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.
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| 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.
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| 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
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