July 12, 2010

July 12, 2010

Hey Everyone!
Things are going fine in Mission Paradise. The mission is awesome as always! Elder Montierth and I are doing much better. The work is still slow but we are working with all of our might to get things rolling here. We are having problems with getting investigators to church and teaching with members. That has a direct link to it. We aren't doing so well with referrals either which only hurts us. But, we have great faith and are working hard. I'm still very focused and am working like a horse. I will not go home with any energy. If I do it means I didn't work enough. This week is our "Game Week." If we don't get people to church this week they can't get baptized before I leave. I so want to baptize everyone in this area. The people aren't extremely nice here but they aren't as mean as in other places. I'm happy and I'm just worrying about getting our investigators to church. That is the big goal for this week. We are working with two families right now. We haven't been able to get them all to church which is the problem. We have two baptismal dates for the 24 of July but we want the whole family to get baptized too. They are: Rosauro, Erica, Marinel, Bryan, Jordan, Kevin, and Estela. If we can get everyone going to church that family will be a blessing to everyone. They are from Uruguay and moved to Argentina for work reasons. They are great! Erica is the best and is going to church every week but nobody else is. The other family that we are working with is the Heredia Family. They consist of 7 people, 5 of which can get baptized. We had a wonderful first lesson with them but they didn't go to church and today they weren't able to listen to us. So, those two families are our big focus for the transfer. I want them all to get baptized and receive the blessings that are awaiting them. I think I need to be straight with them by being super bold and telling them all to get baptized and not try and do it the nice way. I don't really know what to do and I need some inspiration that I'm still waiting for. I know it will come and I will be patient. I just hope and pray that those two families will get baptized. That is my only wish right now.
So, that's all I have for this week. I hope you are all doing well. Please pray for us and all of the missionaries in the world!
Love,
Elder Page

July 5, 2010

July 5, 2010

Dear Everybody!
I hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend. Sadly, Argentina wouldn't even think about mentioning nor celebrating the 4th of July. But, they do have a holiday the 9th of July which will suit me just fine. I will sing the Star Spangled Banner all day long.
Well, let's see what's new. My companion is a good kid and he is improving. He's doing things without me telling him and he's talking more. He still doesn't do dishes or clean or anything else like that. I'm just taking it with patience because there is no point in getting frustrated with him. I'm only going to be his companion for a few more weeks and so I'm going to make it good. President said that I need to help him gain more self-confidence and do things for himself so that's what I'm doing now.
The mission is just as great as ever! I don't want to leave. The work here is still tough but in my interview with President he told me that I was there to change it around and get some people ready to baptize. That's what I'm doing!!! We are fighting each week to get people to church and have people listen to us. It's tougher than I thought it would be but we are getting there. We still have Erica and her son getting ready for baptism and tonight we are passing by a referral that we received from the 2nd counselor in the ward. I'm excited for that lesson because I have a feeling that they are golden and will be the answer to my prayers. My mission has never been easy and I'm glad it's been that way. I've learned to be much more patient with myself and with others. I've learned to accept things that I can't change and better the things that I can change.
The fun stuff for this week was that on Saturday we got to watch the Argentina-Germany soccer game in which Germany killed Argentina 4-0. That part wasn't so fun but afterwards everyone asked us if we were Germans and I don't know how many threats people have shouted at us. It's funny to me because only the teenagers and drunk old men ask us. I've had the desire to tell them that I am from Germany and found out what they would do about it but that wouldn't be too smart. So, I'll just keep on thinking about what could have happened. Things are great as always. I'm still working hard and finishing the way I should!
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Page

June 28, 2010

June 28, 2010

Hey Everyone!!
Things are doing alright with the baptism goal. We annouced it in church and some of the members thought we were crazy so I shared with them some scriptures about faith. It was interesting. Our baptisms for this week didn't make it. We moved the dates for 24 of July, which is when they want to get baptized. Another one is smoking 20 cigarrettes a day. So, the elders before us didn't really help out as much as I had hoped. The area book is ridiculous and so out-of-date. We've spent the last week walking around clueless about where to go. I don't like white washes at all. I just wanted to work hard but now I have to take care of my district, plan everyday by myself, and guide an area that I don't even know. Elder Montierth is a good kid. He knows a lot and is progressing. I'm doing most of the work but I'm hoping that he'll step up without me having to tell him to do something. So, we are doing fine but things could be better. I've got 5 weeks to make the most out of this one so I'm not going to waste any time. We received a really great referral yesterday and we went with the family to give one of her neighbors the Book of Mormon. That made my day! I've never had that happen before. The area is good and we have found some great people but it is going to take more work to get them progressing. We have many possibilities but I don't know how good they are because we've just taught them all once. I pray that there are the elect people among them. We are working very hard and last week was a tough one as far as success goes. We didn't see much progress. But, we have the faith and we are being patient. Hopefully something changes quick. We still have a family preparing to be baptized. They have their baptism dates the 24 of July. We are passing by tomorrow to see how they are doing. The mother showed up to church alone and that worries me a little bit but I still have a good feeling about it. I can't really judge anything by the first week because we had a meeting all of Friday and there were 2 soccer games during the which we had to stay inside. That hurt also. It will all be fine in the end. I'm not too worried.
I will continue to work hard until the end! I'm giving it all I have and I will not go home with regrets.
Love,
Elder Kevin Page

June 22, 2010

Hi Everyone!!!
So, it's been a very long time since I've sent an update. Sorry for that. Being in the office required more time and dedication that I had thought. Office elders are NOT lazy! So, now I'll give you the scoop.
Yesterday I did get transferred out of the office!! I'm glad to be back doing the normal missionary work. Sometimes the office just drove me nuts. Now I have all the time I want to focus on people. I now really appreciate the time that I have with investigators now. My new companion, Elder Montierth, is from Safford, Arizona. He has about 4 months in the mission. He's really cool and I'm happy to be working with him. We got whitewashed into our area, called Atalaya. That means 'light house'. We supposedly had 3 baptismal dates for this weekend but we went by yesterday and I could tell they weren't very firm. I'm praying that we can really set a date for this Saturday or even Sunday and help them feel ready. This transfer we have a goal of baptizing 14 people. It is an extremely high goal but I believe with all my heart that it is possible. I'm pleading with the Lord every night to grant me the desires of my heart. We are starting a special fast today after lunch and placing our plans in front of the Lord. I feel confident about the goal but I'm nervous about failing. I try not to think about it. Right now the mission is about to explode and I want to be a large part of it. For that, we have the goal of 14 baptisms. I want to complete with my goals and be the very best I can be. Obedience and diligence is the key mixed with hard work the company of the Spirit. Please pray for us to be able to do this and for our investigators. We are working with Erica, Rosauro (Row-sou-row), Juan, Kevin, and Roberto. We have plans to work with Beto and Abril. Pray for them too so that they feel prepared and worthy of being baptized. Erica, Rosauro, and Juan all believe the church is true but want to wait a month or so before getting baptized. We need them in the church now!
I hope you all enjoyed Father's Day. In our ward there were a ton of people that showed up. More than I had ever seen before! It was great. I all said goodbye to everyone in Haedo before the transfer.
I'm staying focused and I have never felt better than now. I feel like I have all the skills needed to blow apart this place. I'm working harder than ever and I am becoming more dependent on the Lord. My prayers have improved so much. The blessings of a mission are way too good. I just hope Heavenly Father is in agreement with our goal of baptizing 14 people. I feel that it is right and I want to do it so much. I pray that it is His will and that I am worthy enough for Him to trust me and work through me.
The mission is great! I don't want it to end but sadly it will. Please remember all the many blessing that the Lord gives us. I have learned to be more grateful for the little things that happen. Well, I hope you all have a wonderful week!!
Love,
Elder Page

January 21, 2010

Jan. 18, 2010

Hello Everybody!
I hope that you are all doing well. Has school started back up yet? I´m sure it has so I wish you all well in your studies. The mission is just delightful! I keep very busy here in the offices. There are a million things to do and only six of us to do it. To be honest I didn´t really expect to be so busy. I figured that being in the office ment more of a chilled-out relaxed work but that is not true! There is a lot of high-stress work here. It is nuts! Either way I´m enjoying being here and seeing how everything gets done.
Some cool news that is going on here in the mission is that we are on pace for a record-breaking transfer!! We have the goal to baptize 200 people this transfer and so far we are on track!! We have 28 baptisms so far and 170 baptismal dates! The good news is that we are at the very beginning of the transfer so there is much more work to get done. Also, there is going to be a marvelous baptism in a couple of weeks. An area in the mission is going to be baptizing a pastor from the catholic church! The man accepted a baptismal date after reading the Book of Mormon five times. He received it as a Christmas gift from a member. Where there is a will there is a way. The only big complication is that he has to write the Vatican to renounce his membership and title as pastor. We are all very excited about this baptism. It´s something very memorable for the whole mission and it is nothing less than a miracle.
Well, I hope you are enjoying this time in your lives. The Lord wants us to be happy and to receive all the blessings of exaltation. Don´t give Him excuses for not blessing you!
Have a wonderful week!
Later,
Elder Kevin Shepherd Page
Secretario de Materiales
MisiĆ³n Buenos Aires Oeste

Jan.6, 2010

Hey Everyone!
So I have five spare minutes that I can write. Right now I have just been called into the offices as Secretary of Materials. The job is harder than it sounds. I have to take care of a ton of stuff. I have to make binders for the new missionaries coming in, do presentations for the mission, and do all of the mail and missionary items (i.e. pamphlets, Books of Mormon). Not to mention there are a ton of reports that I have to do about baptisms and stuff like that. It is a heavy duty job. I was really surprised to be called into the offices because usually they call younger elders to be there. I have 17 months and my companion, Elder Palacios from Chile, has 10 months. So I am one of the older guys here. There are several perks to being in the offices. For example, on Monday we had a steak dinner with the President and his wife. It was absolutely delicious. Then we had a spiritual office meeting on how we can improve the mission. It was the bomb!
So we have a rule that we go out and work from 4-9 pm after getting the office work done. I still haven't stepped a foot in my area because I'm doing things slower and the elder I replaced left me a ton of work to do. I'm just trying to get through this week and the next and then things will be more calmed down. Until then I'll be burning the midnight oil trying to get everything done.
Also, our area has been whitewashed and so we are going into a place we don´t even know. The sisters who were there told us that there are three investigators with baptismal dates and that we just have to help them overcome their problems with the baptismal requirements. I hope it will be as easy as it sounds.
Well, I gotta go and get to work!
Later,
Elder Page

December 28, 2009

December 28, 2009

Hey Everyone!
How are you all doing? I hope things are just great back home and that you enjoyed your Christmas. I enjoyed my Christmas even though it didn´t feel like I thought it would. It was very hot and not as many fireworks were lit off like I had hoped. However, we missionaries all got together as a zone and enjoyed Christmas together. We watched some Christmas movies and then played soccer to end the night. It was fun. We also had a chicken and mashed potato lunch before going back to our relative areas. It was fun and it made it hard to get back to work the next day. Ok, it wasn´t hard, just mundane because nobody was outside and we just rode our bikes up and down the streets. Talk about fun huh? On Saturday we had our Branch End-of-the-Year Party. Let´s just say that the brother in charge of it didn´t do his job and Elder Sabey and I had to take control of everything. We made several supermarket trips for dinky little stuff that the members forgot. Come Sunday, there were still pieces of food in the kitchen and several things to clean up. It was less than exciting to say the least. But the good news is that most of them went to church the next day so I won´t complain.
We aren´t going to have any baptisms this transfer because our investigators didn´t go to church yesterday. Bummer. They will likely get baptized next transfer (which is in a week) and become members of the most awesome church in all of the world. Tomorrow I have interviews with President Benton. That will be great! I just love talking to him and getting to know him better. He is quite an awesome guy. He always gets me excited about the mission.
I really enjoyed the phone call!! It was great to hear all of the voices that I´m used to. I had some trouble figuring out who was talking for a while better after a couple of minutes I was back on track. I don´t think I could have asked for a better present than to talk to you all. Sorry for not having too much to say. Things don´t really change in the mission and I didn´t know what to talk about. I could go on and on about the branch and the mission but it eventually ends up being all the same stuff that I´ve already told you. Either way I´m glad you enjoyed it too.
I hope you have a great New Year´s. I hope you guys make some good goals and get them accomplished!! I have several things that I want to change and I´ll do it.
Later,
Elder Page

December 22, 2009

December 22, 2009

Dear Everyone,
Things are going pretty well. My comp is awesome and I enjoy working with him a lot. Our branch is doing much better. Elder Sabey and I have activated a part family and an ex-branch president so far. The assistence in the chapel is growing a little bit higher each Sunday and we are finally forming bonds of unity in our branch. If things continue then all will be well here in 9 de Julio.We had our mission Christmas party yesterday in the offices. We had to travel Sunday after church to get there and we got back at about 1:00 am today. I´m still a little tired but it was well worth it. We had a presentation of skits, a Christmas gift exchange, and a barbeque to top it all off. Plus, I got to see all of my good friends. For your information, the only Christmas tradition in Argentina is not to have Christmas traditions. That was kind of a joke but normally the people light off fireworks Christmas Eve after eating a big barbeque dinner. It´s not much but it´s something. It´s better for me because when it´s hot outside and you don´t see anything that makes you think of Christmas you just don´t get that trunky.
So yeah, things are moving right along. I should have another transfer here in the country but I might just get sent back out to Buenos Aires because a ton of missionaries left early in order to make it home for Christmas. We will see what happens.
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. Enjoy it!! Remember that Jesus Christ should be our main focus in our lives, especially during this Christmas season. I hope you all feel the Christmas spirit and do some service for someone who just doesn´t have as much as you.
Later,
Elder Page

December 14, 2009

Dec. 14, 2009

Hey Everyone!!
The mission is doing just fine. Elder Sabey and I are working hard and are getting a lot of stuff done. Last week we worked on activating a couple of families and all of them came to church on Sunday!!! Finally we have some progress. We also have investigators who are doing well. We have a baptismal date with a girl named Milagros, and one member brought her daughter who is not a member and also a friend who is really interested in the church! Things are looking up for us right now and I plan on keeping it that way. On Saturday we had the first counselor of the mission presidency come and do some activation visits with us. He is a pretty interesting guy. He is very serious and seems almost grumpy but he knows how to commit people to go to church. The visits turned out well and we had a good assistence in church on Sunday. We are slowly moving forward but there are still many obstacles in we have to get over.
This Saturday we have our End of the Year Party in the branch. Seeing how there is no planning commitee, guess who gets to do it? Yep it´s me. I somehow just get stuck with most of the responsibility here. It´s fine because we have things just about organized and ready for the party. I wish I would have paid much more attention to the ward parties at home. Take notes on these things people because they will only help you in some future calling.
Well Christmas is coming up. Next week we are the Christmas P-Day for the mission where we all go to the offices and have a party. It should be fun and I´m excited to see all my buddies in other areas.
Things are great! I´m still excited to be on the mission and I realize that time is still to come up on me and that I need to work harder than ever now. Please pray for me to be able to do that. Hope you are all enjoy Christmas vacations!!
Later,
Elder Page

December 7, 2009

Dec. 7, 2009

Hey Everybody!!!
I´m so glad that you had an awesome Fast and Testimony meeting. I wish we could have one of those. During our meeting, everyone had gotten up and said how happy they were in the church. Being the way I am, I got up and said, "I am so glad that we are all happy. I am happy too but I am not content. Look around you and see the empty chairs. What families are not here today? Let us be happy but not content." Then I advised them to call up the families that didn´t show, find out why, and then invite them for the next Sunday. We will see how it works out.
I hope the Christmas Devotional was good. I wasn´t able to see it due to the hour that it was put on...bummer!
I´m glad to hear that the family is doing fine. That always makes me feel better.
Elder Sabey and I are doing well. We just actived a part-member family and hopefully we will get the whole family baptized. We are passing by a lot of old investigators. There seem to be some promising results from those visits. However, not one investigator we taught came to church and our baptismal dates all fell because of that. It´s heartbreaking to watch an investigator not progress like they could. It absolutely tears my soul apart. I want so bad for this branch to progress and become a ward but it´s taking more work than I imagined. It is possible though and I never lose hope! We should never lose hope. It helps drive our faith which leads us to righteous action. I have learned that many times from the mission. Discouragement should only lead us to working harder and rising above the obstacles in order to complete what is important.
I want to leave you with a quote from Elder Bednar at the close of his remarks. He said, "Elders and Sisters, IT IS ALL TRUE." Those words gave me an assurance of what I am doing is the right thing. I know this is where I need to be because it is all true. Never forget that. Never doubt and never ever question. Doubt comes from Satan and is the end result of a lack of faith. Stay strong and steadfast and always keep the faith!
Later,
Elder Page