Monday, February 24, 2020

first week in La RIoja (kinda)

I say kinda because we ended up spending a lot of it in Córdoba.

After P-day in La Rioja, we left at midnight to go to Córoba for Concilio de Líderes. The Area Seventy Elder De Hoyos was there to give insight as well. It was really great, I learned a lot about how to teach more effectively, and the Spirit gave me answers to a lot of questions I had about how to improve as a missionary.

Since we live over 5 hours away, and there was going to be a conference with (almost) the whole mission the next day, President told us to just stay the night in the mission home so we could attend. Before the night time, I took advantage of being close and visited some people from one of my past areas. We slept in the mission home, then went to the conference the next day. It was fun to see lots of familiar faces there!

After another midnight ride back to La Rioja, I could finally get to work! We got blessed with some cool weather in this notoriously hot part of Argentina. But holy cow, BIKES. This is my first area that has bikes, and at first I was stoked. But who would've guessed that a broken pedal, a seat as hard as a rock, and leg muscles that haven't been used in 1.5 years would make bike riding a pretty miserable experience! I'm grateful for it though, it makes the work a lot more effective, even if it makes my poor bum a little sore:)

I've met some great people here, and the La Rioja vibe is really cool. I've always loved being far away from the hustle of Cordoba Capital and the tranquility of La Rioja is really awesome. 

We didn't have much time to work this week, lots of getting organized and meetings, but overall I'm super excited to be here!

As I walked down from the stand after the sacrament on Sunday (I was playing the piano) the counselor in the bishopric told me I'd be giving a talk, so as soon as I sat down in my seat I got called right back up to speak :) Unplanned talks are not too uncommon here in Argentina. I started by presenting myself, and then talked about my favorite topic, The Atonement. Seriously, I'm so so grateful for the Atonement. I don't think any of us can fully understand how special that act of service was, but to think that Jesus Christ, the most powerful being to ever live on this planet, would suffer every kind of pain and affliction to give us the chance to overcome our difficulties is incredible. There's nothing that makes me feel closer to my Savior than studying and thinking about that sacrifice. I really am so grateful for it. I invite you all to do the same, remember Christ and His Atonement, study about it, especially in the Book of Mormon, because so many truths regarding the Atonement were restored in that Book. Always look for ways to appreciate that sacrifice more and to grow closer to Christ and to follow His example! Love you!

Elder Jenkins

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