Our courage will pull us through - Dean Funes

I'm gonna need a lot of courage this next week I tell you what.

This week ended the transfer, and we got the call Saturday that Elder Oliveira is leaving Dean Funes and I'm staying to TRAIN A NEW ELDER. Holy Frosted Flakes. I'm really nervous but really really excited. I'm in Córdoba right now, and tomorrow we'll all meet in the mission home to pick up our sons. I'll let you know next week who it is and where he's from, because nobody knows yet. President decided after doing interviews with the trainers and newbies. It's gonna be awesome.

Another funny highlight this week is that we were at the house of some people we're teaching, and one of the girls was doing their homework, which was to describe one of their friends, in English. She asked for help, and I helped her describe me, translating when she didn't know the word or grammar. She was naming off adjectives like "tall, white, fun, SKINNY" and I said "Muchísimas gracias" because I'm fatter than I've ever been but working hard to lose the weight. Éxito. 

This week was good, finished off some good work with Elder Oliveira. Everyone go read the story of the Brother of Jared in the Book of Ether. Great great stuff.

Cool spiritual experience this week, I've been reading Doctrine and Covenants, trying to finish before the transfer ended (I did) and as I was reading, I kept having weird bad thoughts of doubting that some of the words really came from God, and not just Joseph Smith. I felt really weird and bad so I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to help me know that Joseph Smith was a prophet through the Doctrine and Covenants. The next day in personal study, I read Section 135, where the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith is announced. As I read it, instead of having the weird doubts of, "Hm what if he just said that to..." to realizing and knowing that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and he "sealed his testimony with his blood." Really really cool, I also listened to various talks about Joseph Smith and now all those doubts have gone away. He's a prophet.

hope you have a lovely week. Stay scrumptious.

Elder Jenkins

There's a smooshed spider on the bathroom wall, and I can't help my creativity from taking over...

I can't be the only one who saw a ninja turtle holding a sword.

A heart so true - Dean Funes

As always, another great week. Not very exciting though, so no pics, sorry.

Elder Oliveira taught me how to say the alphabet in Portuguese. It's a lot harder than Spanish.

I learned how to play some South American card games, like Escoba de 15, Truco, Chin Chon, and I showed some North American classics like Toast.

I hope everyone had a great Saint Patrick's Day. I forgot to wear my green tie, and I was worried about getting pinched to death, but then I found out that they don't celebrate it here so I was fine.

For sure the highlights of this week were some great lessons with the people we're teaching, and also finishing the Book of Mormon again. It's such a great book. I counted the pages I would need to read every day to finish this transfer, and I always read more, so I finished early. The scriptures are so awesome. Seriously, if you aren't reading every day, do it. It'll change your life. F'reals. I took "Moroni's Challenge" again after finishing, and prayed to know that it's true, and felt the Spirit very strongly and distinctly. I know that if you read and pray, you'll feel the Spirit too. It's a promise, and God can't break promises. He's made tons of promises to all of us, all we need to do is keep up our end and we'll receive the blessings that He's so excited to give us.

Next week is transfers, I'm pretty sure I'm sticking around here in Dean Funes, we'll see if Elder Oliveira is staying too. Hope you all have a great week!

In a world we must defend - Dean Funes

BOMB WEEK wowza.

Started off Wednesday by traveling to Córdoba capital for a missionary conference, and it was really great. I saw all my roommates from the MTC! Real fun. Talking about missionary work all together and listening to President and the Assistants give talks was really awesome and got me hyped to work as hard as I can. 

I had mate for breakfast in my new cow hoof mate, pretty dank, I think.

Yesterday we came to Cosquín for exchanges with the zone leaders, and it's so pretty, I'll send pictures. I was with Elder Caballero, and he's great. I love exchanges because you can learn from how other people teach. He teaches in a way that's very simple and easy to understand, and fun so it's not boring, and it reflects how much he cares about the people. I always have something to learn and that's what makes the mission so great. Learning is progress, and progress in the way of the Lord. A post-it note in our apartment says it best: "Always be happy, never be content." Don't get down on yourselves when you aren't perfect, because nobody is, everyone has something to improve. Look for those things in your life, and work hard to become the best person you can be. 

Leggo my Eggo,

Elder Jenkins

Oh, you're my best friend - Dean Funes

Another great week in Dean Funes! 

Highlight of the week came yesterday when the news was on the TV at a member's house, and they were describing why the earth has to be flat, and that it moves because it's supported by four gigantic elephants riding on an even bigger sea turtle swimming through outer space. Argentina is lit.

I passed 6 months in the mission, CRAZY. the time goes by so fast. too fast. It's tradition to burn a tie when you hit 6 months so I found an old one in the apartment that wasn't mine and burned it partly. good stuff.

Our backyard was covered in weeds so we couldn't even walk, so we got it all cleared out so now it looks really nice and we can sip a nice lil mate when we get back to the apartment at nighttime, but we also get eaten alive by all the bugs that are angry because they just became homeless. 

Elder Oliveira ate the Chaotic Evil of food: noodles, sauce, and banana. yikes.

On Sunday we had lunch at an investigator's house, and we ate a cow head. It was alright. I ate part of the head meat, also the tongue and the brain. I liked the flavor of the tongue and the texture of the brain. Watching the guy split the cow skull apart with his bare hands was probably the most baller thing I've seen in the mission so far.  

This week I listened to a talk I really enjoyed by Elder Holland. He talked about how faith always points to the future. Faith learns from the past, but never longs to stay there. All the greatest things God has planned for us lie ahead of us. We need to have the faith that whatever God has in our future is better than what we are leave behind. He also related in to repentance, how we should forgive and forget past mistakes that have been repented of, both mistakes of others and our own. If it's buried in the past, leave it buried. If you remember, forget it again. "Let people repent, let people grow, believe people can change. Is that faith? Yes. Is it hope? Yes. Is that charity? Yes, above all, it is charity."  I really liked that, and in my personal study reading Alma 5:33-34 made me think of this same idea again. Check them out. It's your homework.

Hope you have a great week.

Skeedaddle Skeedoodle,

Elder Jenkins