July 18, 2011

Another super good week with Elder Vergara! We had to do a lot of traveling around this week because Elder Vergara is a District Leader so we did not spend as much time as I would have liked on the work. But traveling is still fun and an adventure. This week we spent a lot of time on trains. Trains in Argentina are like nothing you would ever believe. I have never been more crowded in by people in my life. When the train is at its most crowded, your arms are stuck at your sides, all you can see is black hair, and all you can smell is BO. Its kind of like a mosh pit. The other day on the two hour train to the center of Buenos Aires, this probably 300lb. Bolivian woman pretty much sat on my lap for a solid two hours. I know I am supposed to have charity for all men, but I wanted to kill her nearer to the end of the train ride. I could not feel my legs.

This week Elder Vergara and I were given permission and money from the mission to buy bikes. We only received about 50 bucks each for the bikes so we bought these two bikes that remind me of the 50s bikes that the kids rode at the beginning of the movie Jumanji. They are probably like the bikes that Dad rode when he was on his mission. But they are sweet and have only broken twice this week. I am just happy that we do not have to run to appointments anymore.

We also found out this week that the rent on our apartment went up again, and the mission office told us that we have to find another cheaper apartment and leave ours by the end of the month. So for the next few weeks we will be searching feverishly to find a new apartment with rent that is less than 200 dollars a month. If cant find a place, the mission office told us that there is space underneath a bridge near to where we live.

The work is changing a lot with the arrival of Elder Vergara. We are concentrating a lot more of our efforts on including the members in the work because the members really are the key to our success. It seems to be working because we have a whole lot of baptisms coming up at the end of this month. When the members help, we do a lot more of teaching than we do looking for people to teach. It is like there are 70 Elders in City Bell in stead of just us two. Lots of special things are happening. Yesterday at church this girl came up to us and said, "Hi! I came to church when I was a little girl with my grandma and I looked up the church on the Internet. I really like it here, is there something I can do to become a member or something?" We had to hold back our giggles because we were so surprised. She is getting baptized at the end of this month along with a few more of our investigators.

July 11, 2011

Jordan and his new companion Elder Vergara in front of the famous obelisk in the middle of Buenos Aires

Jordan had to go into the heart of Buenos Aires with some other Elders from his mission to run some errands for his visa. One of the Missionaries in his group was named Hermana Price. He got to talking while he was waiting and it came out that she was a niece of Barb and Rod Price from the Greenwood Village Ward (where Jord grew up). He was happy to know someone there who has some connection, however obscure, to his life outside of Buenos Aires.  As soon as he finished talking to Hermana Price, some Elders from the Buenos Aires West mission walked into the visa building and he started to talk with them. One of them, Elder Shepard, is from Las Vegas and he used to be in Paul and Erin´s (Jordan's sister and brother-in-law) ward and Paul was his Priests Quorum Leader. It's kind of silly how small the Mormon world is.

"The first week with Elder Vergara was way too good and also really different. With Elder Stokes, we had a lot of immature fun (amidst all of the very mature missionary work of course). Elder Vergara is really fun and easy to get along with, but its a totally different dynamic than I had with Elder Stokes. Seeing as to how Elder Vergara is almost 26, the immature fun on my mission has kind of evolved. But its probably for the best. Elder Vergara is teaching me so much. He is super hard working and loving and warm and has the laugh of tinkling bells and makes me want to be better. I need to send out a recording of his laugh. It's way too good. Seriously. He is such a stud and the only member in his family. He was baptized about four years back, and since then he has been as solid as a rock in the gospel. It's also awesome for my Spanish to have a Latin comp because now I am obligated to speak Spanish 100% of the time. I love it. My Castillano is getting way way better and my English is getting way way worse. Today I was talking to some other American Elders and they were having a lot of trouble understanding me. It gave me a strange feeling of pride not to be able to speak adequate English. Anyways, Elder Vergara is such a great guy. I have been so lucky to have such great companions I can't believe it."

"This week I pretty much just took Elder Vergara around to get to know the area and all of our investigators. Everyone loved Elder Vergara so fast and easily.  One experience especially affected me this week. We are teaching a 50 some year old man named Gustavo. He has been a non progressing investigator in our area for probably a year and a half. Usually when investigators don't progress, the Elders stop visiting them. This should have happened a long time ago in Gusatvos case, but he loves the Elders so much and the Elders love him so much that none of the Elders, including me, have had the heart of wants to drop him. He always says that the Elders are his family since he has none, and treats us as such. He has a hard time believing in God because his whole family except for him (wife and two children) was killed in a bus crash about ten years back. Whenever I have talked to him about the crash, I have had a really hard time expressing why God would let such a thing happen. Elder Vergara and I went to his house this Thursday simply for Elder Vergara to get to know him. As he does with everyone, Elder Vergara got to know Gustavo unnaturally fast and Gustavo told Elder Vergara the story about his family. As he told the story, all three of us started to cry. After Gustavo finished the story, the room was so quiet and intense for what felt like 2 or three minutes. With tears in his eyes, Elder Vergara started to talk and tell Gustavo how his Father had died unexpectedly the third day of his mission. I did not know this before the lesson. Elder Vergara then told us how at this point in his mission he wondered if he should go home and this was a time of a lot of prayer for him. Amidst all the sorrow and prayer Eder Vergara thought of the words of the song ¨"A Child's Prayer", especially the lines "Heavenly father, are you really there?" and "Some say that Heaven is far away, but I feel it close around me as I pray". He said that at this point he felt the presence of Heavenly Father so strong and knew of a surety that his father was alright and that he should stay on his mission.He then gave a testimony of the reality of Heavenly Father and his love for us that siphoned the Spirit so thickly into the room like I have never ever felt it before. Elder Vergara then asked Gustavo if we could kneel together in prayer and have Gustavo offer the prayer. He accepted and Gustavo then gave the most humble and sincere prayer. After he finished we all just sat in silence for a few minutes until Gustavo started saying over and over "Me siento tanto amor, tanto amor, tanto amor". He knows has a testimony of God´s reality and where his family is. It couldn't be better. The whole experience was so intense and real."

July 4, 2011

Jordan trying to look cute

 Jordan's dinner on Saturday. The sausage looking things are Mosilla: cooked blood squished into a sausage with floating bits of potato. Mmmmmm.....

 A family of about "5 trillion" that Jordan is teaching and loves so much

Elder Stokes and Jordan reenacting a story for a family of when a pack of dogs chased us (Jordan is wearing a watch...hehe)

"Elder Stokes and I just enjoyed one anothers company as much as we could in what was probably our last week together. We made it a goal this week to follow the Spirit and have it as much in our work as we could. We also made it a goal to find as many new people to teach as we could. Those two goals together induced a lot of success. Just by trying to have the Spirit with us as much as we could, good things just kept on happening. It seemed like every time we took the bus, someone would come  to US and ask US what we were doing here and what our message is. In the end we found 19 new investigators this week. Just by trying a little harder to focus on the Spirit. This makes me want to try even harder to involve the Lord in the work as much as possible. If the Spirit and the missionary work together special things are bound to happen. It was a fitting week to end an awesome companionship on.

This Saturday we got our transfer call from the President informing us that Elder Stokes got transferred to another area and that I am going to stay here in City Bell and find out who my companion is the following Monday in transfer meetings. The whole mission gets together in one place to meet their new companions, listen to the Elders testimonies who are going home, and then listen to a quick message from the president. There I found out that I am going to be with Elder Vergaras for the next transfer. I am really sad to see Elder Stokes go, but I already love Elder Vergaras. Elder Vergaras is from Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina (pretty much Antarctica) and is 25 years old. When we were first introduced I just heard "Elder Lewis is going to be with Elder Vergaras" and before I knew it I was engulfed in a lot of man hug from some big thick Argentine man that was Elder Vergaras. He is really jolly and kind of plump and his laughs sounds kind of like the laughs of Aunt Linda, Sister Ludwig, and Julie Perry all rolled up into one. I have a feeling that we are going to have lots of fun with each other. I feel so blessed to have had such awesome and happy and hard working companions thus far in the mission. And companions who love the man hug as much as I do. I love the work. I love the message. I love the people. I love the mission. I love my companions. It's all just too too good."

June 27, 2011

Transfers are coming up this Saturday for Jordan, and it is almost sure that Elder Stokes is leaving. He has been in City Bell for 9 months, and that is already way longer than missionaries are supposed to stay in one area. Jordan said that the idea of Elder Stokes leaving makes his hands sweat, but at the same time, he is excited for the oppurtunity to learn and grow.  His second companion in Argentina will probably be a Latin missionary so he will be speaking Spanish 100% of the time. He says he can finally understand pretty much everything people are saying to him, but as his Spanish gets better, his English gets worse. He and Elder Stokes use a lot of Spanglish around the apartment.  

"This week there was a soccer game where the equivalent of the Yankees (River Plate) lost so many games that they dropped out of the major leagues and is no longer a professional team. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but you have no idea. After River officially dropped from the professional level, there were violent riots in all the town squares (hundreds injured) and crying people EVERYWHERE. I could not believe it. Needless to say, we could not get into any houses or do any work and eventually our zone leaders called us and told us to go back to our apartment in light of all the soccer commotion. Soccer is almost literally the national religion here. Who knew it could affect the work so much.

The work is going well and has its ups and downs. We have more than enough people to teach, but less than enough people who are motivated enough to make changes. I know that if we keep on working as hard and as smart as we can, the Lord will do his part and lead us to the people who are truly prepared to hear the word."

June 20, 2011

"There was a big volcano in Chile. The volcano erupted literally tons and tons of ash, and the ash is making its way all the way across Argentina to Buenos Aires.  There is tons of ash falling from the sky and covering everything here in what just looks like dirt. In the western part of Buenos Aires it looks like feet and feet of snow. When we get back to our apartment for the night every night, our white shirts are more like grey shirts. But the best part of the whole thing that I have been loving is that the falling ash makes sweet sunsets like I have never seen in my life. I make Elder Stokes stop (no matter what we are doing) and watch the sunset for 10 minutes or so. It's too good.
Funny Story that happened this week: Elder Stokes and I go to the same little grocery store every time we buy food. At the grocery store we go to, the cashier is a girl who is about 22/23 years old. Every time we check out with her, she just stares us down and is really shameless about it, but will never say ANYTHING to us. (Lots and lots of Argentines just really like American boys) Elder Stokes and I contacted (gave her a church pamphlet and tried to have a gospel conversation) one of the first times we saw her and she just would not say a single word. So Elder Stokes and I have made it a game that every time we go to this grocery store and see her to act like we have never contacted her before to see if she will finally say anything. One day this week we did the contact again with the same result. But as she handed me the folded receipt for the things we had bought, I felt something folded into the receipt. I didn't really think about it at the time and just shoved the receipt into my pocket. As we were unloading the groceries back in our apartment, I took the receipt out of my pocket and found a note that said, in English, "I dream about you last night." In Argentina, saying you dreamed about someone is just kind of a pick up line. I just started laughing and showed it to Elder Stokes and we couldn't stop laughing for a long time. This girl who will NEVER EVER talk to us and we think that she hates us, just gave me a love note. Maybe the next time we go back she will finally talk to us."

June 13, 2011

Jordan, Elder Stokes, Patricia and Gustavo

Elder Stokes, Patricia, Elder Lewis

Three Sundays ago, Elder Stokes and I were in a little food shop, where we are teaching the owner, when this really drunk guy grabbed my arm and asked us if we were from Amsterdam. I don't know why, but we said yes. haha! He told us that he loved to talk about other cultures and languages. We then told him that we could pass by his house and talk about cultures a little more. His name is Gustavo. We went to his house the next day and met his wife Patricia. After teaching them just once, we found out that Gustavo is an alcoholic like I have never heard of, and Patricia wants to be baptized. They didn't really ever DO anything, and were really looking for something. As we taught them more and more, their house became cleaner and cleaner and they both looked happier and happier. You could literally see a change in their countenances taking place. She even quit smoking in one day. They started to call us their hijos (children) and love us so much. The first time Patricia went to church,  it was a fast Sunday. As people started to go up, she leaned over and asked me if she could go up and say something. I was so surprised and told her to go for it. She bore a sweet testimony about how she felt so peaceful whenever we come to her house and about how she wanted to do everything she could to feel more of that peace. We couldn't believe it and were so happy.  Yesterday, we baptized Patricia and it was so..... good. I don't know how else to say it.  She was so happy and cried so much. Right after the baptism, I had the distinct feeling that all the rejection and disappointment I have as a missionary is worth it if you can help someone as much as Patricia and Gustavo. If I had to come home tomorrow, i would feel successful. Gustavo now has to quit smoking and drinking and then he is going to be baptized too.

The other day, Jessi (sister) sent me a quote that says the most amazing miracles aren't miracles of healing, or physical miracles, but when someone has a change of heart. I saw a change of heart in the past few weeks and now I know for myself that the change of heart that the gospel can bring into one's life is the biggest miracle of all. Three weeks ago, Patricia and Gustavo didn't really have a purpose to their lives. But now, they are both so happy and progressing and DOING things.  The work is oh so good.

June 6, 2011

"Last week I gave a talk in sacrament about the Joseph Smith story and how we can ask Heavenly Father for the truth of all things and receive answers. At the beginning of the talk I said "Sorry in advance for my Spanish, I am still learning" In the back of the chapel, one of the young men stood up and shouted, "IT DOESNT MATTER! We love you!" I started awkwardly laughing and couldnt stop for a little bit. Everybody in the congregation laughed too.

Things are just different in Church here. Sunday School with the adults is pretty much a who can talk loudest and interrupt the most competition. I laugh so hard every Sunday. All the people are SO nice, they just get really excited and have a lot to say. This Sunday, all the missionaries in our mission had to give a lesson about how important members are in the missionary work. Elder Stokes and I worked out a whole lesson plan and were really excited about it. We started the lesson with a question to the adults "Why is missionary work important to members as well as missionaries?" It was such a bad choice. An old lady in the front row with one eye shouted "BECAUSE SOCIETY ROBS THE CHILDREN!" Then everyone started to shout and fight and we did not get another word in. It was so funny.

I love the mission and am so happy."