Día 168- chao Constitución

This past week was really wonderful. We were able to find a gaggle of new investigators who accepted baptismal dates. Leila, Giovanni, and Marcela were all baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. Jordan also wanted me to baptize him, but he won't turn 8 until July 2, 2015 so maybe I can return in the end of my mission and baptize him, who knows. This family is really great, and it's been really wonderful helping them come closer to Christ.

Sunday I said goodbye to all the members and took a lot of pictures because I figured I would be getting transfered as I already had 4.5 months in Constitución. It was kind of sad to say goodbye to this ward that I have grown to love dearly. All the young men told me not to leave, and it meant a lot to me when the bishop thanked me for the work that I've done... and also told me not to leave haha. Monday we said goodbye. I said goodbye to Alan the other day. Saying goodbye to Olga, Dani, and Graciela wasn't too fun. Olga thanked me for everything I've done for her family and said she felt like she was losing a son, but I will always hold a special place in her heart. When we went to say goodbye to the Coria family- Leila, Giovanni, Marcela, Bruno, Mariana, and Jordan, only Giovanni and Jordan were home, so that was kind of disappointing. It was really special though when Jordan said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to protect me and help me find a lot of friends. I also said goodbye to Lucia Dominguez, a member who was inactive when I arrived in the ward, but who I worked with and now is active and is a Young Single Adult leader, along with Graciela. I was unable to say goodbye to Yuly because she's on vacation, and Carmen because she wasn't home. It is really incredible to see how much I have grown to love the people here. I know that I really haven't done anything, I'm just a representative of Jesus Christ and a tool in His hands. The changes that the Gospel of Jesus Christ makes in peoples lives are incredible. The church most definitely is true. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve the people in the Buenos Aires North Mission.

Olga and Graciela made us a farewell cake

Last night we got the call from the zone leaders announcing the transfers. I am now in the area Pablo Noguéz, which is in Provincia, very far from and very different from Capital where I was before. My new companion is Elder Mejia, a 23-year-old from México. I'm excited to work here and find the people the Lord is putting in my path.  

I love you all,

Elder John William Garrett

Día 160

This past week was pretty good. The past Tuesday I completed 5 months in the mission, not quite bump day but that is getting really close. On Monday we had a noche de hogar (family home evening) with Olga, Graciela, and Dani, with the Chavez family from the ward. It was a really great night, and it is so rewarding to see how happy they are and how excited they are to learn. Dani was asking Hermano Chavez all sorts of questions about the priesthood, and it made me really happy to see how the Gospel has blessed their lives. It is very humbling that the Lord has trusted me to help Him in His work.

We had exchanges two times this week. On Tuesday I worked with Elder Johnson in my area, which was pretty great. We were walking in the street and said hi to some people who responded back really nicely, so I asked them where a street is, which I am already familiar with. This opened the door, however, to talk to them, a trick I learned from Elder Buxton. While I was getting the directions I didn't need from the man, Elder Johnson began talking with the woman, and after awhile she said, "you know, I do actually speak English quite well." Turns out these people were from England. The only hard part however was talking to them in English... they asked what we believed, something that is really easy to talk about as a missionary... but talking about the restoration in English? It was a struggle to get the words out... and I'm not sure if I made a whole lot of sense. Friday we had exchanges again but this time with the zone leaders, and this time I went to the area Laboca to work with Elder Vidal. It was my first time doing companion exchanges outside of my area, but it was really great and I learned a lot.

If all goes well this week, this Saturday we could have 4 baptisms, with Marcela, her sister Leila and her brother Geoani, and a 19-year-old girl named Andrea who attended church for 3 years but never got baptized because she was under age and her mom wouldn't give her permission. We're really excited and looking forward to a great week!

Something I've grown to appreciate this week is the importance of attendance at church. We know that if we aren't baptized there is no way we can enter into the Kingdom of God. However, being imperfect, we always commit sins and when we do that, we break our baptismal covenant. That being said, if we don't attend church to renew our covenants with the sacrament, there is also no way we can enter into the Kingdom of God. The Church is true and our Lord Jesus Christ is at the head directing it. May we all make the extra effort to attend church and endure to the end is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Día 153

Fua, it is crazy to think that tomorrow will mark 5 months in the mission. Time sure does fly by. This past week was really great. Last Monday we went to play basketball in the church with Elder Popoca, Elder Johnson, and some kids from the ward. However, when we got there, the mother of one of the counselors in the bishopric died and they were having a viewing in the chapel... so we had to play in this ghetto basketball court under a freeway with a hoop that was too tall and the rim was kind of messed up, but we had a lot of fun anyway.

Wednesday we went to a hospital in Provincia to find out if my companion needed to have an operation on his heart, because he's had heart problems in the past. We had to travel by train for about 3 hours. Presidente Ayre and the Assistants Elder Figueroa and Elder Sweeney met us there. It turns out that Elder Fuentes doesn't need the operation, so Presidente took us all out to lunch at a super expensive restaurant called "Siga la Vaca," or follow the cow, for those who don't speak Spanish. It was a buffet-type restaurant and we ate a ton of the best meat I've ever eaten, and topped off the meal with chocolate lava cake, or "volcán de chocolate" (chocolate volcano). It was incredible. Afterwards we drove with Presidente and the Assistants to the mission offices so Elder Fuentes could call his parents and tell them the good news. We left in the morning around 7 and didn't get back to Constitución until around 6, but it was a really fun day spending time with Presidente and the Assistants.

This week we had a few lunches where we ate only vegetables, thanks to Elder Johnson's vegetarianness... jaja. Elder Popoca and I get a pretty big laugh out of it because we came to Argentina expecting to eat a lot of meat and we eat a lot of vegetables due to Elder Johnson. We also eat with Hermana Chavez every week and she always forces me to eat some vegetables with my meat...

The awesome news is that Bruno and Mariana were indeed baptized yesterday. Bruno asked me to baptize him, and Elder Fuentes baptized his sister. They were really excited about it, and we were too. We truly have been seeing miracles in our area and have been richly blessed. I truly am humbled to have this opportunity to serve the Lord, and I have seen His hand in my life more than ever. It is so crazy to think that in just 5 months I am being able to understand (mostly) and speak a different language and I know that is only possible with the help of the Lord. There is no better feeling in the world than to have the Spirit guiding you as you speak with people and literally having your mouth filled with words... especially when sometimes you haven't learned or said that word before. The church is true. God the Father and Jesus Christ live and love each and every one of us.

I love you all,
Elder John William Garrett

Día 146

First of all, a very Happy New Year to one and all. May 2014 be the best year yet. It is kind of weird to think that for me, 2014 will be the one and only complete year that I won't be with my family, but I am really excited and humbled to spend this complete year in the service of my Father in Heaven. I guess the new year is a time of reflection and goal-setting, and one thing I would encourage as a missionary, is to always set spiritual goals as well. It is when we put the Lord first that everything else falls into place. Something I have come to realize visiting with inactive members in my area, is that their inactivity always begins when they stop doing the small and simple things, such as personal and family prayers and scripture study, and attending church. I would encourage one and all to make a special effort to make sure that you are always doing these small and simple things. If you don't have a testimony of these simple things, there is no better time to gain a testimony of them, and the only way to gain it is, as we learn in John 7:17, by doing them.

This past week was really great. Monday night, looking through the area book, we found the name of a Yuly Merino, so we decided to drop by and contact her on Tuesday. We went by and she was fantastic. She has attended church a few times in our ward, but mostly in the ward where her sister is a member. She has been taught all the lessons, and about 7 months ago she had her baptismal interview. Then she told the missionary that she had been married to a man in Peru 20 years ago, and then she got separated and moved here to Argentina and got married 13 years ago to another man, and now they are separated. So, legally she is married to two men, although she is separated from both and currently living alone. Anyway, when she told the missionary conducting her interview this, he told her that she couldn't be baptized. When we went by on Tuesday the situation was exactly the same, but we decided to call President Ayre and ask him what we could do with her. Because Elder Fuentes wanted President to know exactly how it was, I called him and talked to him about it. He told us that as long as she is living according to the principles of the gospel, not living with anyone, and as long as she hasn't abandoned any children, if she passes her baptismal interview she can be baptized. When we told Yuly this, she bawled out of happiness. She had been praying for a long time for the opportunity to be baptized, and especially this past week because she feels really alone. Anyway, she had her interview on Friday and passed it, Elder Fuentes baptized her Saturday morning, and I confirmed her a member of the church yesterday. It truly was a miracle. When Yuly came out of the baptismal font she was bawling, she was so happy, and it was really a special moment for all of us. It really strengthened my testimony again that the Lord is preparing people to receive us, and He is guiding us to them even when we don't realize it. 

Baptism of Yuly with her sister and her daughter

Anyway, for New Year's Eve we had dinner with Olga, Graciela, and Dani. We ate a delicious meal of empanadas and pizzas, and well, Elder Johnson ate salad like always haha. We had a rule change for the night that if we were eating with members we could stay out until 10:30 as long as they took us home. Elder Fuentes and I slept over in the apartment of Elder Popoca and Elder Johnson. It was impossible to sleep, so we decided to go up to the roof of their 8 story apartment building and watch the fireworks for a little while. The whole city of Buenos Aires was lit up with fireworks and bomb-like stuff for over an hour, it was the most incredible thing I have ever seen. Unfortunately, even when we tried to go to sleep, we couldn't, because people were still lighting off bombs in the streets, so we were pretty dead tired Wednesday.
 

New Year's Eve on the roof where it is clear to see my tan

line on my neck from wearing a shirt and tie every day.

On Saturday, we got a reference from some other missionaries of an inactive member and his family that are non-members, so we went by to visit them. We met Bruno and Mariana, two of his children, ages 13 and 11, and they accepted a baptismal date for this next Sunday the 12th, because they've attended church in the past. They attended church with us yesterday and are really great. Bruno related the story of 3 Nefi 11 that we left perfectly, which was pretty cool.

Anyway, that's about it for this week. Once again, a happy 2014 to one and all.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett