Elder Kotter

Elder Farfal

Elder Bingham

Elder Oliveira

My new agenda

Saying bye to the Luna family

Saying bye to part of the Moran family 

Saying bye to the other part of the Moran family

Saying goodbye to my son, Elder Miliotto, this morning

My new companion Elder Oyarzabal from Uruguay

Saying goodbye to the Sisterna Family

Saying bye to Maria and her family

Saying bye to the Avila family

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

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

I know it's my destiny - Dean Funes

Hey there! Sorry last week's email was so short, I need to manage my time better with the new video call changes! So crazy!

Dean Funes is really cool, just a little less weird than Catamarca, but very similar, about the same size. I've met a lot of great families, and we're working hard to try to strengthen them and their testimonies. 

My first Sunday here, I got to give the Sunday school class for the adults, using the Ven Sigueme (Come Follow Me) Manual and it was really great. I talked about Jesus curing the son of the noble, and his first miracle of turning water to wine, and I talked about the importance and nature of faith. A lot of people, especially the people here, think that faith is belief only. And its not. When Jesus turned the water to wine, he could've just done it, but Mary tells the servants to do everything Jesus says, and then the miracle is done. We need to take ACTION to show our faith. Faith without works is dead. 

Sometimes people think that faith that something will happen is just having a strong desire, but that isn't true either. The nobleman obviously wanted his son to be healed, but it wasn't until he took action to talk to Jesus, and TRUST in His word that he was healed that the miracle was performed. Faith is based on belief, desire, trust in the Lord, and ACTION on our part. The Lord will consecrate our efforts when we act in faith. 

Love you guys, don't forget who you are!

Everyone has a special one... Even Michael!

Elder Jenkins

It's you and me - Dean Funes

Good Morning! 

Everything is great here in Dean Funes!

I get along really well with Elder Oliveira, he's awesome.

I've met a lot of great people here!

It's a lot less hot here than in Catamarca.

I dont have time, but love you guys!

Complete with fake rocks,

Elder Jenkins

It's a tradition that on people's birthdays you smash
eggs on their heads and dump flour on them,
so my new comp did that to me on our third day together

It's always been our dream - Dean Funes

How are ya? 

This is gonna be a short email, I don't have much time, but there's a chance I'll be able to email tomorrow but I'm not sure. Thats because...

I'm leaving Catamarca! I have mixed feelings about it, these past 4 and a half months have been really amazing, and I've learned so much. I'll definitely remember all the experiences I've had here. Yesterday and today have been filled with saying goodbye to so many of the awesome people I've met during my time here, it was a lot harder than I was expecting. They'll be alright though, Elder Bingham and his son (he's gonna train a new missionary) are going to keep checking up on all of them. I said bye to Graciela, Andrea, Lucia, and her daughters, which was one of the hardest things of my mission so far, they were one of my first visits, and I've been to their house so many times, they're like family. Ill miss them so much. Also last night Elder Constanza, my first zone leader, left to Córdoba to go back to his home in El Salvador. He's been a great example and teacher to me, and he's finished his mission like a champ.

Tonight I leave on my way to Dean Funes, another city in the middle of nowhere! This time in the province of Córdoba, but halfway on the way back to Catamarca. I'll be with Elder Olivera from Brazil, and I'm stoked. It'll be fun to get to know more people and a new place.

If I'm able to email when I get there, I'll send photos and stuff, but love you all, hope everything is going well!

You're one big beaver,

Elder Jenkins

I will travel across the land - Catamarca

This week, wow.

So the earlier part of the week was pretty unexciting, just teaching lessons, trying to find new people, and it was transfers last week, so we met the three new greenies in Catamarca, Elders Larsen, Houghton, and Olivera. They all seem great.

I'm starting to realize that I need to start eating better (cuz believe it or not I'm starting to get quite plump around the belly) and its good news because our stove finally started working after almost 2 months of not working, so we can start cooking some nice healthy stuff to eat, instead of buying hot dogs and alfajores all the time.

K now here's the story of the worst and best parts of my week, back to back. It started on Sunday, we had 5 people we were hoping would come to church this week, and that they would all keep progressing. The morning of, one slept in, one didn't answer, and the other three have been acting really strange lately, and not answering us, or have been too busy to talk, including Sunday morning, when the kids told us that the mom had gone out shopping and wouldn't be back to go to church. We were super bummed, especially about the family, because we love them so much, and they've been progressing so well up to this point, we'd be so sad if they stopped listening to us, but that was the way it was starting to seem.

After church, and the whole rest of the day, and the next morning, I was constantly praying that the people we were teaching would keep progressing and listening to the Gospel, and that we would be able to find the people the Lord had prepared for us to teach (with the fear that we would lose the family.) 

We left the pension yesterday, still a little bummed, but with faith that the Lord would answer our prayers to find more people as we went clapping gates (you clap outside the gates of houses most of the time instead of knocking on their doors.) Before we had walked even 4 blocks, before clapping at any houses, a man walking past us stopped us and said "Elders!" We started talking to him, and he only responded in really good English. He told us that he listened to the Elders a long time ago. He was super friendly and said that he lived nearby, and we could stop by to share a message and drink mate together. The whole time I was caught off guard, first of all because he was speaking English almost fluently, and also because the Lord had answered our prayer so fast and fully.

Elder Farfal and I were stoked out of our minds, and spent a while looking for more people, with little success, but it was okay because we already knew the Lord had answered our prayers. We were close to the family's house so we decided to stop by, and I was preparing myself for the worst, that she would tell us that she wasn't interested anymore, because that's what we were expecting after the last few visits. Instead, she answered the door, invited us in like normal, and we had a great conversation and taught her about the Word of Wisdom. We were stoked again, and right before we finished the lesson, her friend showed up at her house. We all started talking about religion and different things, and her friend brought up that her boyfriend passed away recently, and wished she knew where he was right now. Elder Farfal and I instantly recognized another blessed opportunity from the Lord, and taught her the Plan of Salvation, which she accepted very well, along with a baptismal date the same day as the family. 

I honestly can't describe how amazing yesterday was. This was the first time in my life that the Lord has answered my prayers so quickly and fully. There's no way that coincidentally after praying our hardest we would have one of our most successful days so far, with two amazing new people that are so interested. I know that the Lord hears and answers prayers, and that you can pray to Him with the problems and concerns of your heart, if you ask in faith, you will receive an answer and blessings that you need. He is ready and willing to give, just ask in faith.

Sorry this is so long, I just needed to share this awesome experience with you all. Talk to you next week.

The Law has entered the game,

Elder Jenkins