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

I'm not going to lie, this was probably the hardest week of my whole life. I'm not sure that I will fully be able to describe my feelings from this past week, but I'll do my best.

On Tuesday my companion got really sick again, so after hardly eating lunch, he went back to the pension with Elder Hansen, and I did exchanges with Elder Coyoy so we could keep working. The only problem was, we had to work in both of our areas, so we didn't get as much accomplished in either area.

On Wednesday my companion still wasn't better, so we had a member come and stay with my companion and I went on exchanges with both Elder Coyoy and Elder Hansen, which was nice to keep working, but we had to work in both areas and didn't get as much accomplished.

I was getting very stresed out, because with confirmations and baptisms I had to make sure to be visiting my investigators every day to make sure that all was well for the weekend. I had my zone leaders who were getting a little bit upset because my numbers weren't as high as usual, even though I was doing honestly all that I could. Every night I got home to the pension exhausted and had to plan all by myself, because my companion didn't even feel well enough to leave his bed.

Thursday was the 3rd day with my companion being sick, and I had to go on exchanges with members. That morning we woke up without power and without water, only adding to my stress. Also I couldn't shower, so that wasn't very nice. I did exchanges for half the day with Jonni Robles who had just gotten back from his mission to Brasil the day before (he was still speaking somewhat of a Portuguese/Spanish, so it was a bit difficult to understand him), and the other half with Alexis Robles, his younger brother. I got back to the pension a little bit late that night because I couldn't find a member that could accompany me home and I couldn't go by myself, and I had my leaders getting upset because I got home late. I arrive at home and find that we still don't have power or water. I then ask my companion how he's doing, and he tells me he's feeling pretty good. I asked him if he had been taking his pain killers and he said he had been. I asked him how many he had taken and he said 4. With those pills, he was only to take one every 6 to 8 hours, and he had taken 4 in just 12 hours. He had been in a lot of pain and had just been taking the pills whenever he felt the pain, and the member didn't realize it. That only added to my stress. Then the district leader calls to talk about how my day was and the cell-phone dies and there is no way to charge it because we don't have power.

When the cell-phone died, I just about fell apart. All week I had to fight to get out of bed in the morning because I just felt like I couldn't keep going on by myself. Every day I had been praying and really just talking with my Father and telling him that I couldn't continue, that it was too hard, that I felt just like a lost little kid. However, as I prayed I really found that the Spirit was guiding my prayers, and in the midst of all of my trials I always found myself telling Him that I knew the trials were for a reason and I would keep pushing forward, but I needed His help.

I grew a very strong testimony this week of diligence and enduring to the end. Every time when we think we just can't go any farther, that life is too hard, that we are incapable of completing a difficult task, if we just get up the next morning and keep going, the Lord will always bless us. Many times He tries us just to see if we will be diligent and patient. I also grew a firm testimony of the importance of companionships. We were called to serve in 2 for a reason. Working all week without my companion was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I also know that this principle doesn't just apply to the mission, but to life. God has indicated that we are to go through this life in a companionship, and I know that marriage is an essential part of His plan of happiness.

The Robles Family with the missionaries

Anyway, amidst the trials and stress of the week, the weekend turned out quite lovely. Carmen was baptized, and I don't think I've ever seen a family so happy in my life. It was truly an incredible experience to see Alexis baptize his mom and see how happy they all were. Mable was also confirmed a member of the church, and Juan attended church and we are helping him so that he can be confirmed this week. I know that the Lord blesses us as we do our best to overcome challenges. I love Him and His work. Even during this extremely difficult week in the mission, I never once thought about giving up entirely and going home. I know why I'm here. I know this is His work. If it wasn't easy for Him, it won't be entirely easy for me either. I love Him.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett