Finally in the Argentina CORDOBA Mission - General La Madrid

Wow a lot happened this week, but the most exciting would be leaving Dean Funes to go to my new area! I spent the week working, and after a long long wait, we found out that I would be leaving to go to the area General La Madrid, which is sitting in Cordoba Capital! super super cool, and Im super excited. Im writing this email on my first day but I already love it here. I love cities in general, and there's so much to do, lots of people to teach! it'll be awesome. BUT it was sad leaving Dean Funes. I thought I was super ready to leave, but then saying goodbye to some of the families was real hard. its all good though, my son Elder Miliotto will take good care of them. My new companion is Elder Oyarzabal, from Uruguay, and he has the same amount of time in the mission as Elder Miliotto, and he seems way cool. All in all, Im super stoked for this transfer, with a change of pace from Dean Funes.

Last week we had a conference of the whole mission to listen to Elder Whitney Clayton of the Seventy, so I got to see all my old friends, I took pics with each of my companions up until now, which could be the last time I see them all in one place, because Elder Bingham finishes the mission soon. 

I don't have much else to say, but I have a lot of pictures, and I'm sure I'll have a lot to say about my new area next week! love you guys, peace out!

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

Ravioli ravioli - Dean Funes

Give me the formuoli, man oh man it has been a long week, but a good one for sure. We spent more time outside our area than in it this past week for all the traveling for conferences, and we have another conference tomorrow with Elder Whitney Clayton, which should be great.

Also just so you all know, my P days from now on are on Monday, so Ill email every Monday now! 

The multizone conference was really good, but pretty sad too, because it was our last conference with our current mission president, Presidente Correa from Chile. We'll be changing this next transfer, next week. 

Not much more to talk about, but we talked a lot about attitude in the conference, and its important to know that attitude can change everything! it affects your effort, actions, and therefore, the outcome. Have a good attitude and accomplish your dreams!

Have a great week!

Elder Jenkins

BYE PRESIDENT CORREA <3

Argentine money collection

My favorite parts are the little animals on
the back of some of the bills.

Today we went to the longest dam
in South America, pretty cool.

Pastry filled with Dulce de Leche,
cost me the equivalent of less than 50 cents,
and the pic is of it half eaten.

Mind like a Diamond - Dean Funes

Hey everyone, Im writing a day early because this week is crazy, long story short, we´re going to be spending 4 days out of our area for different conferences and stuff so sorry but this wont be a long email, I got stuff to do! We spent this week finding a lot of new people, we saw a lot of miracles, and had some fun experiences. I like the days where we have a set plan, but I also like putting our confidence in the Lord and the Spirit to guide us to where we need to go to help us in the work when we don't have a plan. Remember, you can always trust in the Lord. He's the only person who always completes with His end of the deals He makes with us. "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." Everyone try your best to put your trust in the Lord, and do your part in the work!

Speaking of which, I have in invitation for all of you. We've been inviting all the members here to do a certain plan, and we're doing it too as a mission, and I wanted to pass it along. This plan revolves around a promise made to all the members of the Church by a general authority. The promise is this. Make a list of friends or family who aren't members of the church, 5 people at least. Then, for 21 days in a row, pray for them by name, every morning and night. The promise is that if you do this, by the time you complete the 21 days, at least one of those people will be ready to listen to the Gospel from the missionaries. IT IS A PROMISE FROM THE LORD, AND WE HAVE SEEN MIRACLES FROM THIS. IT WORKS. I invite you all to try out this plan, and if not this plan, do something to spread the Gospel wherever you are! Love ya, seeya later

Elder Jenkins

Our unofficial pet dog that lives outside our pension
that we call Mate Cocido, even though he's
technically named Tupac. I'm still not sure which I like better.

street sign of my first two areas

Great street art.

nueve meses - Dean Funes

Well shoot. I have 9 months in the mission as of today, which absolutely flew by. Like seriously, holy cow. Freaks me out.

This week was good, We got to spend some time in Cruz del Eje, which is a bit prettier than Dean Funes. We did exchanges with them, which I always love. I've noticed its one of the things that most gets me hyped to work. Gives me the fire again. 

Lots of teaching and finding people, but not too much more to tell out of the ordinary. A lady that we started teaching told me that she had a dream about me a couple nights before, so thats cool.

Remember that God loves you and wants you to succeed, so if you follow what he says, you'll have the success that He's ready to give you. Trust in the Lord! We had a good district meeting where we talked about how we can't stop the chaos in our lives or in the mission, but we CAN control the way we handle and organize the chaos into a higher system of order. Really interesting, and helped me a lot.

Love you all, have a great week!

Elder Jenkins

Recipe for a great morning treat: Malta, Nesquik, Powder milk, and sugar (and hot water)

 trains of Dean Funes

Bridge in Cruz del Eje

Alien Days - Dean Funes

This week we went to Capilla del Monte for a good zone conference. Transfers were last week so we got to get to know the new elders, including two new elders, both from Argentina. 

Its finally cold enough that I need to walk in a jacket all the time, makes me really happy because I haven't had winter since like a year ago, because I had two summers back to back. 

Spiritual Thought: I got to give the Sunday School lesson this Sunday about Ven, Sígueme, (Come, Follow Me) and I gave it about the young rich man, and it was cool because I was able to use a lot of what I learned about that parable in the book Jesus the Christ that I'm reading. My favorite part of that story is the question the man asks, "What lack I yet?" I think a lot of us see ourselves as obedient to the commandments, like "yeah I don't kill or commit adultery, I honor my mom and dad, I go to church" and we leave it at that, without asking what more we can do. We should analyze our lives, and ask God "What lack I yet?" or "What more can I do?" or "What can I improve?" When we show God that we want to be better to serve Him and His children, He will give us those opportunities, but we need to be sure that we are ready to obey with the opportunity and answer given to us. The young rich man was sad and unsure after hearing that he needed to sell his belongings. We need to be ready to act on the answer we receive to "What lack I yet?" President Henry B. Eyring  said, 

"Ponder deeply and diligently in the scriptures and in the words of living prophets. Persist in prayer for the Holy Ghost to reveal to you the nature of God the Father and His Beloved Son. Plead that the Spirit will show you what the Lord wants you to do. Plan to do it. Promise Him to obey. Act with determination until you have done what He asked. And then pray to give thanks for the opportunity to serve and to know what you might do next."

The attitude that President Eyring shows in this talk is how we will truly receive the blessings from asking "What lack I yet." 

You guys are great, have a good week, kachow


Elder Jenkins

Capilla del Monte supposedly has lots of alien sightings, so there's a ton of alien stuff everywhere.

Me with the Dean Funes logo

Sick Deans Funes

Dean Funes is a great area, and I feel like a scrub because I've never called it "Sick Deans Funes" before. what a shame. Better start now.

This week was pretty uneventful, but I realized one of the best feelings of the mission is watching people progress. E's grandma told us that since his baptism, he's been getting up in the night to get water really late at night, and she wakes up and asks him why he's still awake, and he responds that he's reading the Book of Mormon. So so awesome. 

Also, we visited a family this week, who when I came here was kinda stuck when it comes to the Gospel. They weren't concerned about getting sealed or going to the temple, or the priesthood, and they went to church every once in a while. Now, they've progressed so much that the dad is working so hard and studying to get the priesthood, with the temple as the goal, and the mom shared her testimony about how she knows this is the true church, and one of the daughters always says she wants to serve a mission. 

Watching that sort of progress gives me the best feeling as a missionary, and I think that's how our Heavenly Father feels also. When He watches us progress and make the necessary changes in our lives to follow His commandments and improve, He feels like a proud father. 

Hope you have a good week

Elder Jenkins

pic of us eating milanesa sandwiches in the church because i have nothing else to show you

May the Fourth - Dean Funes

I have so much time to write this week and absolutely nothing to tell you all about, so I'll give you all a quick story and spiritual thought:

Sunday, went to church, all good. Normally we prepare the sacrament, one tray of bread, one of water, and we always end up with half the water cups left over because not many people come to church here. We got it all set up, and were sitting at the sacrament table as the meeting started and more and more people started to show up. Eventually the room was filled up, and they started setting up more chairs. I quickly did the math of how many sacrament cups we had, and counted the people in church, and realized that we didn't have enough water cups for everyone. I smiled as I had to slip out to prepare another tray. I never would have thought that in this area we would have so many people in church. It was a blessing for sure, and the testimonies afterwards were very powerful and full of gratitude.

With the sacrament on my mind, I started thinking about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and it hit me really hard how much love He has for us. Think about it. The most powerful and perfect being to walk on this earth, the literal Son of God, suffered, bled, and died so that when all is said and done, He'll have the chance to be with you again. All that, so that you have the opportunity to live with our Heavenly Father and your family happily forever. All that so that you can be freed from sin. He went through all that pain so that when you feel tired, stressed, sad, frustrated, or any other kind of suffering, you can know that there is someone who loves you. Someone who loves you enough to give His life for you. And that someone is the most important individual this world has ever known. It's insane and I'm so grateful for the love Christ and our Heavenly Father have for us. I know that they live and love us, and I share that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I hope you all have a great week, check out our great May the Fourth pics.

Elder Jenkins

May the 4th Be With You - Dean Funes

May the Fourth be with you. we bought super cheap custom mugs to celebrate. 

We're drinking mate cocido, not tea, Palabra de Sabiduría, check it.

Red 5, standing by.

Darth Miliotto

Dean Funes Pension

Dean Funes Pension

When the praises go up, the blessings come down - Dean Funes

There's a lot I could tell you guys about this week, but mainly I want to tell you about the baptism of two boys!! So SO SOOOOO awesome. You might be wondering why I haven't mentioned them before, and the answer is because I didn't want to jinx the baptism.

So these boys are the grandsons of a brother in the ward, it's too complicated to explain all the family, but to say it quick, some of the extended family are members, some aren't. These boys weren't, and their parents aren't. 

They had both gone to church a few times, so they already knew a bit, but my comp and I were too focused on the people that we were currently teaching that we didn't realize the golden opportunity we had to teach them! One day a few weeks ago, one of the zone leaders called me and asked about them, because we had sent that they went to church. When I told him that we hadn't been teaching them he told me in a motivating way to get my head on straight, and teach and baptize them. He said "go to their house in the morning, if they're not there, go in the afternoon, if they're no there, go in the nighttime. And when you go, invite them to be baptized." I was full of motivation after that, and I decided to obey with exactness, so we went in the morning, weren't there. Afternoon either. in the nighttime, the whole family was there, we asked the parents if we could teach the kids, they said "sure, they're old enough to choose for themselves" and we invited one of them to be baptized that night, and his brother the next day. They both accepted!

We taught them everything that they didn't already know and needed to to be baptized, they had their interview, and this last weekend, they were both baptized and confirmed. So so so happy for them and their decision, and I'm so glad they have the support of their family, and they already fit in so well in the branch. They're great guys. I got to baptize one after Elder Miliotto baptized the other. We had a little pool set up in one of the unused rooms of the church to baptize them.

A lot more happened this week, but I'm not a big fan of super long emails, so I'll leave it there, you guys are awesome, make good decisions, live life, meet people, read the scriptures, love you!

Elder Jenkins

Before the baptism!

After the baptism!

Rest in peace, enjoy the movie guys

Easter Egg - Dean Funes

Well what a week it's been am I right?

I have a super great video with my companion, but it's taking a while to load, I'll send the link if it finishes. Paciencia

As I'm sure at least most of you know, it was Easter Sunday, which is awesome. Here in Argentina they take Thursday to Sunday off of work and school for Semana Santa (Holy Week) but mainly just to sleep. We as missionaries had a great time though. It felt like naturally all of our lessons became more and more focused on the sacrifice of Christ and His resurrection. It was a really edifying week for me, I've felt more gratitude than ever for Christ and everything He's done for us. 

This week we also had a multi-zone conference, it was awesome as always, especially because we were able to have 4 generations of trainers together. Elder Gingles, Elder Farfal, me, and Elder Miliotto. So awesome. This is Elder Gingles' last transfer, but Elder Farfal still has a year left, so we're going to see if we can get 5 generations, if my son trains, and his son trains before Farfal goes home.

We have some great stuff happening in Dean Funes, I'm absolutely loving it here with Elder Miliotto, we're working real hard, and we're really starting to see miracles from our efforts. God will help you if you ask. His arms of mercy are extended.

Love you all, hope you have a sick deans week, seeya later!

Elder Jenkins

FOUR GENERATIONS OF TRAINERS!

With the OG, Elder Kotter

Tie Exchange with Elder Miliotto

P O K É M O N - Dean Funes

Well, there you have it folks, I finished the Pokemon theme song, using one line at a time for each of my email subjects. If you haven't caught on by now, I don't know what to tell you. I started this journey on October 30th, 2018, when I was still chillin in Catamarca in my first transfer. What an experience. 

At this crucial point of change, it's a good time to remind you that my aunt Teresa has made a super epic blog where she puts all my emails and pics and extra stuff, its really cool. check it out: http://elderdallinjenkins.blogspot.com/

This week was real hard, not gonna lie. Hard is good though, it means you're getting stuff done. We've been working a lot with a family that's less active, trying to get them to get back to church and help two of their daughters get baptized. They weren't able to go to church on Sunday, but we taught a good lesson at their house after. We also invited a different boy from a different family to be baptized, and he accepted! When we meet with his brother, we'll also ask him to be baptized. They've come to church lots of times, its about time they should be baptized. Exciting stuff.

Highlight of the week was Saturday morning, when I got a call while eating my "Big-egg"TM (Patent pending) from my padre of the mission, Elder Farfal, who is currently in the office as the pensionero, or the person in charge of the apartments. He lets me know that him, his companion Elder Smith, and President Correa are gonna be at our apartment in an hour to paint and fix everything. YAY! It was super duper fun, listening to music together (You already know that Prez was jamming to some Rappers in the Aisle), painting everything so it looks super nice, going to get lunch with Prez and my padre, and singing hymns all together. It was a great time, and it was super fun to hang out with Elder Farfal again, it's been a while since we've seen each other. Also President Correa is a great singer and he gave me advice of what types of Argentine flutes I need to buy and learn to play before I go home. He showed me video examples. Now the pension looks really clean and nice, and we had time to organize it all today. 

We got to eat an asado at a member's house, and we're gonna eat another one tonight somewhere else. Asado is just a ton of meat that's all cooked real slow and good. It's the best meat you'll ever have. 

I'm writing today, not tomorrow, because we have a mission conference tomorrow, so we'll need to travel to Córdoba. It'll be great, its always fun to see other missionaries, and get trained by the assistants and President. I'm really excited.

This week I've thought a lot about how amazing the Atonement is, especially after tearing up teaching it to a family during an exchange in a different area. We watched the Prince of Peace video that the church made, and it's really powerful. It's amazing that no matter what pain or suffering or sin we're dealing with, Christ has already paid for it, we just need to "come" to Him into his "arms of mercy" and He's ready and willing to help us. Everyone be sure to be grateful for that huge sacrifice. 

Hope you all have a great week, don't miss me too much. 

Elder Jenkins

(PS, if anyone has an idea of what I should do with my subject lines, please help me, I feel lost now that I've finished the Pokemon theme song.)