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