Unexpected Transfers

I hope all of you had a wonderful wonderful Christmas! On Christmas Eve we got together with the whole mission to have a special devotional, eat, and do a gift swap. It was a lot of fun to see a bunch of friends that I haven't seen for awhile. Last year in the gift swap I received a can of peanuts, this year a razor, so... vamos mejorando;) When we finally got back to Chacabuco we had a Family Home Evening with the Catala family (the Stake President). We all shared our testimonies about the Savior, and it was a really special experience. We then ate dinner, and his wife is Chinese, so we ate some sushi and some chicken. We then left and went to another dinner in the Villa 1-11-14 and ate some Bolivian soup. It was really really hot... but we were eating soup. It was a pretty fun day.

On Christmas we woke up at 6:30, exercised, I opened my present, we studied, and then we took a 3 hour nap which was quite lovely. We then played futbol for awhile and I talked to the family. It took awhile to get to where I could actually talk to you, but in the end it was a lot of fun, and especially fun to talk to little Josie who can now talk! 

Ana was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. She was really happy, and her family felt the spirit very strongly being there with her. They are going to get married and baptized as well, I just know it. 

Well, today we had transfers. Elder Long had been in Chacabuco for 3 transfers and I had only been there 1 so we all figured Elder Long would be transferred. He took pictures with everyone and said goodbye to everyone. Then President Ayre called me at about 5:30 yesterday afternoon. "Hey Elder Garrett, how are you?" "Fine thanks, you?" "I'm doing great. Hey, I've got a proposition for you. I know you've only been in Chacabuco for 1 transfer, but I'd like to know if you are willing to go to Zárate with Elder Fabila as a Zone Leader. Are you okay with that?" Wasn't really expecting that call. I had a little bit of time to say goodbye to some people... but seeing as I was only there 6 weeks, not many people were very sad because no one knew me very well. 

Now I'm starting a new adventure in Zárate. The Zárate Zone is bigger than the rest of the mission combined. It is a lot of campo. It's really far away from the rest of the mission. I'm really excited to be here and to have a new experience. My companion, Elder Fabila, is 20 and from Uruguay. He is really cool and is going to play soccer for BYU after his mission. He said he needs to practice in the mornings, so he agreed to teach me how to play... because... well... I don't play very well. I'm really excited for this new adventure.

Have a great week! Que la fuerza les acompañe!

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Venid y adoremos a Cristo, Jesús

Last Monday we had an awesome P-day that we spent as a zone at President Ayre's house. We had a taco fest that Elder Seda cooked for us, and we played games and jumped on the tramp with President. It was a lot of fun.

Last week we also started waking up earlier to go running every day. Today I ran 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). It's fun and all... but I'm pretty tired. The problem is that 3 of the 6 of us Elders here have put on quite a bit of weight, which is why we all started running… haha.

This week we worked really hard to find new people to teach and we have quite a few possibilities for baptism in the weeks to come. Ana is progressing really well to be baptized this Saturday and she is really excited. She came to the Christmas dinner on Saturday, church on Sunday, and the Family Home Evening at the church last night. She loves it all.

Andrea is doing really well and this week brought two friends of hers for us to teach. After teaching her what missionary work is, she has really gotten into inviting her friends to learn about the gospel.

This week I have been studying a lot on the life of the Savior and the Plan of Salvation, putting emphasis on the Atonement. I have learned so much. It must have been a hard decision for our Heavenly Father to create the plan that He did. Not only did He know that not all of His children would be able to come back to Him, NONE of them would be able to come back to him because none of us are perfect. He had to make the very hard decision to allow His Beloved Son, the only one who lived a sin free life, suffer for all the sins of all of His brothers and sisters in order to enable us to have the opportunity of returning to Him, if we will accept said sacrifice. God must be just. If He were unjust, He would cease to be God. Thus it is only through this atoning sacrifice that we can receive the mercy that we need to return. I imagine that the Father suffered just as much as the Son in that moment. He suffered so much that He commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac so that at least one person would be able to know how He would feel. I'm so grateful for my Savior and for my loving Father, especially in this special season of Christmas. I love Him so much for all that He has done and is doing for me. My best Christmas gift was one that was given over 2000 years ago, and what a privilege it is to share this message of hope as one of His official representatives. This is what Christmas is about. Not the lights, the tree, Santa Claus, Papa Noel, or presents. The best gift has already been given. I wish each and every one of you the very best Christmas yet.

Que la fuerza les acompañe.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Christmas miracles

What a blessing it is to be a missionary in this special Christmas season. The Lord truly is hastening the work, and especially in December in "La Gran Mision Buenos Aires Norte." It is such a privilege to be part of the work of Salvation. We had many many experiences this week that were very spiritual. 

On Monday we got a text from Andrea asking us to forgive her, that she had had a lot of problems at work and that she felt really bad, but that she wanted to be baptized this week. We were pretty excited.

On Wednesday we had Zone Conference with Presidente Ayre and it was really great. We talked a lot about the true meaning of Christmas and how we can share it with everyone using the "He is the Gift" initiative. Afterwards each zone filmed a video for our Mission Christmas Activity. As the Zona Chacabuco, Elder Seda who has gained 45 lbs. in the mission put on a Santa suit and we all sang and danced and at the end one of the Elders tried lifting up Elder Seda but couldn't. It doesn't sound that funny... but it is actually hilarious. We had the Zone Conference in the Liniers chapel, which was really special. It is special because the chapel in Liniers was the very first LDS chapel constructed in Argentina. There was a special spirit in that chapel. Elder Lines (a senior missionary who works in the offices), served in Argentina 50 years ago, and when he was here there were only 2 missions in the country and now there are 12. The Lord really is hastening the work here. As a mission we have a goal of 2000 baptisms for this year. We are close.

On Friday we had a special zone meeting to share testimonies about miracles. It was really special and we could all feel the spirit really strongly. That night was to be Andrea's baptismal interview. We went on divisions so that Elder Seda could do the interview, I went with a member, Elder Seda went with Elder Long, and Elder Loza went with another member. Unfortunately, Andrea didn't get home from work until about 8:45 pm, so we had to call Presidente and ask him permission to get home late. Andrea passed her interview and was really excited. Juanca and I got back together with Elder Seda and Elder Long and we went looking for Elder Loza. Unfortunately, the member that was with Elder Loza didn't have his cell phone... and we had to go running around in the villa for about 10 minutes before we could find them. It was pretty crazy.

On Saturday we had a lot of appointments planned... but it rained... a lot. It was a problem because all of our appointments fell through. After getting completely soaked a nice woman lent us her umbrella. We then decided to go to Andrea's house to pick her up for her baptism, but she wasn't there. While waiting I decided to tap-dance in the rain with the umbrella for luck. It was fun. It actually was lucky because then Andrea showed up and was all ready to go to her baptism. She was baptized, and on Sunday was confirmed a member of the church.

On Sunday we had another miracle. After church got over the Bishop's wife came up to us and presented a 13-year-old girl named Ana. She had wanted to be baptized before but her mom wouldn't let her. Now her mom said she could be baptized. She will be baptized on the 27th. 

I know that Jesus is the Christ. He is my Savior. He is my friend. I know that He lives. Christmas is for remembering Him. I am so grateful for all that He has done for me throughout my mission. I know that He knows me personally and He has always been there for me. I love Him. I love you all.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

God knows and loves us

This Christmas season the church is doing something called the "He is the Gift" initiative (Él es la Dádiva). Not sure if you have all seen the video, if not you can go to christmas.mormon.org or navidad.mormon.org to watch it in Español. It is pretty cool. Mainly it is to help everyone remember why we really celebrate Christmas. As missionaries we have "He is the Gift" 10 pass-along cards per-day that we need to hand out to member referrals. It is pretty fun because it forces us to talk to a lot more people, and as a result we find a lot more new investigators. Also, it is a great experience to feel more like it is Christmas time even though it is really hot here. Something that I have found interesting is the number of people that really don't know why we celebrate Christmas. It is so important to remember that the first Christmas gift that was given was our Savior Jesus Christ, who our Heavenly Father gave us so that through Him we can be saved and return to His presence (John 3:16). This is a really special time of year and a special time to be a missionary. Also, the church took over Youtube yesterday, so that's pretty cool.

We had a fun experience with this initiative on Saturday. We went to contact a member referral with the member, and when we clapped her door, the sister of the referral opened it and didn't really want to talk to us, but decided to come out to accept our pass-along card, mostly because we said we only wanted to give it to her (that's what we say to everyone, but then we end up talking about Christmas for at least 5-10 minutes). Anyway, Zulema, age 23, came out to accept the card, and soon afterwards the wind blew and her door shut behind her locking her out. Her dad was the only person home and he was asleep, so even though she rang the doorbell many times, he didn't come down to let her in. Haha, she was somewhat forced into talking with us. However, after talking about Christmas a little bit, she softened up and we then spent about 40 minutes teaching her the first lesson (the Restoration), and she had a lot of interest and was asking a lot of questions. Turns out she also has a friend who is a member who is serving a mission right now. Anyway, it was a really cool experience. We have an appointment with her today.

Another cool experience that I had this week was the opportunity to interview 3 people for baptism. I was told that I needed to interview them about an hour before the interviews, so I was a little bit nervous due to the short-notice. Usually they give me a few days notice. Anyway, it was a really great experience. It is incredible the Spirit that is felt during a baptismal interview. While contemplating my experiences, President Batalla's talk in stake conference came to my mind (he was my Stake President when I was in Pacheco). In his talk he shared that whenever he has interviews, as he sits down with the person, he already knows whether they are worthy or not for a temple recommend, to go on a mission, to receive the priesthood, whatever it may be. It is revealed to him by the Holy Ghost. Anyway, I felt the exact same way as I pondered upon these three interviews, two of which were passed, and one that was not. As I sat down with the candidates I could already feel if they were going to pass or not. With the ones who passed it was a joyful experience and there was a happy feeling in the room. With the one who did not, it was somewhat of a sad experience and I could just feel that something wasn't right. It was pretty incredible how the Spirit was guiding me and due to the guidance of the Spirit it was really easy to find out what it was that was holding her back from being baptized (turns out she was separated from her boyfriend, who is the father of her child, but the very night of the interview he was going to move back in with her). Anyway, it was an incredible experience.

Aside from these awesome experiences, the week was somewhat difficult. We talked with a lot of people, found a lot of new investigators, and Andrea was to be baptized on Sunday. However, we haven't seen Andrea since Wednesday (she wasn't baptized), and we had to drop all of our investigators because they weren't progressing. One of them even dropped us. As a companionship we set some baptism goals for this month that are pretty high, and without investigators, it is pretty hard to baptize. Being a District Leader as this year comes to a close, and as a mission, we are trying to reach our yearly goal of baptisms has also been quite stressful. By the time Sunday came around and we didn't have as much success as we wanted to, I was feeling pretty frustrated, stressed and confused as to what I had been doing wrong. I was feeling like I had failed my Heavenly Father in something. However, it was in this time that I was pretty depressed that my Father sent me a sign to let me know that He loved me and that He is aware of me. After our Stake Conference ended yesterday I walked out into the hall and received quite the surprise. There was a sopping wet woman waiting to see me. It was Olga, my convert from a year ago in Constitución, who had traveled to Chacabuco in the pouring rain to see me. I hadn't seen her in quite a while, and it was so great to see her and know that after a year she  is still a very active member of the church, and her son Dani is preparing to serve a mission. What I learned from this experience is that my Heavenly Father is very much aware of me and how I'm doing and how I'm feeling. He also knows exactly what we need. He sent me one of my dearest converts to come and cheer me up on a day that I was feeling pretty down. I know that He knows and loves each and every one of us. 

I'm so grateful for this opportunity to be a missionary. I know I'm not a perfect missionary, and there are probably lots of things that I don't do well and that I need to change and improve upon. However, I also know that God loves me anyway and that with His help I can improve each day. My mom shared something with me today that helped me a lot. It comes from President Uchtdorf's talk in the General Women's Meeting, that I feel applies to all of us:

"You are loved. You are dear to your heavenly parents. The infinite and eternal Creator of light and life knows you! He is mindful of you. Yes, God loves you this very day and always.

He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware that you reach up to Him in heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows of the times you have held onto the fading light and believed—even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed. And still He loves you.

And God knows of your successes; though they may seem small to you, He acknowledges and cherishes each one of them. He loves you for extending yourself to others. He loves you for reaching out and helping others bear their heavy burdens—even when you are struggling with your own.

He knows everything about you. He sees you clearly—He knows you as you really are. And He loves you—today and always!”

Que la fuerza les acompañe.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

"El Día de la Acción de Gracias"

This was a really good week. These past two weeks we have been working with an investigator named Camila, a 30-year-old single mom. She was a former investigator who had gone to church about 5 times in the past. Anyway, we had been working with her and last Sunday she went to church. Then, on Saturday she was baptized, and yesterday was confirmed a member of the Church. She is really great and it is incredible to see how receptive people are after they have prayed about the Book of Mormon and received their answer that the book is true. We helped her get her answer last week, and ever since then she accepted everything. If only everyone could just read a little bit from that great book and pray for an answer. The cool thing was that Elder Loza, who taught her when she first met the church, was able to baptize her because after 8 months he is in the ward again.

We are also working with an investigator named Andrea who is 22. She was going to church and listening to the missionaries about 2 months ago, but then she moved to Bolivia. Anyway, she moved back here and we've been working with her and she will be getting baptized this Sunday. She is really great as well... also because she followed through on her commitments and read from the Book of Mormon and prayed and received an answer that it is true. On Friday she gave us about a 5-minute summary about 3 Nefi 11. It was pretty incredible. She remembered everyone's names and everything.

Making American pancakes

 On Saturday after Camila's baptism we had a ward activity. It was a "Gourmet Internacional." It was pretty awesome. Our ward has a lot of people from different countries. We set up little stands and had food from those countries. The countries represented were: Argentina (members), Bolivia (members), Perú (members), Brasil (members), China (members), New Zealand (Sister Hemi), Chile (Elder Molina), Mexico (Elder Seda), aaaaand the United States of America (Sister Zendejas, Elder Sanders, Elder Long, and I). It was pretty awesome. Us Yankees made some pancakes that... well... they didn't look too pretty... but they tasted really good, and we invented a kind of syrup... it wasn't quite maple syrup... but it also tasted really good. Anyway, our stand was the first stand that ran out of food. We had a lot of other ideas of food to make, like bacon and eggs (supposedly bacon is too expensive here), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (it is impossible to find peanut butter), and orange soda floats (root beer doesn't exist... but also the bishop shot down that idea because he said it sounded gross...). It was a lot of fun. Also, the bishop has an American flag that he got from one of his mission companions, so it was nice to see the American flag for the first time in 16 months. What with baptisms and ward parties, it was a fun weekend.

Members and missionaries at the Chile stand... I am a giant

Have a great week! Que la fuerza les acompañe.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Primera semana en Parque Chacabuco‏

Well, this was my first week in my new area, Parque Chacabuco. This ward is pretty great. It is the biggest ward that I have been a part of in my mission, with 220 people at church on Sundays. I am one of 8 missionaries in the ward, which is a lot of fun on P-days and during lunches. My area that I work in is tiny compared to my other areas in the mission. It is really, really small, but it is part of the villa, so there is a LOT of people that live in it. My companion, Elder Long, is pretty great, we get along well. He is only 3 months younger than me, but I've been out a year longer than he has. 

 

We've been working with a lot of investigators this past week, but only Camila came to church. She is getting baptized on Saturday. She is a single-mom with 3 little kids. She is really excited to get baptized.

 

We have a lot of other possibilites of people to get baptized within the next 3 weeks, and the Lord is blessing us a lot to find people. It's incredible to see the Lord's hand every day in this work.

 

Due to the excitement of transfers, I forgot to write about something that I learned in my last letter. A few days before transfers Elder Lawyer and I visited an investigator.  He had been progressing so well and then when he started living with his girlfriend and couldn't get baptized, his progression not only stopped, but started moving backwards. When we visited him it was the first time we had seen him in about a month. It was an incredible learning experience for me. He was the same. He hadn't changed. He had the same problems as before. He had gone back to drinking and smoking and was still living with his girlfriend (who is now pregnant). He stopped reading the Book of Mormon and praying and going to church. It was like I had gone back in time to when we had first met him. Two thoughts in regards to him:

1- The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of CHANGE. It is ONLY through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we can change and progress, due to the saving power of the Atonement. Until we learn to put our faith and trust in the Lord and act and keep the commandments we WILL NOT be able to progress or change, neither in this life, nor in the life to come. 

2- He told us that ever since he met the Mormon church his life has been worse. That made me think a lot. How can that be? Then I came to a conclusion. In Doctrine and Covenants 131:6 it says, "It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance." No man can be saved without knowing God's commandments, because he can't keep them without knowing what they are. That made me thinking, if no man can be saved in ignorance, no man can be condemned in ignorance either, because he doesn't know the commandments that he isn't living. Before coming in contact with the church, he didn't know about the commandments. Sure he had problems due to his actions, but after knowing the commandments and CHOOSING not to obey them, he has chosen to receive the due consequences, thus making his statement of "ever since I met the Mormon church, my life has been worse" make total sense to me.

 

3- (I lied, there were 3 thoughts) He also said that God was giving him a lot of trials right now. That made me think... something I have come to learn in the mission is that it isn't just when we aren't obeying that we get trials. I've received many, many trials in the mission. God gives us trials as we are living righteously  to help us to progress. I asked him, "Are you praying, reading the scriptures, going to church, living the word of wisdom, living the law of chastity, and obeying all of the other commandments?" "No." I came to the conclusion that many times when we aren't doing what the Lord has commanded us, our life starts to get harder and we ask God, why are you giving me these trials? But are they trials, or are they consequences of us simply choosing to disobey and go against His will? 

 

I learned a lot from this last visit before leaving Pacheco, and I don't know if what I explained just now made sense, because I'm not doing so well with English right now, but I hope someone could learn something. I know I learned a lot.

I love you all and pray for you daily. Que la fuerza les acompañe.

 

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Apostles, Baptisms, and Transfers

Well, last week was an adventure. With it being the last week of the transfer, for P-day last week we went to Tigre and went to a Pizza Libre (all-you-can-eat pizza) as a zone. We ate a lot. I ate 10 pieces... I was pretty proud because my record was 9... but Elder Jensen ate 18... so... he won.

On Tuesday I got to go on exchanges with Elder Hansen, which was pretty fun. We worked really hard and then at the end of the day bought ice cream, so it was a pretty successful day.

Friday Ariel had his baptismal interview and it went smashing. He was so prepared it was incredible. In all my time here in Argentina I've never met a teenager quite like him. He's got such a strong testimony and I'm positive he is going to stay active forever. He passed the interview with flying colors and Elder Bobadilla said that he's never interviewed someone so prepared. On Saturday however Ariel had to work from 5:30 pm to 7:30 am Sunday morning. However, he got home, showered, changed into the suit that we had lent him and went to Stake Conference without sleeping at all. After conference I had the privilege of baptizing him in very cold water. He was so happy though I don't even think he noticed. He also got to shake hands with Elder Christofferson after the conference, so he was really excited. Then he went home, took a 40 minute nap and went to the farewells in San Fernando with us. Poor kid, he hardly slept at all. He's awesome.

Ariel at his baptismal service

On Saturday we had a special mission conference with Elder Christofferson presiding. Also present was his wife, Elder Christensen (Presidency of the 70) and his wife, Presidente Gonzalez (President of the Area South America South) and his wife, and about 3 other 70s. We got there almost 2 hours early to get a good seat and we still sat in the back, haha. It was a conference with our mission and the Buenos Aires West mission. Elder Christofferson and his wife, and Elder Christensen and his wife all spoke, and they all spoke in spanish which was pretty cool. Elder Christofferson basically speaks perfectly. Elder Christofferson spoke quite a bit on repentance and the atonement being the central point of everything we do. It is the central point of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As it says in Alma 7:7, "For behold, I say unto you there be many things to come; and behold, there is one thing which is of more importance than they all-- for behold, the time is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people." The coming of the Savior and His atoning sacrifice are in the end the most important things that have ever happened. It is ONLY through the healing power of the atonement that we can be saved through the grace of Jesus Christ provided to us as we sincerely repent. There are always things that we can change and do better. He also referred to this scripture in regards to the second coming, which is also not far distant. He said that in order for the Savior to come again He needs a people that is prepared and worthy to greet Him and dwell with Him in the milennium. How prepared are we? Would you be prepared if He came tomorrow? He also needs a people big enough to dwell with him in the milennium, in regards to all of us because we are ALL missionaries... what are you doing to help increase the number of Latter Day Saints? He will come as soon as there are enough of us and we are prepared and worthy to be with Him. 

On Sunday Elder Christofferson also spoke quite a bit about the atonement, but what struck me most was the power of his testimony in the end of his talk. "Yo sé, por experiencia propia, que Jesucristo es un ser resucitado." It was extremely powerful. Afterwards he said he would like to shake hands with all of the children and teenagers... I would count... but I have a badge on my chest... so I couldn't shake his hand. I did shake it 5 years ago though on a choir tour, so I guess it's fine.

Later on Sunday we went to the farewells in San Fernando and I was able to see quite a few people from Constitución and even Beto from Pablo Nogués! It was so nice to see him walk in in a shirt and tie. When he came up to me afterwards he proudly told my friends from Pacheco that I am the one who baptized him. It was so great to see him and know that he is doing well.

Elder Garrett, Beto and Elder Mejia

Last night we got the call that I would be leaving Pacheco. It's usually pretty hard to leave the areas after you come to love the people there, but I'm excited for the opportunity that I now have to be in Parque Chacabuco. This ward was part of my first stake when I got there, but while I've been here they already divided the stake and it's now part of the Parque Chacabuco Stake, but the Stake President, Presidente Catala, is the same Stake President that I had while I was in Constitución. It's part of capital and it is huge, there are 8 missionaries in this ward, 6 elders and 2 sisters. I'm now with Elder Long, who is from Pocatello, Idaho. It's a great area.

Elder Garrett and Elder Long in Parque Chacabuco

Que la fuerza les acompañe.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

¿Quiere cantar en la reunión sacramental?...

This was a pretty busy week. We spent a lot of time getting Rodrigo (Mónica's grandson) ready for baptism. On Friday when we were going to have his interview he didn't want to talk to any of us.  He was mad and didn't want to tell us why. It took about an hour for him to agree to having the interview. In the end he told me why he was mad. He said that he heard that I might be leaving next week and he didn't want me to leave. In the end it all turned out well and he was baptized. 

Rodrigo's Baptism

Ariel is pretty much awesome. We've now taught him everything but the law of tithing and lesson 5 and he accepts everything. He's got a firm testimony that the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was a prophet, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the church of God. It is so cool to see a 17-year old accept the word of wisdom and the law of chastity so easily. The power of prayer is incredible. He will be getting baptized this Sunday. Yesterday he invited two friends to church and they came, Gonzalo and Tomás. They loved it and their parents are legitimately married, so we're hoping to talk to them this week and be able to teach a complete family.

On Friday Elder Hansen, one of the other Elders in Pacheco, called me and asked if I wanted to sing in a sacrament meeting with him. I said,  "Sure," and he said, "Alright we're going to sing this Sunday."  Well... okay. We practiced a few times Saturday night and then sang "Tú me has dado muchas bendiciones Dios" as a duet in Sacrament Meeting. It was the first time I've sung in public in a long time and my legs were shaking pretty bad. However, there were a few members crying and we received a lot of compliments and a big hug from the ward mission leader, so I guess it went alright.

This week is going to be pretty great. On Saturday we will be having a special Mission Conference with Elder D. Todd Christofferson, and on Sunday we have Stake Conference. Guess who will be presiding? Elder Christofferson. I will get to hear from him two days in a row. I'm so glad I'm still in this stake for at least another week.

Next week will be transfers, so I will be writing on Tuesday instead of Monday. I'm not really sure what will be happening, but I'm guessing I'll probably be leaving the area because I've been here for 3 transfers and my hijo has been here for 2 and knows the area. We'll see. I'll let you know next week.

Que la fuerza les acompañe.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Me and my friend Mateo

Mucha agua

I hope you have all had a wonderful week, because I had a pretty great one! It's been raining ever since Friday night... so... we've been pretty wet.

I'm standing in the middle of the street.

On Wednesday we went early in the morning with Estella and Waldo to Tigre so that they could have a day to get married. It was raining really hard and we got soaked. In the end the earliest they will be able to get married will be in January... which pushes back them getting baptized just a little bit. Needless to say, they were pretty disappointed. 

On Saturday we met Ariel, Waldo and Estella's son. He is 17 and really cool. He is very very interested in what we have to share with him. On Sunday even though it was raining really hard and we couldn't go by to pick him up due to some complications that morning, he came to church by himself! He had a great experience. Later that afternoon we asked him why it is that he chose to come to church even though he had many possible excuses to not come. He told us, "I came because last night after reading the Book of Mormon, I prayed to know if it was true and I felt really really peaceful, happy, and content. I felt hungry for more Spiritual knowledge and wanted to come to church. I want to be baptized on the 16th." We were pretty much speechless, it was what every missionary dreams of hearing come out of an investigators mouth. He's awesome.

Saturday we also met Daniela, who is Mónica's 30 year old daughter. She is pretty great as well and also came to church yesterday. The only thing is... she was somewhat unsure about church and the Book of Mormon and baptism. We asked her if she had prayed to know if the Book of Mormon was true and she said that she hadn't. It was incredible to me yesterday to see the contrast of Ariel and Daniela, one who prays and one who does not. I encourage you all to pray.

On Friday I was able to go on exchanges with Elder Fuentes. It was a lot of fun because we had been companions in Constitución and we get along great together. It was funny as I realized that I teach basically the same as he does... I guess that is what happens with your first couple companions haha.

Exchanges with my ex-companion Elder Fuentes.

He's from Chile

It's been raining since Friday and all the streets are flooded in my area up to our knees... it's pretty crazy. Mucha agua. I love you all. Que la fuerza les acompañe.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

At long last :)

This has been a fantastic week. On Tuesday I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Hansen in his area which was pretty fun because the two of us started our mission together. We had a great time working together and later that night we called for empanadas, so that's always a great way to end the day.

Exchanges with Elder Hansen and empanadas

This week we found a lot of new investigators. Luis was one of them. He is the neighbor of a recent convert and is pretty excited about learning about the gospel and going to church. Unfortunately, he couldn't go to church yesterday, but he's got plans to go this coming Sunday.

This week we found an older couple, Waldo and Estella. They aren't married to each other. When we explained about the law of chastity and baptism they decided they want to get married. We are going to help them take out a date in the Registro Civil on Wednesday. It is actually pretty incredible how easily they accepted marriage. They also came to church all by themselves yesterday.

On Friday I got to go on exchanges with one of the zone leaders, Elder Bobadilla from México. He is really great and we had a lot of fun together sharing experiences, because we both served part of our missions in Pablo Nogués. He also made me tacos later that night, so that was nice.

Exchanges with Elder Bobadilla

The big news this week was Juan Domingo and Mónica getting baptized! Wooooooooooo!!!!!!! Juan had waited almost 2 months with all of the trials that he had to overcome, but he was so ready for his baptism yesterday. It has really been clear the conversion that he has experienced. Almost every day this week when we went to visit them they were at the table studying the Book of Mormon, the lesson pamphlets, and the Gospel Principles book. Juan is such an example to me of enduring to the end and staying positive when we have trials, as well as inviting neighbors to go to church with him. Adrián Rojas, a convert in the ward, baptized Juan and I baptized Mónica. It was a really special experience.

Juan and Mónica's baptism

I love you all and I trust you are all doing well. Remember, "If you let a hypocrite come between you and the Lord; the hypocrite is still standing closer to the Lord than you are." (Mark Scott)

Que la fuerza les acompañe,

Elder John William Garrett

"En muchos casos, los pequeños medios confunden a los sabios"

This was a pretty fun week. If you remember, Juan Domingo one of our investigators brought a neighbor friend to church last week. Mónica is pretty great and is coming through on all of her commitments. She came to church yesterday and is really excited to get baptized on Sunday. Unfortunately, her grandson Rodrigo didn't come yesterday because he was asleep and we couldn't wake him up... and he still hasn't gone to church yet, so he won't be getting baptized with his grandma. He's really excited about everything though. 

I don't know if everyone remembers, but Juan Domingo has had a lot of challenges and obstacles in his path to baptism. He's been wanting to be baptized since day one. He's been separated from his woman for 5 years but they're living in the same house in separate rooms. When he heard he couldn't get baptized because they were living in the same house he worked hard to find a new place to live, and then moved in with his sister. We were then preparing him to be baptized, but the day of his baptism his sister kicked him out because he was too hard to take care of, so he moved back to where he was living before. These past two weeks we've just kind of been sharing motivating scriptures with him to help him to be happy and positive. Last week we decided that we should probably just talk to President Ayre about the situation, so I wrote him a letter last week explaining to him the seriousness of his diabetes. Yesterday during lunch he called me and we talked for a while about Juan, about his situation and about his testimony. Juan is going to be baptized this Sunday. When we told him, he got really excited. He will be getting baptized at the same time as his neighbor that he invited to church.

This week was a little stressful in that a few really strong converts here in Pacheco were having some doubts and were having problems with testimonies and they wanted us to help them. I'm really grateful for the Spirit and that God is aware of His children. Just a few thoughts to share. In Alma 31:8-10 it states, "Now the Zoramites were dissenters from the Nephites; therefore they had had the word of God preached unto them. But they had fallen into great errors, for they would not observe to keep the commandments of God, and his statutes, according to the Law of Moses. Neither would they observe the performances of the church, to continue in prayer and supplication to God daily, that they might not enter into temptation." The Zoramites were once active members of the church, but they slowly slipped into apostasy as they were lazy with their daily prayers, their weekly attendance at sacrament meeting, and their obedience to the commandments. They are small and simple things, but as Alma later explains in chapter 37, "small means in many instances doth confound the wise." I encourage one and all to reflect upon your personal conversion. Are you growing closer each day to your Father in Heaven? Is what you are doing on a daily basis helping you to become more like our Savior? If not, it is time for a change. It is the negligence of the small and simple things that slowly leads us to fall away. Let us make a stronger effort to complete our part of our covenants with our Father in Heaven, because as we do, He will come through on His part. I know God lives and loves each of us. If you don't know that or are doubting it... it may be because daily scripture study, daily prayer, and weekly attendance at church isn't one of your top priorities. It's time to reorganize them. There is no better day than today. I know that as we come through we will be richly blessed.

Much love,

Elder John William Garrett

Well that's a change

This week was really great. We worked really really hard to find new investigators and we found a lot. Not all of them are progressing, but I know that if we want to find the people God has prepared for us, we need to talk with as many people as possible. As stated in Ether 12:6, "ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." That is so true. As the Lord sees that we are doing all that we can to find people to teach, He will place them in our path.

We've got an investigator named Maria. She's pretty great. She read the whole Book of Mormon. She also made a huge chart that explains all about how the Book of Mormon came about, all about Joseph Smith, all about the 3 Witnesses and 8 Witnesses, and explains what is talked about in every book of the Book of Mormon including the people that are talked about in the books. When she showed it to us I was dumbfounded. I've never seen this in my mission. She's really great. The unfortunate thing is... she isn't married, and her partner doesn't want to get married, so she can't be baptized. No one is married here! Almost everyone we talk to tells us that they aren't married! 

José, our 15 year old friend is progressing pretty well and enjoyed church yesterday. The only problem is he told us that he doesn't feel ready to be baptized this next week. We'll be working with him to see how we can help him out.

Juan is doing alright. He really wants to be baptized, but now he's living with his ex-wife again, putting us back in our original dilemma. The incredible thing though was that he brought a neighbor to church, Mónica. She loved church, and when we visited her later in the day, her and her grandson both accepted baptismal dates. They're pretty great.

This past week was pretty exhausting, as I had my trainer's responsibilities added upon with the responsibilities of a district leader. It's a bit of a load, but it's fine. It's a bit intimidating though, when I was in the zone meeting, because in the zone is one of my ex-companions, and a bunch of Elders that all have been out longer than I have. The zone leaders asked me to teach a part of the meeting and do a demonstration and I was sweating so bad.  It was pretty crazy. It's fine though.

Once again, I hope that all is well wherever you may be! Que la fuerza les acompañe.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Temple and Conference

Well, this week was pretty great. On Wednesday we had to go to Retiro to do some paperwork so my companion can be legal here. We were basically there all day, which was pretty boring. The good part was that I got to hang out with Elder Popoca and Elder Cruz for quite a while.

With Elder Popoca at the despedidas

On Friday we went to the temple as a mission. We had to be there at 8 am... but we miscalculated how long it would take to arrive and got there at 6:50... woops. While we were waiting I ran into Hermana Shaffauser from my first area. We ate lunch at her house almost every Sunday in Constitución, she washed our laundry, and she always gave us ice cream. It was pretty great to see her. She told me that her son Julian always talks about me, so that made me feel good. Being in the temple was really wonderful. Being with a bunch of missionaries from all parts of the world is incredible to see that we really are all equal, it doesn't matter where we are from or what is our story. It was great to be there with so many friends. 

With my hijo at the temple 

Speaking of General Conference, wasn't it amazing? We watched the Saturday Sessions in a member's house in Spanish and the Sunday Sessions in the Stake Center in San Fernando in English. I actually took more notes in Spanish. It's a little weird... because as a missionary I get to watch 4 General Conferences... and I've already seen 3.

Well, all week we were preparing for Juan Domingo's baptism on Sunday, and everything was going great... until Sunday morning. I'm not sure if I mentioned that he has an extreme case of diabetes. Anyway, long story short he got really, really sick and almost died, but didn't, so that's good, but couldn't make it to be baptized. We're going to make sure that he's allright and see how we can help him.

Thanks to Juan Domingo we met the child of his niece, Ezequiel. He's 14 and practices mixed martial arts... so that's pretty cool. He's really great and came to General Conference with us, loved it, and wants to be baptized.

Today was transfer day, but I'm staying here in Pacheco with my hijo, Elder Lawyer. We're excited to be staying together and excited to work hard.

I love you all. Que la fuerza les acompañe.

Elder Garrett

Well that was an exciting service project.

Well, this past week was a little bit interesting. On Wednesday we went to do a service project for a member who isn't from our ward, but is taking care of an old woman who lives in our area. We went to mow the lawn for her. I was mowing with an electric-lawnmower while my companion was whacking down the lawn with the weed whacker. I felt like we were mowing down the safari, the grass was so long. The extension cords weren't that great on the lawn mower and came unplugged many times and I had to replug them. The last time I did it... well... I didn't have as much luck. As I reached down to plug them in, less than a split second before making contact, I noticed that the plug had separated and that there were wires exposed. Too late. I then felt a current of electricity shoot into my whole body starting in my left arm. It was literally as if time slowed down almost to a stop. I heard a horrid screaming sound, and then realized that it was me who was screaming. I could feel the electricity run throughout my whole body and I could not let go. It's kind of dumb to say I saw my life flash before my eyes, but I really actually did. It's hard to explain everything that happened. Fortunately, the sister from the ward came and whacked the extension cord out of my hand freeing me from the electrical current. I asked my companion how long I had been screaming and he said about 5 seconds. Those were probably the longest 5 seconds of my life. After getting released, I fell to my knees. My companion hadn't realized what was going on, and had thought that I just got mad at the lawnmower because it didn't work very well. After helping me up, I felt a little bit like a superhero that could shoot electricity out of his hands. That was probably the only cool part. I then laid down for about an hour.  I had a headache for about 4 days, but now I'm doing okay. At least it was something out of the ordinary to write in my journal. Just one thought. What matters most in life? All of the memories that shot through my head involved my family. I don't know how close I was to dying or anything, but it made me think about my priorities in life. I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I have of the gospel that allows me to trust and feel safety in knowing that death is just another step in God's plan for us. I'm so grateful for a wonderful family and I love them so much. I'm grateful for wonderful friends who always helped me make good decisions. I'm grateful for teachers who worked tirelessly to help me learn and become a better person. I'm thankful to the Lord for the wonderful blessing that is serving a full-time mission in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I invite all of you to really contemplate what really matters, and if you are putting those things aside for things that are enjoyable, easy, or convenient, you need to make a change. I guess another thought. When I get home, I plan on never mowing the lawn again.

We had a little bit of a hard time finding new people to teach this past week, I'm not really sure what changed, but we weren't as good at finding new people. This week we've planned a lot of new ways to find people, and we're going to be focusing a lot on visiting inactive members that we don't know as well as using Family History work to find new people to teach.

Juan Domingo is the gentleman that was unable to be baptized because he was living in the same house as his ex-wife. He is so great and has so much faith, that after speaking with us, he decided to go find a new place to live, and will be moving in with his sister and his niece on Tuesday. We are planning his baptism for this Sunday. It really is incredible how much can be accomplished if we will but have faith.

José is 15 and a friend of a member here. We have the signed permission to teach and baptize him. He went to church yesterday and really liked it and is going to go to mutual tomorrow. We are working to help prepare him for baptism as well.

I love you all and I hope that this letter finds you well wherever you may be. May the force be with you.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Buenos Aires, Argentina

 

Bienvenida la Primavera

Yesterday was the first day of Spring, so happy Spring to all those on the southern hemisphere!  

On Thursday we were visiting with Carmen and Ronald and they are just so great. They are so happy and they say that they can feel the Spirit so strongly in their lives. Carmen is sharing the gospel with friends and is really excited to be able to go to the Temple. Ronald is really excited to go on a mission, he only has to wait 7 more years, and I'm pretty sure he is counting the days.

Juan Domingo had a baptismal date for yesterday, but unfortunately was not able to be baptized because of a few complications that weren't foreseen. He was pretty disappointed, but we are doing our very best to help him continue progressing and be able to be baptized.

Diego (Carmen's nephew) also had a baptismal date for yesterday, but was not baptized either. It turns out that he and his girlfriend moved in together recently, something he never told us as we talked about the Law of Chastity almost daily. The good news is that he wants to be baptized so they are going to try and get married as soon as possible. He is a really great guy. He doesn't have a whole lot, but what he has he shares with us because he told us the other day, "when I serve you two, I feel like I'm really serving the Savior Jesus Christ." It was a really spiritually powerful moment, and I am so grateful for this privilege to wear His name on my chest and be one of His official representatives. Yesterday when we came to his house to teach him we met his cousin, Cristian. Diego had been teaching him all about the Restoration and had been reading with him a lot of chapters of the Gospel Principles Manual. When we showed up, Cristian had questions for us and was already wanting to go to church and learn more. After meeting with us, he accepted a baptismal date and also wants to go on a mission. He is 17, but turns 18 on October 5. It's pretty incredible to see how the Lord carries out His work.

All in all, the mission is full of ups and downs, but it is the most incredible work that I have been, and will ever be a part of. I love it so much. 

Que la fuerza les acompañe.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Obstáculos están para superar

This was a very nice week. We had a lot of obstacles placed in our path, but were able to overcome them with the Lord's help.

This week we were preparing Carmen and her son Ronald to be baptized. Carmen works from about 10 am to midnight four days and then has a day off, then works four days and has a day off. It had been somewhat of a challenge to teach her. With her baptism being this weekend, on Monday we were faced with the task of teaching all of Lesson 4 (the commandments) in one appointment. The appointment ended up being about 2 hours long, and we had to really rely on the Lord to help her resolve her doubts on the Law of Chastity. Fortunately the Holy Ghost is the teacher and not us, so we were able to help her overcome that fear and accept to live the commandment. 

However, Carmen would be unable to be baptized on Sunday after church because she has to leave immediately after church to be able to travel to Vicente Lopez to work. We had thought that maybe she could be baptized Saturday night, because it would be a few weeks before she had a Sunday off again. I called the Bishop Monday night and he said no, that she should sacrifice going to work for being baptized. That was kind of an interesting situation, because being a single mom with two kids and not having any financial support from the father she needed to work and didn't really have any other option. Anyway, I called President Ayre who holds the Priesthood keys for the convert baptisms Tuesday morning and talked to him about the situation, and he said that he was on my side and that that was unfair of the Bishop and that he could call the Stake President and talk to him about the situation if I wanted him to. I told him I would call him back in a couple days, becasue we had received a text from Carmen telling us that she wasn't sure if she was ready to be baptized because she wasn't sure she'd be able to live the law of tithing. After praying really hard, we sent her a stream of spiritual texts since we couldn't call her at work, and set up an appointment for Wednsday morning at 9 am. We were praying a lot.

Wednesday morning when we showed up she told us that she had actually had a dream and received an answer from the Lord in regards to the law of tithing, and so she was ready to be baptized on Saturday. We were really excited and grateful to the Lord for answering her. However, we still had the problem of the Bishop. President called me at the beginning of an appointment with Ronald (I had to talk to President, so my hijo taught the whole lesson in Spanish basically by himself. He's pretty great). We talked about the situation and we decided it would be best to try and talk to the Bishop again before pulling the trump card so we could maintain a good relationship with him. I set up an appointment with the Bishop for later that night, and after praying hard about what to say, we came and even without saying much, he decided that it was alright and that we could have the baptisms be on Saturday. It was pretty incredible all the work that the Lord was doing this week. We had prepared a lot for the lesson with Carmen that in the end we didn't have to teach, and prepared a lot for the meeting with the Bishop that in the end we didn't have to say much.

Anyway, during this whole week Ronald was doing great and was really excited for his baptism.

When Saturday came around, during a service activity in the morning, the ward mission leader called and let me know that he wouldn't be able to come to the service, so we would have to work it out by ourselves... yikes. Then about every member that had told us they would go when we passed by told us that they couldn't, leaving us without witnesses for the baptismal ordinance. Then the Bishop let me know that he wouldn't be able to go to the service either, so 40 minutes before it was to start I had to call one of his counselors to ask if he could come preside, which he did. After not expecting very many people to come, a lot more people came than we thought originally. It was a really beautiful baptismal service, and the Spirit was really strong throughout. Carmen had asked me to baptize her, and Ronald had asked my hijo, so he was pretty excited about that. Diego (Carmen's nephew) was telling everyone that he would be baptized this coming Sunday, so he's really excited. After it was all over, we walked home in the rain, which couldn't even dampen our happy mood, and ended up buying ice-cream to celebrate the week.

Baptism! Elder Garrett, Carmen, Ronald and Elder Lawyer

Yesterday Carmen and Ronald were confirmed members of the church. Diego came to church and is excited to be baptized this Sunday. Juan Domingo also came to church and can't wait for Sunday to come to be baptized as well. It pretty much rained all day and we got soaked and were freezing, but it was a fantastic week.

We love empanadas!

This week I really learned to appreciate the Lord's hand in this work. Every obstacle was overcome. I felt somewhat like Nephi who expressed, "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless, I went forth." God hears and answers prayers. He knows every one of His children in a very personal way and knows their needs. I am so grateful for a Savior who has been working side by side with me for these 13 months and whose name I proudly carry on my chest. There is no better work than this. "I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my JOY." (Alma 29:9)

Que la fuerza les acompañe.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

This past week was fantastic. We are having so much fun finding new people to teach, preaching the gospel, and seeing miracles. Carmen and her son Ronald are doing great.  They've got a baptismal date for this Sunday, so keep them in your prayers! Diego is doing well also... but he slept in late and didn't get up to go to church... and didn't wake up when we tried to wake him up... so that pushes back his baptismal date... be sure to keep him in your prayers as well.

This week we found a man named Juan Domingo who is pretty great. He's 54 and has diabetes. He dropped about 125 pounds in 8 months and now weighs 155. He's had a really hard life and can hardly walk. He's accepting everything and we brought him to church yesterday, which he also loved.

We met a friend of a recent convert's on Saturday, and I don't think I've ever met someone so excited to go to church. She was literally giddy. She enjoyed it a lot, and we're excited to keep teaching her.

Yesterday I met a less-active member who has been going through many challenges lately, and she asked us to give her a blessing. I have given more blessings in my mission than I can count, and I have felt the Spirit every time, but this time was different. I don't know that I've ever felt the Spirit so strongly while giving a blessing, and all throughout the blessing and afterwards this dear sister was bawling. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that is so aware of every one of His children. The Priesthood is real. 

Today we spent P-day at the Batalla family's house, and they live in the richest private neighborhood in all of Argentina, in Nordelta. It was pretty awesome. They have a private lake. When we got there Sister Batalla said, "so, I bought asado to eat, if that's okay"... of course it's okay! It was an awesome day.

I hope all is well wherever this email may find you! I love you all! Que la fuerza les acompañe!

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Dios contesta nuestras oraciones

Well, for those of you who didn't know, I am still in Pacheco and am now training Elder Lawyer from Orem, Utah. He got here from the US last Tuesday, so he's pretty new. His mom is actually from Buenos Aires, she met his dad as they were both attending BYU, so that's pretty cool. He's 19, a month older than me, shorter than me, and went to BYU for a year before coming out on the mission. He studied Spanish a little before the mission, but it's still been quite the change for him. Sometimes I think, "wow, did I have that hard of a time with Spanish when I got here?" And then I realize that he speaks and understands a lot better than I did, because I barely knew anything. This past week we met a man who asked us if we believed in the gift of tongues and I replied in the affirmative. I am a very firm believer in the gift of tongues. All of the gifts of God are given in order to carry out His work, and I am so grateful for the gift of tongues in my life. It is incredible to think that missionaries can learn languages as fast as they do. I am especially grateful to my Heavenly Father, as I have had to teach a lot more and pretty much do everything a lot more. Speaking more was a change when I became senior companion, when I trained a Latino, but training an American is even more different. God is so great:)

My new hijo, Elder Lawyer

In our first week together we have seen a lot of success. About two weeks ago Hermana Castro from the ward met a woman named Carmen in the barber shop. We tried to contact her a few times unsuccessfully, but then Hermana Castro brought her to church last Sunday, and she came with her two children. We then set up an appointment to meet with her. This past week visiting her has been really great. I have a firm testimony that God is preparing people here for us to teach, and Carmen and her 11-year-old son have both accepted baptismal dates for the 14th. We also met Carmen's nephew Diego this week. When we showed up to his house, he told us that he had been praying the night before for God to send him his disciples so that he could return to His path. I think it's probably for that reason that he is accepting literally everything. He's already read a lot in the Book of Mormon, had a serious girlfriend and accepted the Law of Chastity, went to church on Sunday and is preparing to be baptized on the 14th. He loved church and is excited to go every week and prepare to receive the priesthood.  Miracles happen. God answers prayers. I know He loves us.

Anyway, I love you all and I hope all is well wherever you might be!

Que la fuerza les acompañe.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Another one?

So, I forgot to say AGAIN that I would be writing on Tuesday because we had transfers... woops. Sorry. I don't have a whole lot of time because I'm in the mission offices. Last week I got a call telling me I would be training again this transfer, so I'm waiting for my second hijo right now!:) This time all the nuevitos are from the US, so that'll be a new experience. I'm looking forward to it a lot.

This past week was really great. We're finding new investigators and the work is going really well. I'm really happy and loving being in the mission. There honestly isn't anything better than being a missionary. A lot of cool things happened this past week, but I don't have much time. I've got a lot of pictures to send too, but not any time, so I'll have to send them next week. I love you all!

"Que la fuerza les acompañe."

Elder John William Garrett

¿Donde ha ido el tiempo?

This past week I hit the year mark, which was pretty surreal. What a blessing it is to be serving the Lord full time in "la mejor misión en el mundo, La Gran Misión Buenos Aires Norte." I'm loving so much my time here and I'm really excited for the time I have left to keep working hard and seeing the gospel change people's lives. No one can tell me that the gospel isn't true. Nothing can change lives like the gospel can. I've seen it over and over again. I know that God lives and loves us. He hears and answers each one of our prayers, maybe not when we want Him to, but the answers always do come. Jesus Christ really is our Savior and Redeemer, and He knows EXACTLY what we are going through and how to help us, if we will but confide in Him. I love Him. I know that He loves me. I love the people here in Buenos Aires. I am so grateful for all of the support that I receive from home, so thanks to all of you as well. You are all the best.

Elder Hansen and I hit the one-year mark

 

This week was great. We found new people to teach, thanks to our recent converts, and the work is going along really well. Marcelina is progressing a lot and has cut her cigarette-use down a lot. She went to church yesterday and loved it and then went to a Family Home Evening that we had last night in Hermana Gladys' house and once again loved it.

We had a miracle the other day when we went to contact a referral but couldn't find it. We mistakenly clapped a house that wasn't hers and found Lorena, who just happened to be the mom of a teenager who was baptized last year. She was going to church with her son but then she got pregnant so she stopped going. She wants to go back and be baptized. Miracles happen. The Lord really is guiding His work and leading us to the people that He has prepared. The Spirit helps me find investigators... it teaches... basically all we do as missionaries is stay worthy of the Spirit and put in the effort to work hard. It is incredible to feel as an instrument in the Lord's hand.

This week I ate an interesting Peruvian dish that is supposedly really expensive in Peru. It was some fish that was cooked in just salt water, rice, and platano, which is from the banana family but isn't banana and actually tastes somewhat like potatoes. It was pretty good. I'm pretty sure Hermana Llerena put a picture that she took of us on facebook.

Today I played ping-pong for the first time in over a year. It was a lot of fun.
 

"Que la fuerza les acompañe."

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Aventuras con viejos amigos‏

This past week was really wonderful. Monday we got a call telling us that it would not be P-day but that we could write to our families for a short time anyway. That was because on Tuesday about 40 Elders had to go to Uruguay because they were illegal. This probably requires an explanation of how we become legal here. Due to visas taking a ton of time, the church is no longer trying to get them to be here. What we do is we come here on a 3-month tourist visa and then work on a bunch of papers to get our "DNI" or Argentine identification, making us legal citizens. They only last for a year and we have to renew them, but it's pretty cool. Anyway, the paperwork for a bunch of Elders was taking too long and their tourist visas had already expired, making them illegal in the country. The Quorum of the 12 doesn't want us to be illegal in the mission, even though the government here doesn't really care. Being representatives of Jesus Christ, it is best to be legal. So anyway, about 40 Elders had to make a short trip to Uruguay and back to leave the country and get a new tourist visa to re-enter Argentina. All of their companions got an extra long P-day to tour Capital. 

Puerto Madero

Being legal and my companion illegal, I got to spend the whole day in Capital. They gave us quite a bit of money for lunch, which was really cool. I spent the day with Elder Hansen (who is in Pacheco, and also came to Argentina with me), Elder Johnson (who was in Constitución when I was there), Elder Stout (my companion from the MTC), and Elder Davis (who was in my last zone for 6 months with me). We went to Caminito, the Boca Futbol Stadium, Once, el Obelisco, la Casa Rosada, and Puerto Madero. I had already been to all of those places when I was in Constitución, so I pretty much retook fotos I had taken 8 months ago. The funnest part was probably just spending the day with old friends. To go to Caminito and the Boca Futbol Stadium we had to pass through Constitución, and it was so surreal to be back there and realize that I still knew the place like the back of my hand. I really love that place.

I found Rafael in Capital... didn't even know there was a
 new ninja turtles movie coming out

We had interviews with President Ayre this past week. He is pretty much the best Mission President there is. What a priviledge to be serving in the world's best mission with the world's best Mission President. He's from Holiday, Utah, and at the end of my interview he asked me to remind him where I was from because he thought he heard a little bit of a southern accent. I told him I was from Kaysville and I have probably just been speaking Spanish too long ha ha. It's really hard to speak english now.

This week we met Marcelina, one of Mabel's friends. Mabel is so great. She is so happy and wants to share the gospel with everyone. She told Marcelina she wanted her to go to church and stop smoking and be baptized. She's awesome. Marcelina is probably the funniest little woman I've ever met. It is so fun to visit with her. She really wants to learn a lot and be baptized, and after teaching her the Word of Wisdom, in one day she had gone down to just 1 cigarette, and the next day she hadn't smoked at all. We asked her why she was doing it and she said that it is because God doesn't want her to smoke and she needs to be baptized. She's great. It is so incredible to me to see the way the Lord guides his work. He led us to Juan who led us to Mabel who led us to Marcelina. As a companionship we like to laugh that all of this is a blessing that comes from eating lunch, because we ran into Juan on our way to a lunch appointment.

I know that this is the work of the Lord. 

"Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ  Jesus with eternal glory (2 Timothy 2:10)." This is the best work there is. I love it so.

"Que la fuerza les acompañe."

Love,

Elder John William Garrett