February 24, 2009

Feb. 24, 2009

Wow February is alreading coming to an end. The time is just flying by faster than I ever thought possible. I´m doing really great right now. The mission is treating me swell. I have no clue what I would do if I wasn´t here. I think my life would be a mess. I feel that this is where I need to be right now. For an update on the investigators and fechas (bapt. dates) Elder Lee and I are really going at it strong. I´ve been for 3 transfers and I´m in the 4th so I´m going to be leaving my area. We put the goal of 4 baptisms for this transfer but I think we are only going to have 3. We had a big rainstorm Saturday night so it was really tough to get all of the investigators to church. We ended up passing by all of our b-dates 2 times with Remis (cheap taxis) but we got all of them there! We had another gator that is really good but didn´t show up. We were pretty bummed about that. But we had a really good week and we are going to have a baptism on the 7th and two planned for the 14th. 2 of the 3 are really solid but they other has a lot of work to do. He has a lot of faith. He told us that he drinks, smokes, and has a cup of coffee every now and then but he still accepted his baptismal date and is working hard. He´s already smoking 5 less ciggs and has the hope that he can quit altogether. It´s amazing to see the faith of these people. They haven´t ever heard of our message but are willing to change in a heartbeat. Of course there are others that are stubborn. We do get rejections here but most people are cool and will listen to us. It´s really great to see the work go forth in an area with so much promise. I don´t know if I would be able to handle any other place. The missionary work is hard but here in Argentina we see success really quickly which is a blessing. So I´m really loving being here and being a "soul-saver" as I like to call it.
Elder Lee, my companion, is from good ole Logan, Utah. He went to Logan High, played football, and went to USU before the mission. His the youngest in his family (I think) with 2 older brothers (RM´s) and a sister who is serving a mission in Mongolia. He has 1 more transfer than me so we are one of the youngest companionships in the mission right now. But he´s a hard worker, obedient, and very spiritual so we work really well together and we are seeing a lot of changes in the people and we are having a lot of success!! It really great!
The gospel is true and it will never let you down. In your troubles comes the grace and true love of God to lift you up and carry you on His back. One thing that I´ve learned from the mission is that sometimes you have to hit rock-bottom so that God can lift you up higher than you ever thought. I´m seen many miracles happen and the Lord´s work come about first-hand. I´m grateful that God has trusted me to be one of His holy servants, an instrument that He uses to fulfill His eternal purpose. Without His power I would be nothing out here. I know that God lives. I know that this is His Church. Stay strong and never forget the Lord´s hand in all things.
Later,
Elder Page

February 19, 2009

Feb. 17 2009

Hello!!!
I´m doing just fine here in Argentina minus the heat. It´s just really hot all of the time and when it´s not hot it´s humid. Anyway, things are still good and the work moves onward!!
Elder Lee and I have been working really hard. We finally had an investigator in sacrament meeting and luckily she loved it! We have a baptismal date for her on the 7th of March. Things are progressing in the area. We have 3 baptismal dates now and we plan on getting another this week. It´s awesome to finally see all of the work pay off. It´s hard to get the ball rolling on the mission but once you do and you start getting some good things going even better things happen! If you haven´t noticed yet I´m absolutely loving the mission! There is nothing better than seeing people put in effect the Atonement of Jesus Christ and change their lives in order to follow the plan that God has in store for all of us.
Nothing really exciting happened this week. I do have kind of an interesting story just to tell you all how Argentina really is. So we have these less-active members who are 10 and 12. We went by their house the other day and it´s huge!! It turns out their parents have quite a lot of money. So, I asked the bishop where this guy got all of his cash. Get this, he told me that the whole family is a family of robbers. I didn´t believe him at first but then I saw the house and there is no way that they could have such a nice house with the type of "work" that they claimed to do. Anyway, welcome to Argentina. Also, the wards here are quite different. I´ve spent a lot of time trying to fix relationships in the Relief Society because the President likes to drop the cane on everyone in front of the whole ward. There are many offended members (mostly women) in our ward who don´t go to church because of this one person. The more faithful members go to church but still skip Relief Society class. It´s really ridiculous but it happens often in many of the wards here.
Well, I´m doing great and I´m glad to be serving the Lord. I have seen a lot of miracles here I´m sure there are a ton more just waiting around the corner.
Remember to keep strong in the faith and never doubt the Lord even in the time of trial. He´s always there watching, sometimes we just have to look up and realize He´s there.
Later,
Elder Page

February 10, 2009

Feb. 10, 09

Hello People!!!
From the things I´ve been hearing about America I´m really glad to be in Argentina. Geez I guess we know what happens when Elder Page leaves the country. Don´t worry, I´ll be back in a couple of years. Today we had our Temple P-Day which was awesome! I really enjoyed it. One thing that always makes me feel better is knowning that our church doesn´t change no matter where you go. It´s almost sad to think of all the other churches (or branches of churches) that just don´t share the same beliefs if you go somewhere else. It´s just another testimony of the TRUE church of God. My testimony has grown so much here! I never thought that the mission would be such a life-changing experience but when you have the opportunity to share a testimony everyday it really grows. I never realized how important it was to share a testimony until now. It´s the one thing that can´t be argued because I really know that the church is true and that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet of God to restore the same church that Jesus Christ himself established.
Elder Lee and I are really putting forth an effort here. We are working really hard and have set the goal to obey every single one of the mission rules because the Lord blesses the obedient. Hopefully I´ll be able to see the blessings sooner than later (baptisms) but as long as the work in my area progresses I´m satisfied. We have some really good things going for us and we just need to get our investigators to realize the importance of committing to live the Gospel.
I´m really loving the mission. My testimony grows stronger every day and I know that this is the Lord´s work. I know the church is true and that we are led by a living prophet who receives revelation from our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the head of the restored church of God.
So Valentines Day is coming up. As for Argentina and V-Day, they don´t celebrate it. Truthfully, the last thing this country needs is a day dedicated to love. I see enough of that yucky junk every day in the streets. Crazy Argentines...
Anyway, keep the faith and don´t lose hope! The Lord will always bless you if you´re doing what´s right.
Later,
Elder Page

February 3, 2009

Feb. 3, 2009

Hey Everybody!!!
How´s it going? Things are really great here in Argentina! I have officially completed 6 months (YAY!) and I´m doing great! So I finally "killed" Elder Rupp and he´s going home. I acquired several things that he wasn´t able to fit in his bag. Talk about luck, huh? I got a jump rope, slippers, hair clippers, first aid and shoe shining kits, a fanny pack and a couple other things. I´m very content with what I´ve got now!
So the big news about transfers...I´m still in the same area but now I´ve got a new companion!!! His name is Elder Lee from Logan, Utah. Like me, he doesn´t have very much time in the mission. He only has 1 more transfer than me. I think it´s awesome that President Benton would trust two of the young guns in the mission to work an area. To be honest, I´m really excited to work with him! Both of us are excited and ready to go! I plan on doing a lot of baptisms this transfer that´s for sure! We´ve got a lot of good things going for us. We got one baptismal date with an investigator, Silvana, and I´ve got plans to get more, about 5 or 6 more if it all works out. There are just some investigators that need to get married and after that BAM! All I know is that it would be awesome to get all of these people baptized and THE SOONER THE BETTER!!!
Well, that´s about all I´ve got for this week. I hope everything is going great and remember to have a great week!
Chao,
Elder Page