Saltando en los charcos...with elder lopez (new companion) and elder patey (last companion)

This past week was an adventure. We've been working really hard to get to know more members and help them participate in the work here in Suárez. By doing so we've received a lot of referrals and have found many new people to teach. This week we've been teaching a lady named Inca (Filomena) who is 66 years old. She went to church a few times about 5 months ago. She had been searching to find peace in her life and has told us that as she reads the Book of Mormon and prays, she has been able to feel that peace. 

A miracle from this week is that we started visiting an inactive member. He smokes 40 cigarettes per day. He didn't really want to pray or read the scriptures or go to church when we first met him, but yesterday when we visited him he had read 4 chapters in the scriptures and had planned to go to church yesterday (he didn't end up going because... well... I'll get to that). During our appointment he didn't even smoke! It was a miracle because before he would smoke about 3 cigarettes during our 30 minute appointment. It is so incredible to see how the Lord helps people change.

On Friday, while on our way to an appointment, we were walking down the street and a little family saw us and the kids came running up to us and said, "We're Mormons!" The Godoy family is from Rosario and they just moved to Suárez 2 weeks ago. It is a really big family and not all of them got baptized in Rosario, even though they were attending church every week. They wanted to know where the chapel was here in Suárez, so we arranged to help them get to church on Sunday and they were really excited. In the end... well... they didn't end up going because... well... I'll get to that.

Sunday morning there was a huge rain storm and it poured! My companion and I went looking for the Godoy family and we got drenched! By the time we got to church we were soaked all the way through all the layers of our clothes and freezing! At 9 o´clock there were only about 30 people at church, and over the next hour the members slowly trickled in. When it rains here... no one leaves their house. Overall it was kind of a rough day because no one wanted to leave their house and talk to us. Fortunately, Elder Patey had left his rubber rain boots in the pension when he left, so I put them on and jumped in every puddle I found to stay smiling and happy. It was the first time I had ever worn rain boots, so it was fun.

With Elder Lopez (new companion) and Elder Patey (last companion)

 The down side is that I woke up today pretty sick... so that's not fun. Today we only have 2 hours to write to the family and then it'll just be a normal day, because on Friday we are going to go the temple with the zone. It's going to be really great! Overall, it was kind of a rough week, but we're still working hard and I know that the miracles are going to come!

I love you all!

Elder John William Garrett

La Gran Misión Buenos Aires Norte

Once again with Elder Lopez

This past week was really great. Once again I am with Elder Lopez from Honduras. To answer a few questions, we were companions for 3 months in Pablo Nogués when I had been out 7 months and he had been out 4 months. It's pretty cool to be back together because we're good friends and we already know how to work together. We had our first zone meeting on Thursday and he was really nervous for it because it's the first time that he is a zone leader. He did great though and the meeting was really spiritual. I feel like this transfer our zone is going to accomplish great things. It's weird being the oldest missionary in the mission. It's really weird.

We worked hard this week and found a lot of people to teach while working with the members. Unfortunately the people we found didn't come to church because they already had plans for Father's Day, but we have a few people that we found that accepted baptismal dates, so we're excited to keep working with them this week. A cool experience was we were walking in the street and said "hi" to a girl who is probably about 24ish and she said "hi" back and was really really nice, so we stopped and talked to her and she showed a lot of interest. We noted her address and passed by the next day and it turned out to be the house of her dad that I had visited over a month ago with Elder Patey. He didn't want to learn a whole lot at that time, but his dad died this past week so he was a little more receptive aaaaand... turns out that his wife was baptized as a little girl with her mom. We have an appointment with them today.

We're working really hard and I'm really happy! This transfer is going to be fantastic! I love you all!

Elder John William Garrett

La Gran Misión Buenos Aires Norte

Last transfer surprises

This last week was pretty phenomenal. Gladys told us that she wanted to be baptized and she wanted to be baptized on Saturday, so well, she got baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. She was so happy. Yesterday we ate an asado at her house for my birthday and we got to talk to her mom who is a member. Gladys never even told her mom that she was listening to the missionaries, and on Sunday she visited her and told her that her and Robert had been baptized. Her mom was so happy.  It was incredible. I'm so glad that we were able to be instruments in the Lord's hands to help Gladys take this great step.

 

Gladys got baptized 

On Thursday Elder Patey had his last interview with President Ayre and while in the mission home, I got to eat pancakes, American style, with maple syrup from the US! Woohoo!! It was so great! I think I ate about 15... woops. It's not something we eat every day though! Because it was his last week, on Friday Elder Patey and I got to go to the temple. We woke up really early to get there, but it was so wonderful to be there again. I hadn't been in about 10 months. While there I was able to see Gladys Alfonso, a member from Pacheco who works in the temple. I had been praying to be able to see someone I knew and I saw her! Tender mercies of the Lord exist!

At the temple with Elder Patey

Marta was an investigator that Elder Patey taught the transfer before I got to Suárez, but then she was working every weekend and couldn't go to church. We visited her this past week and she got a new job and will be going to church now and wants to be baptized! We have an appointment with her today!

On Sunday we had the despedidas, and it was really hard to say goodbye to Elder Fabila, Patey, Zollinger, Stout and Nuñez, who all were my companions. It's been a good run. One of the best parts was seeing the Ramirez family again, who are doing great! They all wrote me letters for my birthday and they were so sweet. Also, a member who I didn't even know came up to me and said she had someone on her phone that wanted to talk to me, so I took it and it was my trainer, Elder Cruz, who is now in Mexico! He called to tell me happy birthday! He's the best!

Yesterday was my birthday. I'm 20. I'm not a teenager anymore. It's weird. We ate 5 cakes... so we'll be running a lot this week!

20 years old

Transfers! I'm going to be with Elder Lopez for my last transfer of the mission! He was my companion in Pablo Nogués when I had been out 7 months and he had been out 4! It's going to be great!

Love you all!

Elder John William Garrett

La Gran Misión Buenos Aires Norte

Last week of being a teenager...

This will be the last week that I am a teenager. The next time you hear from me I will be 20 years old. I feel pretty old. At the same time not though, because there are many missionaries that are 22 and 23 in my zone and I'm going home before them... haha.

Movin' up the totem pole, I'm gonna be 20! 

This past week was pretty good and hard. We've been working really really hard to do all the small and simple things and to talk to everyone and follow the Spirit. I was a little disappointed on Friday, but Elder Fabila called me and he helped me out a lot. He said that for things to turn out well, we have to give it all we've got and it has to be the Lord's will.  I know I'm doing my best and I guess that really is all that I can do. 

This week we had leadership council which is always great, and we talked a lot about the importance of baptism in what we do as missionaries. We find that many missionaries don't even believe that they can baptize in their areas, and well... if you don't believe you can... you can't. The next day we had a really spiritual zone meeting where we talked about this, and the best part of the meeting was when every missionary in the zone got up and shared a baptism experience. It was really spiritual and everyone was so happy and pumped to go out and work hard. This zone had always had kind of a reputation of not baptizing, because a couple mission presidents ago, it was the zone that all of the disobedient missionaries were sent to. When President Ayre came, he decided he wanted to change that, so we're doing our best to help it become a really successful zone and try to change what people think about it. Once again because, if you don't believe there are people prepared, ready to be baptize, you won't find them, and you won't baptize.

My first chapel when I got to Argentina

We had a really cool experience on Saturday. Elder Patey and I made a surprise check-in on the Elders from Villa Ballester during companionship study (we have keys to their apartment). It has been so great to see their progress these past several weeks. The first week of the transfer they taught 6 lessons with a member present, and this past week they taught 26. They are now a lot more optimistic and Elder Montenegro even said "I can hardly sleep at night because I just want it to be 11 o'clock so we can go out and start working." We're really proud of them. They also gave us a referral of someone who lives in our area, so later that day we went to contact him. On the way, we decided to talk to a couple on a street corner and they are golden. They are married and have 3 children. José was so excited and grateful that we gifted him the Book of Mormon, and I think it was because the Spirit really guided us to explain the importance of it. The Book of Mormon is so important. If it is true, and I know that it is, Joseph Smith was a prophet, the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored, the Priesthood Keys that unlock the doors of the Celestial Kingdom have been restored, families can be together forever, and we can one day become like God. To quote Thomas S. Monson, "If you haven't read the Book of Mormon... READ IT." I know that if we read it carefully, meditate upon it, and pray and ask God the Eternal Father in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, we will receive a confirmation of it's truthfullness by the power of the Holy Ghost. READ IT.

Today for Pday we played tennis as a zone and it was a lot of fun. We then ate cake and ice-cream because it was Hermana Baldwin's birthday yesterday and it is mine in a week! Don't forget! I won't be a teenager anymore! 

Love you all!

Elder John William Garrett

La Gran Misión Buenos Aires Norte

1 kilo de arroz chaufa

This past week was quite delightful. On Monday we had our Pday mission activity like I talked about last week which was great. On Tuesday after writing you all our member cancelled our lunch so Elder Patey and I were left without food. We decided to buy stuff to make arroz chaufa (a Peruvian food) and we ended up making about a kilo. We ended up eating it all week... haha.

This past week we helped Gladys paint her house. We first had to scrape off some old paint which covered us in blue paint dust and we were pretty much spitting blue all day. It was really fun though and she made us a Paraguayan breakfast and lunch.

We worked really hard this past week and found many new people to teach, but we're still busy looking for the people that have a sincere desire to learn about the gospel, I know they're out there!

Robert had his baptismal interview and was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday, and Gladys had a really spiritual experience attending her son's baptism. We have an appointment with them in a couple hours and we'll see how we can help her keep progressing.

Today for Pday we went to capital because Elder Patey goes home in two weeks. He spent time shopping and then we went to the Hard Rock Café for lunch. It was really nice to eat a pretty American hamburger.

I love you all!

Elder John William Garrett

La Gran Misión Buenos Aires Norte