! It looks like you are in for a couple monsoons this week! The office Elder is from Arizona and has the weather on the desktop. This week was actually really nice here.
Elder Pace is a CAPO! We are turning Cerro around. Everyone (the APs and the other ZLs) is looking real close at cerro because it went down so much last transfer, and they are all expecting it to explode now that Elder Pace and I are together. I know it will. It feels so good to be doing things right now! I dont have too much news for you. We are having a blast as comps and working real hard. We are kinda starting from not having much going on in our area and the zone...so we did a lot of finding, doing refferal activities, vising the ex-bishops to dig out a bunch of good info. Elder Pace has been ZL for about 4 changes so got some good stuff up his sleeves.
We found out that the President of Uruguay lives in our area, I guess he didnt want to live in the "white house", but preferred living in his farmland just outside of Cerro. They also told us that you can just go knock on the door. There is always a police officer there. We decided we had to go baptise him. Turns out the person that told us didnt know what he was talking about because we got tazed...haha just kidding. No, turns out he lives in our zone but in a different ward. oh well. It was a fun idea.
Mom, you asked, we talk in English all the time. We talk a lot about the zone, what things we can do, change, what things need to happen and what needs to stop happening, we talk a lot about BYU and a little tiny tiny bit about getting home. hahaha
We have a couple really awesome families we are teaching. The last couple missionaries here baptized a bunch of kids that are all inactive now, and the ward mission leader kinda has a new direction going. Families and future Priesthood holders. It´s great being a missionary, its gratifying to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ every day, I feel so excited about being a mormon all the time. Its fun.
Love you all a bunch!
--
Elder Daniel Kellis
La Mision Uruguay Montevideo Oeste
Enrique Martinez 1167
Montevideo Uruguay CP 11.800
Thursday, July 26, 2012
July 17
Hey family! Guess what! I´m getting a new companion! Elder PACE!!!!! Elder Pace is from New York and we started the mission together in the same MTC group. He will probably walk on to BYU for either Basketball or Football. He is about 6´7" and I´m excited to get some good work outs in the mornings in with him before getting home. He is also a great leader and basically just the man.
This week was pretty simple. We delivered the house the other Elders were renting to the real estate agency, we had to go with them to look at it. turns out they came and robbed the metal gate door on the front of the house. Im glad we were able to get that out of our hair. Now, we are just waiting for the church attorney to get the contract finished so we can move into the new house, I would guess we will move in in 2 or 3 weeks.
We had a meeting with the Stake President on Friday. I gotta say Dad, I think you guys were a way cooler stake presidency inviting them over for breakfast and everything! We did have a good meeting though. He is a great President. On the bus on the way back home we saw a blind man that was getting off. We got off with him and asked him if needed help getting somewhere. We told him we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ and he grabbed my comps arm and we helped him run a couple errands, then get him back to his bus stop. Before getting on he gave us a huge hug. I have never met such a humble happy guy! He is 24 and we are gonna get him a copy of the Book of Mormon in braille! unfortunately he doesnt live in our area, but the other Elders are already teaching him. They said he just smiled so big the entire lesson, they are going back today.
We had interviews with president yesterday and for our last full day together, we treated ourselves to burger king! ahh man it was so good! Its been so long since I had a good burger. It was only 15 dollars for the california whopper combo! haha but way worth it.
STEVE NASH ON THE LAKERS! no way! I dont think purple and yellow will look good on him..
Well, I think there might be another international strike, which just started yesterday. Good thing you just send me the package! haha im not too worried though. They just don´t want to work in the cold haha but then they are going to starve and want to work. (not true, just a joke) Mom, you asked about chap stick, Its so humid here, ive never had to use chapstick. I still have 3 just in case. Just save the money from all the packages and put it towards a new iPhone =)
shout out to Uncle Mike and Uncle Jeff for always writing me, you guys are awesome and thanks for all your love and support!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
July 9, 2012
Hey Family!
Thank you for your prayers, I have really felt them this week. =)
We did a little more traveling to district meetings, baptismal interviews, ect. I really love going out to Ciudad del Plata, there is a pizza restaurant that we always go to after district meeting. We ordered 2 metros of pizza. thats basically a pizza as tall as me! Its really good too. I was looking forward to that trip for the last two weeks!
Wednesday we started the morning with helping an investigator´s Mom dig a 15´ trench. We dug a trench for the sewage pipe to go from the house to the bigger trenches that go along both sides of the street. It felt good to get some hard work in. Its been too long since I did some heavy yard work! It took us about 4 hours and then the investigator, the investigator´s mom, and a member all gave us lunch. We couldnt turn down any of them because if someone cooks for you and you dont accept it, you look like a huge jerk and they wont like you anymore. So we stuffed ourselves. Ana cooked us some Panama food (she lived there for a while) it was sweet fried bananas, not too bad! later, we preached the gospel. It was awesome. haha. I love all our investigators so much! You asked about the Nuñez family, Mom. They are doing alright. They didnt come to church on Sunday, He hasnt left his front door for 3 months, and she is sick, so we are trying to figure something out there. They have quite the history.
Thursday we were at Ana and Adrian´s and we got a call from Elder de Hoyos and Elder Ramos from the other side of our ward. Their house had been robbed, they only took 2 cameras, an mp3 player, portable DVD player and speakers. Whatever they can find to get them drugs. Its sad becasue they trade the camera for only like 20 bucks worth of drugs. They are so addicted that the drug lord can get away with jippin em like that. So we headed over there that night and didnt get home til like 12am. The next day the two of them stayed home while we did all the errands to buy a new door, cement, hire a welder, ect. It cost us a whole day and 100 bucks. Sunday we were taking calls of all the zone reporting their weekly numbers when we got another call from Elder de Hoyos. They broke through the window this time and took their gas tank. (each house here has like a 20 gallon gas tank hooked up to the stove and oven) Its got about a 160 dollar value. You can´t call the police becasue they dont care anymore, they wont do anything about it. Elder Ramos only got an hour of sleep Saturday night becasue he felt so nervous that something would happen while he was sleeping, so you can imagine how anxious he was to get out of there last night. We had them pack all their bags and got a brother from the ward to bring them and all their stuff to another house in the zone. Today we gotta go find them a new house.
Its kinda sad becasue the bad people here in Cerro are into drugs and the good people are discouraged because of all the evilness going around. Some parents can´t leave their house because their children will steal their stuff to buy drugs. The big drug here is PASTA BASE which is a mix of glass, rat poison, and some other crazy stuff. The government legalized marijuana this last week to try to calm down the pasta base. Its just a huge joke. The other day we were walking down the street and this dude yells "MIRA!!! MARIJUANA LEGAL!!!" The gospel shines so much brighter in dark places which is awesome for missionary work!
I love you guys so much!
Thank you for your prayers, I have really felt them this week. =)
We did a little more traveling to district meetings, baptismal interviews, ect. I really love going out to Ciudad del Plata, there is a pizza restaurant that we always go to after district meeting. We ordered 2 metros of pizza. thats basically a pizza as tall as me! Its really good too. I was looking forward to that trip for the last two weeks!
Wednesday we started the morning with helping an investigator´s Mom dig a 15´ trench. We dug a trench for the sewage pipe to go from the house to the bigger trenches that go along both sides of the street. It felt good to get some hard work in. Its been too long since I did some heavy yard work! It took us about 4 hours and then the investigator, the investigator´s mom, and a member all gave us lunch. We couldnt turn down any of them because if someone cooks for you and you dont accept it, you look like a huge jerk and they wont like you anymore. So we stuffed ourselves. Ana cooked us some Panama food (she lived there for a while) it was sweet fried bananas, not too bad! later, we preached the gospel. It was awesome. haha. I love all our investigators so much! You asked about the Nuñez family, Mom. They are doing alright. They didnt come to church on Sunday, He hasnt left his front door for 3 months, and she is sick, so we are trying to figure something out there. They have quite the history.
Thursday we were at Ana and Adrian´s and we got a call from Elder de Hoyos and Elder Ramos from the other side of our ward. Their house had been robbed, they only took 2 cameras, an mp3 player, portable DVD player and speakers. Whatever they can find to get them drugs. Its sad becasue they trade the camera for only like 20 bucks worth of drugs. They are so addicted that the drug lord can get away with jippin em like that. So we headed over there that night and didnt get home til like 12am. The next day the two of them stayed home while we did all the errands to buy a new door, cement, hire a welder, ect. It cost us a whole day and 100 bucks. Sunday we were taking calls of all the zone reporting their weekly numbers when we got another call from Elder de Hoyos. They broke through the window this time and took their gas tank. (each house here has like a 20 gallon gas tank hooked up to the stove and oven) Its got about a 160 dollar value. You can´t call the police becasue they dont care anymore, they wont do anything about it. Elder Ramos only got an hour of sleep Saturday night becasue he felt so nervous that something would happen while he was sleeping, so you can imagine how anxious he was to get out of there last night. We had them pack all their bags and got a brother from the ward to bring them and all their stuff to another house in the zone. Today we gotta go find them a new house.
Its kinda sad becasue the bad people here in Cerro are into drugs and the good people are discouraged because of all the evilness going around. Some parents can´t leave their house because their children will steal their stuff to buy drugs. The big drug here is PASTA BASE which is a mix of glass, rat poison, and some other crazy stuff. The government legalized marijuana this last week to try to calm down the pasta base. Its just a huge joke. The other day we were walking down the street and this dude yells "MIRA!!! MARIJUANA LEGAL!!!" The gospel shines so much brighter in dark places which is awesome for missionary work!
I love you guys so much!
July 2, 2012
Hey Family!
Thank you for your prayers, I have really felt them this week. =)
We did a little more traveling to district meetings, baptismal interviews, ect. I really love going out to Ciudad del Plata, there is a pizza restaurant that we always go to after district meeting. We ordered 2 metros of pizza. thats basically a pizza as tall as me! Its really good too. I was looking forward to that trip for the last two weeks!
Wednesday we started the morning with helping an investigator´s Mom dig a 15´ trench. We dug a trench for the sewage pipe to go from the house to the bigger trenches that go along both sides of the street. It felt good to get some hard work in. Its been too long since I did some heavy yard work! It took us about 4 hours and then the investigator, the investigator´s mom, and a member all gave us lunch. We couldnt turn down any of them because if someone cooks for you and you dont accept it, you look like a huge jerk and they wont like you anymore. So we stuffed ourselves. Ana cooked us some Panama food (she lived there for a while) it was sweet fried bananas, not too bad! later, we preached the gospel. It was awesome. haha. I love all our investigators so much! You asked about the Nuñez family, Mom. They are doing alright. They didnt come to church on Sunday, He hasnt left his front door for 3 months, and she is sick, so we are trying to figure something out there. They have quite the history.
Thursday we were at Ana and Adrian´s and we got a call from Elder de Hoyos and Elder Ramos from the other side of our ward. Their house had been robbed, they only took 2 cameras, an mp3 player, portable DVD player and speakers. Whatever they can find to get them drugs. Its sad becasue they trade the camera for only like 20 bucks worth of drugs. They are so addicted that the drug lord can get away with jippin em like that. So we headed over there that night and didnt get home til like 12am. The next day the two of them stayed home while we did all the errands to buy a new door, cement, hire a welder, ect. It cost us a whole day and 100 bucks. Sunday we were taking calls of all the zone reporting their weekly numbers when we got another call from Elder de Hoyos. They broke through the window this time and took their gas tank. (each house here has like a 20 gallon gas tank hooked up to the stove and oven) Its got about a 160 dollar value. You can´t call the police becasue they dont care anymore, they wont do anything about it. Elder Ramos only got an hour of sleep Saturday night becasue he felt so nervous that something would happen while he was sleeping, so you can imagine how anxious he was to get out of there last night. We had them pack all their bags and got a brother from the ward to bring them and all their stuff to another house in the zone. Today we gotta go find them a new house.
Its kinda sad becasue the bad people here in Cerro are into drugs and the good people are discouraged because of all the evilness going around. Some parents can´t leave their house because their children will steal their stuff to buy drugs. The big drug here is PASTA BASE which is a mix of glass, rat poison, and some other crazy stuff. The government legalized marijuana this last week to try to calm down the pasta base. Its just a huge joke. The other day we were walking down the street and this dude yells "MIRA!!! MARIJUANA LEGAL!!!" The gospel shines so much brighter in dark places which is awesome for missionary work!
I love you guys so much!
Thank you for your prayers, I have really felt them this week. =)
We did a little more traveling to district meetings, baptismal interviews, ect. I really love going out to Ciudad del Plata, there is a pizza restaurant that we always go to after district meeting. We ordered 2 metros of pizza. thats basically a pizza as tall as me! Its really good too. I was looking forward to that trip for the last two weeks!
Wednesday we started the morning with helping an investigator´s Mom dig a 15´ trench. We dug a trench for the sewage pipe to go from the house to the bigger trenches that go along both sides of the street. It felt good to get some hard work in. Its been too long since I did some heavy yard work! It took us about 4 hours and then the investigator, the investigator´s mom, and a member all gave us lunch. We couldnt turn down any of them because if someone cooks for you and you dont accept it, you look like a huge jerk and they wont like you anymore. So we stuffed ourselves. Ana cooked us some Panama food (she lived there for a while) it was sweet fried bananas, not too bad! later, we preached the gospel. It was awesome. haha. I love all our investigators so much! You asked about the Nuñez family, Mom. They are doing alright. They didnt come to church on Sunday, He hasnt left his front door for 3 months, and she is sick, so we are trying to figure something out there. They have quite the history.
Thursday we were at Ana and Adrian´s and we got a call from Elder de Hoyos and Elder Ramos from the other side of our ward. Their house had been robbed, they only took 2 cameras, an mp3 player, portable DVD player and speakers. Whatever they can find to get them drugs. Its sad becasue they trade the camera for only like 20 bucks worth of drugs. They are so addicted that the drug lord can get away with jippin em like that. So we headed over there that night and didnt get home til like 12am. The next day the two of them stayed home while we did all the errands to buy a new door, cement, hire a welder, ect. It cost us a whole day and 100 bucks. Sunday we were taking calls of all the zone reporting their weekly numbers when we got another call from Elder de Hoyos. They broke through the window this time and took their gas tank. (each house here has like a 20 gallon gas tank hooked up to the stove and oven) Its got about a 160 dollar value. You can´t call the police becasue they dont care anymore, they wont do anything about it. Elder Ramos only got an hour of sleep Saturday night becasue he felt so nervous that something would happen while he was sleeping, so you can imagine how anxious he was to get out of there last night. We had them pack all their bags and got a brother from the ward to bring them and all their stuff to another house in the zone. Today we gotta go find them a new house.
Its kinda sad becasue the bad people here in Cerro are into drugs and the good people are discouraged because of all the evilness going around. Some parents can´t leave their house because their children will steal their stuff to buy drugs. The big drug here is PASTA BASE which is a mix of glass, rat poison, and some other crazy stuff. The government legalized marijuana this last week to try to calm down the pasta base. Its just a huge joke. The other day we were walking down the street and this dude yells "MIRA!!! MARIJUANA LEGAL!!!" The gospel shines so much brighter in dark places which is awesome for missionary work!
I love you guys so much!
June 26, 2012
Well its good to know that you are all doing so well. I am enjoying life as a missionary here in cerro. I finally got some pictures to send. hope you enjoy. Mom, thanks for sharing your story about the temple, that was really sweet. I want to go to the temple so bad! I havent been since we first got to the mission. We might be allowed to go the p-day of transfers around 17 of july. Its hard because pdays are always mondays and mondays the temple is closed. But transfer week pday is on tuesday.
This week we had a lot more time to work in our area which was nice. We found a really awesome couple with 8 kids! They are slowly learning more about the gospel, but im excited to see how things go. We`ve only had two lessons with them, but they really enjoy our visits and guess what!!! somehow they found some hot peppers and they gave us an entire grocery bag full of em! FINALLY some spicy food! haha this week I ate some wierd stuff. cow intestines and pig skin. I dont recommend it. haha
I was looking at the history of Cerro. The last Sunday that our ward didnt have a single investigator at church was in August of 2011. We have had goose-eggs for the last two weeks. It bothers me a lot because I feel like we dont use our time wisely and Im tired of being awake alone until 11am. But hey, Im learning a lot about the scriptures and watching LOTS of conference talks! =D My comp has a hard time sleeping at night. I talked to him about our obedience and a couple things we could do better and he got teary eyed and explained that he wants to be better so bad but just doesnt get sleep at night. So we dont study together, or pray together very much, which weakens our companionship spiritually. Thats the most important tool we need when we leave the front door, and when we dont have it, things get rough, your concience gets heavy, guilt sneaks in, and discouragement defeats faith. Im praying so hard to do my best.
Montevideo....hmm...You asked whats better about montevideo. I love being close to the offices and the temple. I love seeing the beach all the time. I love being at the top of cerro and seeing the city at night. There are some awesome members here. I feel like Im back at El Mirage. Its super ghetto here and the people have that funny gangsta-atitude. It makes me laugh a lot. There are a lot of really nasty houses and poor people with 2 nasty yellow and black front teeth and like 5 bleeding sick pets but they have direct tv and a brand new computer and a smart phone. Its pretty sad.
Hey can you send me pictures of the baptism!? I was praying for caity this week that she would have an awesome time at EFY.
Well, love you all! I havent been getting any of those forward emails of all my missionary friends...keep sending em! =)
Abrazo grandote
June 18, 2012
Hey family!
It was great to hear about your adventurous week of traveling and what not. I guess you could say that we had a similar week. We were on the city bus for probably a total of 15 hours this week. The most fun part is that they stuff people in there so bad that you couldnt scratch your nose if you wanted to. There are about 5 buses and 5 taxis to every car here. We traveled a lot this week. Monday we have meeting with the district leaders. Tuesday we go pick up all the mail and bring it to the district meetings. Wednesday (first wednesday of each month) we had concilio at President Heatons house with all the ZLs in the mission. Friday our zone had interviews and we did a zone training meeting with the APs. Then we had to back to the offices to print off a map for a missionary in our zone who is opening the area with a young man from Salto who is gonna come do a mini-mission.
Tuesday we went out to Delta del Tigre and the district out there. The district leader taught some wierd things like "missionaries can recieve personal revelation on how to correct the bishop in his calling" and made all the missionaries put up all thier weekly numbers and basically said they all sucked. Im glad we were there this week because we only go twice a transfer. We took care of that real fast. I heard one mission president say from a Buenos Aires mission that the 2 most incredible things about being a mission president is to see how stupid 20 year old missionaries can be but also its amazing how great and noble and heroic 20-year old missionaries can be. After the meeing we went and ate some real good pizza with the sister missionaries in our zone. They needed a little comforting after the meeting. One of the sisters in our zone is from artigas, her Mom passed away 2 weeks ago and is training a sister from Utah. She is a great example to me of pulling through trials and faith.
Concilio was awesome mostly because we had american food haha but I also really enjoyed seeing a bunch of friends from the mission and being with President and his wife, being close to the temple is such a special feeling. Everytime we come down that street and see the angel moroni I feel so at home. I learned A LOT from the meeing and decided I need to be a lot more confident and excited about my zone.
We had kinda anticipated it but one of the Elders from our zone decided to go home. I cant tell you how sad it made me to know that one of the missionaries in my zone was going to loose so many blessings. The APs told us on our way back to the offices after concilio and It was raining super hard. I didnt realize how much the mission meant to me until I got that news. Man that hit me hard. The president is awesome. He did everything he could to keep him here. He took a day out of his CRAZY ridiculously busy life as Mission president and took him to the temple, brought him to the mission home and talked it out but I guess he didnt understand the convenants he was making inside the temple. The area is going to suffer a lot because his companion came here to Cerro with me from Rivera and is going to have that young man from Salto as a companion. He´ll be opening the area.
Interviews with President were awesome! I learned so much and he helped me out a lot. That night we had a ward dinner and a devotional with the temple president which was really fun. We had 3 temple sealings this saturday just from our ward! So the ward was in a awesome temple mood. I got to know a bunch of members which was good. The members are always so awesome. Its awesome how no matter where you go or what country, you can count on meeting some awesome people.
Its been raining all week. Our area is 90% dirt roads which has made it fun walking in the mud all day. Its nasty because there is no organized waste system so all the bags of trash get thrown around and eaten up by the dogs who starve in the streets. Its awesome seeing wet nasty muddy dogs eating poopy diapers in the middle of the streets. I feel like glendale dump is cleaner than my proselyting area haha. But let me show you this awesome scripture.
I havent taken any pictures because I dont really take my camera around. Im not even supposed to take my backpack around, just my scriptures in my hand because of all the robberies. So sorry I dont have any awesome pictures to send you.
My companion is Elder Miranda from Panama. He is such a stud! He is 23. He has such a good heart and loves everyone he meets.
Congrats on your coupon Dad! HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!!
Con mucho amor,
It was great to hear about your adventurous week of traveling and what not. I guess you could say that we had a similar week. We were on the city bus for probably a total of 15 hours this week. The most fun part is that they stuff people in there so bad that you couldnt scratch your nose if you wanted to. There are about 5 buses and 5 taxis to every car here. We traveled a lot this week. Monday we have meeting with the district leaders. Tuesday we go pick up all the mail and bring it to the district meetings. Wednesday (first wednesday of each month) we had concilio at President Heatons house with all the ZLs in the mission. Friday our zone had interviews and we did a zone training meeting with the APs. Then we had to back to the offices to print off a map for a missionary in our zone who is opening the area with a young man from Salto who is gonna come do a mini-mission.
Tuesday we went out to Delta del Tigre and the district out there. The district leader taught some wierd things like "missionaries can recieve personal revelation on how to correct the bishop in his calling" and made all the missionaries put up all thier weekly numbers and basically said they all sucked. Im glad we were there this week because we only go twice a transfer. We took care of that real fast. I heard one mission president say from a Buenos Aires mission that the 2 most incredible things about being a mission president is to see how stupid 20 year old missionaries can be but also its amazing how great and noble and heroic 20-year old missionaries can be. After the meeing we went and ate some real good pizza with the sister missionaries in our zone. They needed a little comforting after the meeting. One of the sisters in our zone is from artigas, her Mom passed away 2 weeks ago and is training a sister from Utah. She is a great example to me of pulling through trials and faith.
Concilio was awesome mostly because we had american food haha but I also really enjoyed seeing a bunch of friends from the mission and being with President and his wife, being close to the temple is such a special feeling. Everytime we come down that street and see the angel moroni I feel so at home. I learned A LOT from the meeing and decided I need to be a lot more confident and excited about my zone.
We had kinda anticipated it but one of the Elders from our zone decided to go home. I cant tell you how sad it made me to know that one of the missionaries in my zone was going to loose so many blessings. The APs told us on our way back to the offices after concilio and It was raining super hard. I didnt realize how much the mission meant to me until I got that news. Man that hit me hard. The president is awesome. He did everything he could to keep him here. He took a day out of his CRAZY ridiculously busy life as Mission president and took him to the temple, brought him to the mission home and talked it out but I guess he didnt understand the convenants he was making inside the temple. The area is going to suffer a lot because his companion came here to Cerro with me from Rivera and is going to have that young man from Salto as a companion. He´ll be opening the area.
Interviews with President were awesome! I learned so much and he helped me out a lot. That night we had a ward dinner and a devotional with the temple president which was really fun. We had 3 temple sealings this saturday just from our ward! So the ward was in a awesome temple mood. I got to know a bunch of members which was good. The members are always so awesome. Its awesome how no matter where you go or what country, you can count on meeting some awesome people.
Its been raining all week. Our area is 90% dirt roads which has made it fun walking in the mud all day. Its nasty because there is no organized waste system so all the bags of trash get thrown around and eaten up by the dogs who starve in the streets. Its awesome seeing wet nasty muddy dogs eating poopy diapers in the middle of the streets. I feel like glendale dump is cleaner than my proselyting area haha. But let me show you this awesome scripture.
1 And it came to pass that they did go forth, and began to preach the word of God unto the people, entering into their synagogues, and into their houses; yea, and even they did preach the word in their streets.
2 And it came to pass that after much labor among them, they began to have success among the apoor class of people; for behold, they were cast out of the synagogues because of the coarseness of their apparel—
3 Therefore they were not permitted to enter into their synagogues to worship God, being esteemed as filthiness; therefore they were poor; yea, they were esteemed by their brethren as adross; therefore they were bpoor as to things of the world; and also they were poor in heart.
4 Now, as Alma was teaching and speaking unto the people upon the hill aOnidah, there came a great bmultitude unto him, who were those of whom we have been speaking, of whom were cpoor in heart, because of their poverty as to the things of the world.
5 And they came unto Alma; and the one who was the foremost among them said unto him: Behold, awhat shall these my brethren do, for they are bdespised of all men because of their poverty, yea, and more especially by our priests; for they have ccast us out of our synagogues which we have labored abundantly to build with our own hands; and they have cast us out because of our exceeding poverty; and we have dno place to worship our God; and behold, ewhat shall we do?
6 And now when Alma heard this, he turned him about, his face immediately towards him, and he beheld with great joy; for he beheld that their aafflictions had truly bhumbled them, and that they were in a cpreparation to hear the word.
Dad, our area is basically the Cerro Cemeterio and our streets where we live is Cont. Russia and Liberia. I havent taken any pictures because I dont really take my camera around. Im not even supposed to take my backpack around, just my scriptures in my hand because of all the robberies. So sorry I dont have any awesome pictures to send you.
My companion is Elder Miranda from Panama. He is such a stud! He is 23. He has such a good heart and loves everyone he meets.
Congrats on your coupon Dad! HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!!
Con mucho amor,
June 11, 2012
Well Montevideo is definitely a lot different from any other place I have been. Especially Cerro. I have learned a lot this week about what to do in dangerous situations and how to react to threats and all that haha. Its fun. But I think the people freak out to much. Cerro is not that bad at all, compared to the stories I have heard from my companions from central america. The best part is there is SOOOO MUCH work to do. Its ridiculous. There have been 132 baptisms in this ward in the last 24 months. There are about 1000 total members on the ward list (the directory is 36 pages long). The sad thing is the ward doesnt even qualify as a ward. (Qualification is based on Melkezidek Priesthood-holding full-tithe payers) There are about 90 people in church each week. I have met some really awesome members and families. I love hearing conversion stories of the members here in Uruguay. The area wasnt left in the BEST condition when I got here, but we have a couple investigators. My companion is a great guy. He`s got a real big heart. 15 of the 24 missionaries in our zone are from outside of the US. (Including all 3 DLs.) We are looking for a new house because the nieghbors are stealing our electricity, theres a crazy couple behind us that fight all day long breaking plates and glasses and our closet, I mean, house is falling apart. They are WAYY over charging us just because they can and they know the church has bank. I am sharing a ward with 2 other missionaries. One of them is Elder de Hoyos!!! (I trained him in Salto) Its been really really cold this week, I think it even snowed in Colonia! My first day in the area it was so cold and windy with a light rain. My comp hadnt slept in 2 days. I was really worried that he was a lazy missionary because we were there from 2-8pm sleeping. It drove me crazy especially since he was a ZL but Im sure he was just real tired. The rest of the week we got out to work at least after lunch. We are one of the companionships in the zone with the lowest numbers which is both frustrating and embarassing. I am praying a lot to tear it apart out here and change things even though Im Junior Comp. Tuesday we are traveling to Paso de la Arena to get to know the district out there a little. Wednesday we have Concilio with all the ZLs and APs and President. That should be awesome. (mostly because Hermana Heaton is gonna cook food for us) Friday we have Interviews. My companion was only here for 6 weeks before I got here and his companion kinda did everything so it feels like we are opening an area sometimes. If you`re looking at maps and stuff my neighborhood is called Casabó.
June 6, 2012
Whats up errybody!
This week was another awesome one! Tanias baptism was really awesome and all the family was there. We challenged them to be baptized this week and they replied "we are gonna have a family meeting, pray about it and we´ll get back to you" WOAH!!! Ive NEVER had a family tell me that. I feel like we have been so blessed and led to such awesome families here in Rivera! The baptism of their daughter was a great push for them. It was a lot more quiet and simple and calm compared to last weeks stake baptism which was nice. Tanias testimony after her baptism was so powerful! With eyes full of tears she testified of how being baptized is so much more than being immersed in water. I am really sad to leave Rivera! Its definately been my favorite place to serve, its also been really fun being district leader.
6 weeks ago I was going crazy not wanting to leave Rivera and there were rumors that President was going to move me up to Zone Leader. When the president calls on Sunday night before transfers and asks to talk to you, you already know what its for. Well last transfer when we got home Sunday night Elder Ponce played a joke on me and said that president heaton was on the phone, remember? well he did it again yesterday. He handed me the phone and I said "callate!" "shut up!" like Im not gonna fall for it. Only this time he really did call. I hope he didnt hear me say that hahaha but He asked me if I was willing to be ZL in the zone of CERRO which is in Montevideo! Yeah. Im going to Montevideo! Everyone jokes that Montevideo is the city and everywhere else in Uruguay is farmland. Its very rare that a missionary as old as me has never served in Montevideo. So everyone has been teasing me...YOUR NOT A COWBOY ANYMORE! or YOURE NOT A FARMER ANYMORE! haha.
Im excited to continue in the mission. doing my thing. but its never been so hard to leave an area. I didnt sleep at all last night. maybe an hour in the morning. But man. this time its hard.
My companion will be Elder Miranda from Panamá. He has got 4 months left in the mission. I´ve got big shoes to fill in Cerro. Almost all the APs in the last year have come from being ZL in Cerro. All the guys I always looked up to.
Cerro is a huge hill in Montevideo. It is known as the place where all the poor people, drugs, roberies, ect happen. Its said to be the most dangerous place in the country. I dont have a single fear though. I was reading in Revelations 11 this week. Check this out.
3 And I will give apower unto my two bwitnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
sick huh. I feel like I am always led to the scriptures that I need to hear for the activities or lessons I will have that day. For example, when you guys sent me the extra pair of shoes...that morning I read in D&C 84
105 And if any man shall give unto any of you a coat, or a suit, take the old and cast it unto the poor, and go on your way rejoicing.
The scriptures are the best! I gave Vega my old shoes to wear to church.
some more crazy news....Elder Kohl is gonna be with Elder Olsen. A friend of mine from BYU. We used to play together on a basketball team. Elder Xavier, from Brazil is going to CARDONA!!! hahah and i was teasing him all change that he was going to go there!! hahahahah I couldnt believe it! and it gets crazier!! ELder Kohl has a brother in this same mission who is coming from Salto to take ELder Xaviers place! so he is going to live with his brother in Rivera as a missionary! Man last night when the calls came we were all going nuts.
My shirts are kinda nasty now, kinda yellow and stained. I think I should be fine though because All winter I will be wearing a sweater.
As far as the packages, you didnt forget anything. Thanks!! My release date is November 20th. I will probably arrive in Arizona on the 21st though. I´ve already got way too many souveniers haha. Just save it for my iPhone ;) no seriously.
Im having a farewell party at the church tonight. All my converts, a bunch of members and investigators are going to come. Im not too excited to be forced to eat like 1000 pieces of cake haha. The people here are so nice. I wish I could explain how genuine they treat me. Vega and Magdalenas and Anas family all wrote me a huge letter. It was so awesome. They each wrote a letter and then glued all the pages together and made a like 10 foot scroll of letters. I will keep those forever. They are so sweet. They drew pcitures of them at the temple. Me confirming them, they bore thier testimonies. I couldnt wipe the smile of my face or the tears from my eyes. Gosh I love the mission!
I love you guys so much. Mom, Dad, thanks for raising me in the gospel. I realize every day more and more how blessed I am to be a son of noble parents like you two. Tyler, youre gonna be a great missionary. Go ask the Elders in Copper Canyon if you can go out a whole day with them. Studies and everything. Do it. Caity! YOU GOT SPRINKLED ON!! ahaahahaha
BESITOS!
May 28, 2012
Wow. Sounds like all of us together had one of the most crazy awesome successful prideful weeks of our lives! Congratulations to all of the awesome things you all did. I didnt feel like I was missing out on anything, cuz here in Rivera Uruguay things were just as exciting!
Monday night we called Magdalena and Vega and turns out they invited a bunch of people and we were to reserve all the seats on the bus. We decided to just call a less active member who owns 10 14 passenger vans and a private school bus buisness for special students. It turned out to be a lot more fun because we all jammed into a van and it was alot more private. It was fun taking a road trip with all their family, some members and some of their family. We had such a blast! The wedding was really old fashioned like Juan and Dolores` in Salto. The bald judge put on this blue and white striped thing around his waist and said a bunch of boring stuff about the law and then asked them the I do´s. Except for in Spanish its just "si" haha. We have it all on video and a bunch of pictures. Their wedding rings were CTR rings from the Copper Canyon Primary! haha they loved them and I never see them without them on! Even if Vega is cleaning up horse poop. After the wedding we threw rice all over the place and went to the little rented house they use as the chapel there and had a little celebration for them. I made a dang good chocolate oreo butter cream frosting cake (without a single recipe) ;) . It didnt look like a wedding cake but it was two levels and had the little couple on top. The members even brought a playlist for them to dance too. I loved watching them soo happy. Their kids were all so happy dancing together with their parents.
The rest of the week was just getting ready for the big day of the baptism! And preaching the gospel of course.
Saturday we did a stake baptism. There were so many people there and lots of baptisms. It was even a little hectic. It was powerful seeing so many in white but I enjoy the simpleness and strong spirit of a more personal smaller baptism. Big or small they are always so awesome! The missionaries all sang "When I am Baptized" and "I feel My Savior´s Love" A young man with his mission call to Argentina gave a good talk. They had to start setting up chairs in the overflow which was a good problem to have but kind of distracting. The little young womens room wasnt big enough for everyone to see all the baptisms but they gave priority to friends and family. The whole time I was just so happy to see all their family in white, so happy. We got 3 of the priests and the bishop involved in the baptisms and just seeing everyone smiling so much was unforgettable.
After the service we had 200 empenadas and a legit looking wedding cake and a little celebration. The kids were all crazy and attacking me, trying to take my nametag away and make sure my shirt was untucked at all times. Every kid that saw the kids having so much fun decided to join in and eventually there were so many I couldnt win. It was so fun. I love all those kids! =)
The first thing they all said on Sunday at church was ELDER KELLIS ELDER KELLIS!!! REMEMBER LAST NIGHT!!!?? hahaha
The most powerful part of the week was the confirmations in sacrament meeting. The opening hymn was I know that my redeemer lives. I had never really sung that hymn while really thinking about the words and the message. Thats an awesome hymn. The bishop called the whole family up at once and they all sat on the stand taking turns one by one. Elder Kohl was really really nervous to do his first confirmation especially in spanish. He struggles a little with the language, but it was so powerful! The spirit was so strong. I got to confirm Noelia. She has such a perfect and pure faith! I ended the confirmation full of tears. I knew that God loved her so much and I knew that God was mindful of her and her faith and that she had been waiting so patiently but so anxiously to be a member of the church with all of her family.
The whole week was awesome. I cant explain it all to you in an email.
Sunday night Tania and Ivans family brought us out to their super awesome huge house in the middle of nowhere. It made me remember my house in Salto only theirs is just a tiny bit bigger. 3 story house with a side house for bbqs and a huge pool and deck. Tania always makes us cake and really good treats. She has progressed so much this week! She read so much of the Book of Mormon and was led to Alma 32 where it talks about the seed. Then she read 3 Nephi 11-15 and received a very strong answer that she wants to get baptized. She put all of her doubts and conflictions with work and friends aside. It was so awesome to see her so happy to get baptized. She loves the gospel. She asked that I baptize her. That will be on Saturday! The rest of their family is getting closer to baptism but her Dad smokes every 2 seconds. He is loving the church as well though.
Don´t worry about the shoes. I got them on Tuesday as well as the backpack. Thanks!! Mom, when you send packages its the best day of my week. Dont put air in a package from THE US to URUGUAY though!! hahaha fill that space up with somethin good!!! They have air here. The whole 2 kilos thing doesnt matter. trust me! =) I am definately loving all the candy and goodness though! thanks!!! :D
Susana wants me to send her an umbrella like the one I got from missionary mall to her. She said she would pay for all of it. haha.
I love you guys! Congrats on everything!! dad, did you get that email with the picture in it!?
May 21, 2012
There is never a dull week in the mission! This week was pretty full of awesomeness, mostly because it started out by skyping my family, but we did end up getting a date for the marriage a lot sooner than I thought they would be able to. It will be this Tuesday May 22. Tomorrow! haha we are getting a bunch of stuff ready for them (like a dress and a cake and transportation) Its been stressful but super fun. The most important part though has been getting them ready spiritually for their baptism. They are doing so good! I feel like we found that golden family of investigators! its the best. We did a fast with them on Sunday and they are so excited for this week.
Zone Conference was really good. We talked about the atonement of Christ and why we are here. President shared a really sweet testimony about a family of converts who were sealed in the temple in Montevideo last weekend. The family lost their youngest daughter when she was really young and they were able to have the blessing of sealing her to her parents. It was cool seeing a bunch of old friends like Elder Garcia my comp in Cardona and Hermana Flake from my freshman ward in BYU.
We are teaching Ivan, one of our friends getting baptized this weekend. He is super awesome and loves the gospel. We have been teaching him at a members house but decided to bring a member to his house and teach his uncles and cousins. It went really well because they all came to church on Sunday! Tania, 25, Ivans cousin is praying about what she should do about getting baptized. Luis (Uncle) and his wife are pretty catholic but they are enjoying our discussions. We taught tania how to say a prayer and the next day at the end of our lesson he offered to say the closing prayer. We were like uh oh. he is probably gonna bust out an ave maria or a Lord`s prayer or something, but he said a really sweet humble prayer and thanked heavenly Father for sending us to his house. I love how just hearing somebody say a prayer for the first time is one of the most joyful feelings. I cant imagine seeing them in the Celestial Kingdom.
Natalias wedding got moved back another week to the 6th of June. I probably wont be here which is a huge bummer. But Im glad she is getting baptized! Thats what is important.
Our electric water heater broke this week. We had one of the ward missionaries who works as an electrician come check it out. We just needed a new part. So we went and bought it. He started taking it apart and putting the new part in. When he got the last wire placed there was a fast boom and the pipe coming out of the wall bursted open and caught the electricity and so that made a bunch of fireworks and sparks and super bright light. I thought Elder Kohl and I were pretty legit with our reflexes because I ran downstairs to turn the water off and he ran to the other room to turn off the electricity. I was yelling from downstairs IS HE OK!!!?? Dang that was scary haha. He miraculously didnt get shoked. I dont know how. I dont know why he didnt turn off the electricity in the first place.
I got a package on Tuesday...thanks mom! BUTTERFINGER!! AHHHHHH its so good.
Take LUCK!
May 14, 2012
Ok first off happy late mothers day to all those moms out there who get my emails! Moms are the best!
I dont have too much time to write today because we went on a trip to Tranqueras today with Vega to take some more steps towards getting this marriage done. It was a complete FAIL. I called on Friday and they said that the Judge would be there today...OUR P-DAY. So we decided to go anyways. We are in a hurry because changes are coming up soon and I want to be here for the baptism. Well. turns out the judge wasn't there! So we wasted 5 hours and 20 bucks on bus tickets. Oh well. Good thing Vega is patient.
Tomorrow we are traveling to Tacuarambo as a zone for zone conference. That will be cool.
The week was awesome. Ill tell you more about it next week if I remember.
the coolest news is that Viky, Vega`s sister started listening to the discussions and now she is gonna get baptized with her brother. Also, Ivan, 17, is gonna get baptized that day. We are hoping for it all to be on the 26th with Natalia`s baptism too. SEA OF WHITE! how awesome and beautiful and special!
I love you guys! It was awesome to talk on Mothers Day. I had a bunch of questions but I forgot. ok bye! Love you all!
May 7, 2012
Hey Family! Im glad you got the package! Yes, those are like the candy bars of Uruguay. Alfahors. Im not too big of a fan of them...there are some better desserts here, like ice cream, but it would be kinda hard to send that in a package. Overall, the desserts and sweets are way better in the states. Ok. Actually, everything is better in the states. Except for being a missionary!
Wednesday we made another trip to Tranqueras to take out the "edictos" (dont know what that is in English) but basically they had to go and fill out a bunch of paper work and then they gave them a piece of paper that said they were offically preparing to get married. So from there we went straight to the editor of the newspaper from the little town of 10,000 and paid for him to publish the wedding. It has to come out in 3 newspapers and then they can take out a date 8 days away from the day we deliver the publications to the judge. It was a fun trip. We played with Gabriel, their 2 year old kid, and he painted our faces with the dusty paint that they use here that comes off when you rubb your figer down it (or your nice sunday suit) it was fun though.
We are teaching a new investigator named Ivan. He is a little slow. I dont know if he has autism or if he has something but he is just a bottle of fun. We taught him prayer, who Jesus was, the VERY basics, and he really liked it. He has been coming to church for 5 weeks now, but he doesnt understand too much. I talked to president Heaton and turns out if he has the mind capacity of an 8 year old he can be baptized. Thats kind of a hard decision to make! He understands that saying bad words and stealing and smoking and drinking is all bad but he has never heard anyone call all that stuff "sin" before. So its hard for him to put that together.
We are focusing a lot on Magdalena and Vega`s family. They are progressing so much! She went and bought a new skirt and turtle neck sweater and looks so mormon! haha its awesome! Especially seeing their whole family at church! They have such meek spirits. After the last meeting at church on Sunday they kinda just stayed there for a while talking to everybody. Usually all the members run home because they are all hungry. Later that night in our lesson with them he said it was because they love the peace that they feel there. On Friday night we watched the Jospeh Smith movie with them. The kids are super awesome too! When the part where Jospeh Smith heals the sick boy in Navoou, Brian (9) turned to me and said "tonight in my prayers Im gonna ask Heavenly Father if thats real!" haha Then when Joseph Smith Sr. was on his death bed and the prophet explained to him that families could be together forever, Nohelia (11) gave her mom a huge hug with a big smile on her face. those are the best moments of the mission. Seeing the gospel make familes happy.
They are trying to quit smoking. Thats been the hardest part of their conversion to this point. We made them a special pack of cigarettes with paper rolled up with scriptures, hymns, and little drawings of them at the temple or turning down a cigarette or going to church as a family.
One of Magdalenas co workers told her all about our church, you know...how we have a bunch of women and are racist and that Jospeh smith had a billion wives. she said she was talking to her husband and he told her "I dont care if he had 1 wife or 50, if God called him as a prophet, and the book of mormon is true, I know it was for some reason." We explained to him why. Im so grateful to be in Rivera teaching this family right now! They are awesome!
This week was kinda warm and muggy. I dont know why. Last week we were freeeeeezing.
Im excited to talk to you MOM! and everybody else too =)
Caity, I wish I could have seen your dance recital! Sorry your package got there late. Tyler sounds like your all old and stuff. p.s. Can I have your iPad when you go on your mission?
Love You All!
May 30, 2012
Todo bien, gente?!
The first week of the transfer was a really busy one. With meetings
por aca y por alla and with transfers and trips to small cities to try
to get people married faster, it flew by really fast.
Elder Kohl arrived Wednesday morning, and we got right to work. He was
impressed with our investigator pool and with the less busy lifestyle
outside of Montevideo. The investigators all miss Elder Nuñez a lot.
He was always super friendly with the families we are teaching. He
loved to make the phone calls at night and make people laugh. Elder
Kohl is a quieter guy. Im not sure if he is shy, or doesnt understand
too much or if he just feels new in the area. Its a big fast change
whenever you change companions in the mission. They are always so
different from the one before.
Thursday we had our District meeting (they are usually on Tuesdays but
we had transfers and P-day on Tuesday) My district this transfer has
all new missionaries. They changed my district completely. I now have
the Hermanas, and 2 other Elder companionships. That was fun. I got
your package grandma thanks so much! I love those pens! Thursday night
we were getting ready to travel to the court house out of town and
needed to take out birth certificates. We called Magdalena to see if
we could come pick up all 6 ID cards of the whole family, but she was
working and wouldnt back until 5:45. The Intedencia closes at 6. And
we had to have them before Friday because thats the only day the judge
is in the office. Well we waited outside her house until she got
there, and ran to the hospital 3 blocks away where there are always
taxis hangin out to take people who cant walk back home. We got to the
intedencia at 5:55 and the door said that it closed at at 6:45. Oh ok
cool. The process was pretty ridiculous. There isnt a single computer
in the whole intendencia. Sounds like I had a similar experience to
Elder Warne`s in Brasil. So you give them the birthdate and the name
and they go looking through big long shelfs of hugemongous books
sorted by date and county looking page by page for the birth
certificate. When they find it, they make a fotocopy and it only lasts
for 1 month and they charge you 50 pesos each one. ($2.50 US) It was
funny cuz we were waiting while they looked for all six books and this
guy came behind us. He was watching the TV and one of the secretary
ladies came and turned off the tv because they were getting ready to
close. He immediately started yelling HEY WHAT THE ·$%&?! TURN THAT
BACK ON I WAS WATCHING!! then the lady yelled back even louder SHUT UP
YOU IGNORANT &%$@!!!! They started saying a bunch of stuff that I
didnt understand. Well eventually we got our partidas de nacimiento
and went back to Magdalenas to joke like we hadnt got there in time.
Friday we spent the whole day in Tranqueras. Its a small town of
10,000. We went with Magdalena to take out her wedding date. I brought
UNO and PHASE 10 thinking that it was gonna be a long day waiting for
the bus late in the afternoon to return to Rivera but it ended up
being a huge mess. The Judge said that since she didn't live there she
couldn't get married. but then we were like "are you sure because your
boss (boss/friend of a member) sent us here and even gave us the bus
schedule. He wouldnt budge. We went to a phone calling booth and
called back to Rivera to the members house. The member`s daughter was
on facebook chatting with the 2nd counselor in the branch presidency
in Tranqueras. He came immediately to chill with us all day. The
member also called her boss and they told us to say we were on his
errand that it was ok. So we went back to the Judge`s office and he
said he didnt care. Well Magdalena is determined that she is gonna get
married and fast and she also has family in Tranqueras. She said well
then ill just move here for a day, will you marry me then!? He said
yes if we got a "Constancia Notorial" which is a piece of paper that
you get from a scribe saying you officially live there. It only costs
500 pesos ($25 US) OK cool. So we asked everybody where a scribe
lived, walked a ways and told the scribe that the judge said we could
lie about our address to get her married. The third time we went back
to the judge with the pretty piece of paper with a bunch of seals and
stamps on it and he explained that we still couldnt take out a date
because the groom wasnt there. I kept thinking about the story of
Nephi and the last time he went to get the brass plates. hahaha oh man
this guy was a punk. Salto was so much easier to get a marriage done.
Turns out we have to announce it in the newspaper as well, just in
case someone is opposed to the marriage. So, we are going to go back
on wednesday. this wedding is getting expensive, but I know it will be
worth it. They are super poor. They dont even have a roof over their
kitchen.
Saturday was Elena`s 10th birthday (Magdalenas daughter) We got there
at about 7 and they didnt have any money to buy anything to celebrate.
She and her sister had gone to visit their grandma down the street and
so we hid in the kitchen and when they got home we popped out and sang
"que los cumpla feliz" fun memories!
I love you guys! Thanks for all your prayers and letters. The mission
is the best! How`s that one family tyler baptized?
The first week of the transfer was a really busy one. With meetings
por aca y por alla and with transfers and trips to small cities to try
to get people married faster, it flew by really fast.
Elder Kohl arrived Wednesday morning, and we got right to work. He was
impressed with our investigator pool and with the less busy lifestyle
outside of Montevideo. The investigators all miss Elder Nuñez a lot.
He was always super friendly with the families we are teaching. He
loved to make the phone calls at night and make people laugh. Elder
Kohl is a quieter guy. Im not sure if he is shy, or doesnt understand
too much or if he just feels new in the area. Its a big fast change
whenever you change companions in the mission. They are always so
different from the one before.
Thursday we had our District meeting (they are usually on Tuesdays but
we had transfers and P-day on Tuesday) My district this transfer has
all new missionaries. They changed my district completely. I now have
the Hermanas, and 2 other Elder companionships. That was fun. I got
your package grandma thanks so much! I love those pens! Thursday night
we were getting ready to travel to the court house out of town and
needed to take out birth certificates. We called Magdalena to see if
we could come pick up all 6 ID cards of the whole family, but she was
working and wouldnt back until 5:45. The Intedencia closes at 6. And
we had to have them before Friday because thats the only day the judge
is in the office. Well we waited outside her house until she got
there, and ran to the hospital 3 blocks away where there are always
taxis hangin out to take people who cant walk back home. We got to the
intedencia at 5:55 and the door said that it closed at at 6:45. Oh ok
cool. The process was pretty ridiculous. There isnt a single computer
in the whole intendencia. Sounds like I had a similar experience to
Elder Warne`s in Brasil. So you give them the birthdate and the name
and they go looking through big long shelfs of hugemongous books
sorted by date and county looking page by page for the birth
certificate. When they find it, they make a fotocopy and it only lasts
for 1 month and they charge you 50 pesos each one. ($2.50 US) It was
funny cuz we were waiting while they looked for all six books and this
guy came behind us. He was watching the TV and one of the secretary
ladies came and turned off the tv because they were getting ready to
close. He immediately started yelling HEY WHAT THE ·$%&?! TURN THAT
BACK ON I WAS WATCHING!! then the lady yelled back even louder SHUT UP
YOU IGNORANT &%$@!!!! They started saying a bunch of stuff that I
didnt understand. Well eventually we got our partidas de nacimiento
and went back to Magdalenas to joke like we hadnt got there in time.
Friday we spent the whole day in Tranqueras. Its a small town of
10,000. We went with Magdalena to take out her wedding date. I brought
UNO and PHASE 10 thinking that it was gonna be a long day waiting for
the bus late in the afternoon to return to Rivera but it ended up
being a huge mess. The Judge said that since she didn't live there she
couldn't get married. but then we were like "are you sure because your
boss (boss/friend of a member) sent us here and even gave us the bus
schedule. He wouldnt budge. We went to a phone calling booth and
called back to Rivera to the members house. The member`s daughter was
on facebook chatting with the 2nd counselor in the branch presidency
in Tranqueras. He came immediately to chill with us all day. The
member also called her boss and they told us to say we were on his
errand that it was ok. So we went back to the Judge`s office and he
said he didnt care. Well Magdalena is determined that she is gonna get
married and fast and she also has family in Tranqueras. She said well
then ill just move here for a day, will you marry me then!? He said
yes if we got a "Constancia Notorial" which is a piece of paper that
you get from a scribe saying you officially live there. It only costs
500 pesos ($25 US) OK cool. So we asked everybody where a scribe
lived, walked a ways and told the scribe that the judge said we could
lie about our address to get her married. The third time we went back
to the judge with the pretty piece of paper with a bunch of seals and
stamps on it and he explained that we still couldnt take out a date
because the groom wasnt there. I kept thinking about the story of
Nephi and the last time he went to get the brass plates. hahaha oh man
this guy was a punk. Salto was so much easier to get a marriage done.
Turns out we have to announce it in the newspaper as well, just in
case someone is opposed to the marriage. So, we are going to go back
on wednesday. this wedding is getting expensive, but I know it will be
worth it. They are super poor. They dont even have a roof over their
kitchen.
Saturday was Elena`s 10th birthday (Magdalenas daughter) We got there
at about 7 and they didnt have any money to buy anything to celebrate.
She and her sister had gone to visit their grandma down the street and
so we hid in the kitchen and when they got home we popped out and sang
"que los cumpla feliz" fun memories!
I love you guys! Thanks for all your prayers and letters. The mission
is the best! How`s that one family tyler baptized?
April 24, 2012
I was kinda worried because President Heaton called us on Wednesday and asked if the area would be able to withstand taking us both out. He said he wanted to take Elder Nuñez out of the area because he has been there for 6 months already and that he was in need of a Zone Leader. I explained that we had 2 couples getting married and baptized in the next coming month and that I REALLY didnt want to miss that. He was very understanding but didnt leave any clues. He just said ok Im gonna pray about it. Talk to you later Elder. Heh heh...President is such a nice guy. So we`ve been dying to know all week our transfers. President always calls on Sunday night (a day early) to extend the call to the new zone leaders. When we got home Sunday night Elder Ponce (Peru) and Elder Xavier (San Pablo Brazil) were in there room on the phone, Elder Nuñez started to make a lot of noise and to give them a hug but they were super fast to tell us to be quiet because President Heaton was on the phone. He talked for a second while I went to the bathroom and when I came back he said "yeah here he is President" and gave me the phone I was like NO NO NO!!! NO !!!!! I dont wanna leave Rivera and making signs like IM NOT HOME! haha but when I said hello the phone was off and there was nobody there. They got me. haha president never called. The zone leaders called last night to tell Elder Nuñez that he is leaving to Bella Union. Ill be staying here with Elder Kohl, from Virginia. Elder Nuñez is not doing very well. He was really hoping to go up to Senior Comp and since he already has been in the mission 14 months its getting old. His new comp has only been in the mission for about 10 months. He feels really embarassed, kinda angry, and even confused about his testimony of the mission. He told me he was going home. We talked for a while. til 1 in the morning. I dont know if it helped because this morning I saw his knuckles all bloody. He punched a thick brick wall. I prayed for him so hard last night. He`ll be fine. I just feel bad for him. His Dad is an escaped hiding member of the mafia, he didnt finish high school and doesnt know where Jarom or Omni are in the Book of Mormon, but he has a special gift to love the people and to make others laugh. I know prayers were answered and revelation was received because he has some kinda sketchy "snakes" here and I was really hoping to be here for the weddings! =D
Sunday was stake conference. Saturday morning the Zone Leaders put me in charge of a missionary Choir (26 missionaries) By that time the whole zone was already working in their areas and we dont have cell phones...I threw together a lil sumthin sumthin and got a pianist. It turned out really awesome. We sang the words of Joseph Smith`s First Prayer to the music of Come Thou Fount. The stake center was PACKED! They are gonna split the stake soon. We had LOTS of investigators there. The stake president BAJÔ la CAÑA like crazy! that means call out on someone on something they are doing wrong. He was like this is ridiculous! We cant fill a charter bus with 3 wards to go to the temple! The bishop shouldnt have to stay an hour after church to put up all the chairs, close all the windows and turn off all the lights! Your kids CANNOT run around during sacrament meeting! Take them outside! It was something that needed to be said but I hope the investigators dont worry about bringing their kids on Sunday. The church is a church of order though!
We are so excited for these two families! They are some really special people! I love em so much! I have to call Tranqueras judge office today to see if we can get a couple married out there, if not we might have to wait until August! AH! But I know everything will work out!
Magdalena and her 3 kids are in the picture with the horses on the wall. Her husband Vega was working, but they have commited to baptism as a whole family!! and they are getting married as soon as we can figure out where and what is fastest. They have been so prepared for this. Vega is Ana Lopez`s brother. Turns out he already has a testimony of the book of mormon and has been trying to convince his future wife to get married for a while. Ana has been doing her missionary work as a recently activated member and explained to her the importance of marriage and we came by one day and started teaching their family the lessons. The kids are awesome and lead the family in family prayer every night. =D
Natalia and Marcelo are getting married May 25th! and She will be baptized on May 26th!
Im loving Rivera! Loving the work! Love,
Natalia and Marcelo are getting married May 25th! and She will be baptized on May 26th!
Im loving Rivera! Loving the work! Love,
April 16, 2012
This week was all about familia Lopez! We found them a couple weeks ago visiting members on the ward directory that we didnt know and were guided to the Lopez family. They were busy and said another day would be better. We asked about thier family, turns out thier 2 youngest are old enough to be baptized. We came back and set some goals for the family just like we always do at the beginning of the year during FHE. They came back to church and we set up a date for thier kids to be baptized. They are a really special family. The baptismal service was incredible. The spirit was so strong! The talk was perfect. I sang "More Holiness Give Me" to a piano instrumental I have on my iPod and the ordinance was extremely special. Then Bruno, the oldest gave his testimony. He said that he felt really happy and when he came out of the water that he felt the spirit go from his toes to his head. He is a strong kid and fought the tears, but when he sat down next to his dad he buried his head into his shoulders and burst into tears. I`ll never forget seeing that. To end, the bishop gave a AWESOME talk about baptism during his welcome to the ward. He took advantage of the presence of lots of investigators there. Magdalena and her 4 kids ( Ana Lopez`s sister) came to the baptism and LOVED it. They were going to another church but after the baptism asked if they could come to our church from now on and be baptized. YES PLEASE! They came on sunday and have a date for the 5th of May. Its crazy cuz we had set up a lesson with them on Friday, we took Hno. y Hna. Santana (coolest family in Uruguay) and when we got there Magdalena had just broken her arm about 5 minutes before we knocked on the door. She fell from a chair while changing a lightbulb, and had to go to the hospital. Satan`s a punk.We asked if we could come in, say a prayer for her and help her to the hospital. It was a tender moment for everyone.
This will probably be my last week with Elder Nuñez. Im super bummed. I loved serving with him. He´s like the little Hondureño brother I never had. haha we die laughing and joking at night.
Thanks for your prayers, Mom! Eduardo went again. =)
I am so impressed with your charity, Mom. You`re an example to so many and you dont expect anything in return. I love you!
Monday was the first time I cried on my mission about home. As I read about the funeral and everything I was really sad. My comp came in and saw me and started teasing me. "KELLIS ESTÀ TRUNKY HAHAHHA!!!!" His mp3 player was on and Be Still My Soul started playing. I love the very end,
This will probably be my last week with Elder Nuñez. Im super bummed. I loved serving with him. He´s like the little Hondureño brother I never had. haha we die laughing and joking at night.
Thanks for your prayers, Mom! Eduardo went again. =)
I am so impressed with your charity, Mom. You`re an example to so many and you dont expect anything in return. I love you!
Monday was the first time I cried on my mission about home. As I read about the funeral and everything I was really sad. My comp came in and saw me and started teasing me. "KELLIS ESTÀ TRUNKY HAHAHHA!!!!" His mp3 player was on and Be Still My Soul started playing. I love the very end,
"Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last."
Love you guys!
April 9, 2012
Hey family!
Oh man I can`t even tell you how awesome this week was! Like my comp from Honduras always says...it was "fresa"!!
Conference was a big spiritual feast for us, and I think we started the week with a power and a desire stronger than many other weeks.
On Thursday we were walking to a lesson and I saw at the end of the block a man in a blue car who was looking at us. As we got closer he said "hey can you guys help me push my car? the battery is dead." We got behind the car and ran as hard as we could pushing his car for about 2 blocks and it wouldnt start. We were dead and just couldnt push anymore haha. slowly the car stopped and he got out and shook our hand. It seemed like he didnt care too much about the car. He said "Im mormon too, we`re from Montevideo, we had just finished saying a prayer when you guys walked by" The young wife with a 18-month-old boy and a couple months away from number 4 in the family shook our hands. They were really grateful. There was some dudes playing soccer in the street, so we called them over and about 8 of us pushed it up a little hill, then ran the car back down the hill. Nothin. again. nothing. Then we went up a block and a half and it finally started. Juan bought a 2 liter coke for the gudises and we went on to our lesson. I didnt really think about it until after, but God really does listen to our prayers.
The work is so awesome! As a missionary, you visit a lot of people, you have a lot of hours of teaching, finding, walking, working, preaching, ect. I was reading in Preach My Gospel and It teaches that a testimony can be as much as "Jesus Christ is the Son of God" I realized that when you say those 7 words with the spirit, with power and authority, it can be stronger than any long, beautifully worded testimony. That is a mission-long quest, being able to have that kind of power and authority in simple testimony.
We have a friend named Eduardo. He`s about 65. He was baptized about 9 months ago. The first time he came to church he fell in the hallway drunk. The missionaries helped him a lot and he was baptized. A month ago he was preparing to recieve the Melkezidek Priesthood. I dont know if you remember the story from February?
Then this week we were at a recent converts house who is about 65 yrs old and he touched one of his knifes that look like a super awesome war knife from like midevil wars or something, and that didnt make him to happy at all. He came to church on sunday and talked to the bishop and told him he didnt want us coming for two weeks. Well these two weeks just happen to be the 2 weeks before stake priesthood meeting and so the bishop was really hoping to get him prepared to recieve the melkezidek priesthood so that the ward could stay qualified as a ward and not a branch and the bishop was just kinda upset with us, called us in his office and said that we needed to be more respectful and act a little older.
Its the same guy. Well, to make a long story short, he got back into some word of wisdom problems and the stake president interviewed him, passed him, told him to go to the secretary`s office to do some paperwork and then while he was doing that, he changed his mind, having smelt the tobaco on his breath. Well, Eduardo was embarassed when everyone thought he was gonna be an Elder and then he wasnt, and felt offended by the stake pres. He got depressed and got deeper into the adictions. Each time we went he would lie to us, and we could see beer on his table, smell the tobacco, ect. He hadnt gone to church since then and we fought for him twice a week visiting but it didnt ever work. He had another interview with both the Stake Pres. and the Bishop together and was drunk, they basically told him he was drunk and unworthy and he wouldnt admit it. He is an educated and smart well off man, he just couldnt admit his adiction. Well, he wrote a letter asking for his name to be taken off the records. The bishop asked us not to waste too much of our time with him but I felt like we should go Saturday afternoon, right after the bishop had told me that. haha. wierd...I thought. Before leaving his house the three of us knelt down and he said a really humble prayer for his ward. We arrived. The lesson was rough and felt a lot like talks I`ve had with my parents when they knew I was doing something I shouldnt be, I denied it and they were just trying to help me. haha you know exactly which ones Im talking about MOM and DAD!!! haha Well, Elder Nuñez and I spiritually wrestled with him calling him to repentance haha. He even got a little frustrated. We told him it was because we loved him. He finally admitted it. The spirit was so strong at one moment and he called the bishop right there in front of us and asked permission to come to church and told him to throw his letter away. We could hear the Bishop really loud on the phone, he was so surprised and happy. When he hung up we were crying. That was the first time I saw Elder Nuñez cry! He came to all three hours on Sunday!
Thats not even the half of the awesome week but I dont have much time. I love you guys! It was hard to read all about the week. I think I would have rather been there this week than when you went on a cruise and to six flags and san diego without me! haha no but seriously. Those are some really special times. I wish I could have been there. The funeral especially. Thanks for giving Grandma a rose for me =)
Happy Easter and know that I love you guys!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)