-I did some more intercambios. This time out in the countryside of Romero. Picture this, me, riding a half hour on a dirt road to a farm out in the country side. There I was able to put on some big rubber boots, roll up my sleeves with a shovel, and clean up the pig sty. I had heard the expression "your room is a pig sty" for the better portion of 20 years of my life. But I never knew what that really meant until I actually cleaned one. It was an adventure, and I smiled and laughed the entire time as we cleaned the farm. Cows, Pigs, ducks, horses and everything. I love intercambios because it allows me to see a lot more of the mission.

-Wednesday we had interviews with the president. Afterward he decided to accompany Elder Gonzalez and me out to our appointment with Lino and Cintia. We talked about receiving the Priesthood and sharing the gospel. It was a spiritual lesson, even more so with the President there.

-Friday we had intercambios with the assistants. It was a crazy day coming off the other intercambios we were just on, and felt like I was all over the place. We were able to get the baptismal interviews done for Ludmila and Alan.

-Saturday Ludmila and Alan were baptized. It was an incredibly spiritual service. They were both very prepared. The night of the interview Ludmila found one of the tithing slips by the bishop’s office and asked us when she could pay her tithing. Sandra, her mom informed us that they had both been saving up to pay ever since we taught them about tithes and offerings a week ago. It`s good to see them develop positive habits early. We filled up the font a bit before the baptism with only hot water, as it usually has trouble heating up just to luke warm (example, baptism of Damian, cold water) and so we didn`t see the need to turn on the cold water. As Elder Gonzalez tried to step in the font he realized it was scalding hot. Attempting to avoid a baptism boil we spent about 15 minutes putting cold water in the font.

-Analia continues to progress fantastically. She came to church again this weekend (second week in a row since she was baptized). We already have taught her the 10 commandments, word of wisdom, and all the first two lessons. She is on fire, and should make it to her baptismal date. It`s becoming a little complicated as the baptismal service is scheduled for the same day as the adult session of stake conference. So we`re still trying to figure out the best course of action. We`ll probably just move it back a week.

We have a great companionship with fantastic members. I love life right now. Thankfully I`m extremely busy. You can always tell when I`m doing great when I`m in a hurry. The work is amazing. We`ll be looking for some new families this week as Alan and Ludmila just got baptized so it`s back to finding mode.

This week had a lot of running around. It all started right where I left off last email... pizza libre.

I ate a bit too much, and subsequently was fighting stomach issues for the better portion of the week. But nothing that kept me inside. I was able to leave to work every day, and by now, thankfully, I`m back to eating all you can eat Argentine steaks. Something I just finished doing before sitting down to write this email.

On Tuesday, the Elders from Chascomus were up at our Pension in La Plata to get ready to travel to capital with us on Wednesday. We did an Intercambio with them in our area, and were lucky enough to have a very successful night. I was placed with Elder Fillmore, a greenie straight out of Burley Idaho. He is a pretty typical big smile missionary, and it was fun to feel the energy that the new kids bring to the table. It always motivates me to be a better missionary. We were able to contact a reference of a member, Augustina who was very willing to talk with us. Her mom had listened to the discussions a few years back, but had passed away a year ago. The missionaries had subsequently disappeared. A lot had changed since then, but the good news is, she is married not just living with her boyfriend so we have a lot of hope she`ll progress.

Wednesday, we traveled up to Banfield, close to Adroguè, about 2 hours in train to the leadership counsel. We were able to discuss goals for the zone, focuses, etc. The most interesting development is that Elder Foster, second counselor in the area presidency, will be coming to tour the mission and give some zone conferences. We were promised that he would be visiting apartments, examining our agendas, area books, and having personal interviews with a select few. The words "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear" came to mind. Even though the idea of a general authority flipping through my area book and making sure my kitchen is clean still is making my blood run a bit cold. We are definitely doing some cleaning.

Thursday we ended up in intercambios yet again. This time I was shipped out to La Cumbre to work with Elder Arario, the district leader. We had some very spiritual lessons, and I got to ride my bike again. The best part was lunch with a family from Peru, who cooked my favorite, Loma Saltado. French fries, rice, and beef. We had a solid day, taught with members, and were able to find some new investigators in the morning.

Unfortunately, the baptism of Ludmila and Alan is going to be postponed until next week. We had a lot to teach them and very little time to teach it. Additionally the times we did go to teach, the kids were gone, over at their dad`s house. So it`s been a bit tricky to find them.

Lino and Cintia continue progressing as best as they can. They are faithful church members, minus the member part. It was good to see Lino in sacrament meeting. He explained to us that a friend wanted him to go fishing, but he knew that the Lord wanted him to be in church, so that`s where he had to be.

The biggest development this week was a woman named Analia. She lives between Tolosa and Ensenada. Mostly here in Tolosa, with her aunt who doesn`t want to know anything about the church. So we have to teach outside. Elder Gonzalez was able to find her on his intercambio Tuesday. We went to the follow up appointment and had felt a strong spirit. We talked about baptism, and she agreed for the end of the month. I would be lying if I didn`t say I was skeptical with regards to the validity of that date, but Sunday she showed up for all three hours of church. We`re very excited to see her progress.

Other than that there`s not much to inform. We`ve been doing a lot of finding, a lot of walking, a lot of clapping. Thankfully these haven`t been in vain and we`ve been fortunate enough to be blessed with some very good progressing investigators. Sunday we had a training class to help members share the gospel. We talked about the importance of references and some fears about sharing the gospel. At the end we divided people up and did practices just like a district meeting. It was wonderful to see the ward catching the spirit of missionary work. We already have seen the fruits in the form of several references.

I conclude with my testimony. I know this church is true. I know that Joseph Smith knelt in a grove of trees and saw God and Jesus Christ. I know that the Savior lives, and that He died for us so that we can repent. I guess these are the same things that I said before the mission, but now I really do know.

Big changes in Argentina. If any of you have been watching the news. It all started on Wednesday when the entire country shut down for a nation-wise census. Everyone indoors. We had to wait for the survey people to come and get our info, even though we aren`t technically Argentines. It was a fun experience. Unfortunately, this week, the President Kristina, suffered the death of her husband, the former president Kirshner. There`s a chance we might be seeing a change of president here. A lot of stuff just stayed closed for the weekend as a result of the combined census/presidential situation. Relatively speaking, things are back to normal now. I never have really picked up on the politics here.

My first full week in Tolosa was filled with success.

We have been teaching a lot, and walking a lot less. Something that is good considering how this area is laid out. If we want to get anywhere, it usually has to be on foot considering that the busses take a considerable long time to stop. It makes planning a lot more difficult. Also it`s difficult on my shoes. Throw in 4-6 cheap inserts for my shoes with my Christmas package if you wouldn`t mind Mom.

I`m not sure how they do it in other places in the world, but here in Argentina, cars are basically unheard of. You can go by taxi, but that`s pretty expensive. The best thing you can do is go by bus, train, or on foot.

I love eating here. I really do. I never realized how much I like to eat food. Me and food. Additionally I eat a lot more than I did before the mission. I just got done eating nearly a pizza and a half in my favorite pizza buffet Pizza libre. Those faithful email followers should be able to identify pizza libre with my first two transfers of the mission. All you can eat delicious Argentine pizzas. Featuring such hits toppings as: eggs, fries and catsup, pineapple, hot dogs and mustard, blue cheese, and many more. My personal favorite is the French fry pizza. But I`ve grown to love egg as well. When I get home I`ll make you an egg pizza. My favorite of all time is the Brasileña back in Adrogue. It`s ham and mozzarella cheese with full rings of pineapple on top. But instead of tomato sauce they melt brown sugar on top. I love food. I love food so much.....

Ok, a bit about the area progress.

Lino and his family are still waiting on a divorce. We got a hold of a church lawyer down here that is willing to help. The problem is Lino`s wife Cintia got married in Paraguay. So we have to work things out over there BEFORE we can do anything over here. The family is faithful in the ward. More faithful than some of the most faithful members. They read as a minimum a half hour-hour in the scriptures as a family daily. They asked us recently what their 10 year old can start doing now to prepare for the mission. I love seeing people happy as they live the gospel.

The other family is Sandra and her kids Ludmila and Alan. Both of them were able to come to church on Sunday, so if all goes well we`ll be having the baptism of both kids on Saturday. It has been fun teaching them for the past two weeks. Ludmila gets everything and she loves to read and pray. Alan is a bit more rebellious, but he should still make it for Saturday.

Aside from that we have been working on our finding efforts and have been guided multiple times to people ready to receive the gospel. Last Friday was hands down the best morning of my mission. It was looking like it was going to rain, which is unfortunate because many times rain=no entering in any houses whatsoever. We went to a part of the area that Elders hadn`t been in for a while. Really tranquilo. Lots of field. I could see all the way to Ensenada. Anyways, we were looking for some former investigators when I saw an open door and began doing a contact. It was raining a bit, and after a short conversation the man let us in. He invited his wife to come and participate and we had a brief lesson to find them. They were mostly concerned for their family, as they had lost a son a few years back. We were able to talk a bit about that. They were a very picturesque find. No smoke smell in the house. Married. Golden. We left, and about fifteen minutes later decided to clap a house at the end of the neighborhood. We were again let in. It was a woman who had listened to the missionaries before, and had enjoyed the lessons, but had moved and lost touch with the church. She had two children present who we also found. Another family... also married. THEN about fifteen minutes before lunch I thought we would just go straight to our appointment, but Elder Gonzalez wanted to clap again. So we did. And we found AGAIN. Another woman with her four children. Also married. 9 new investigators + 3 families= Best morning ever...

I`m high on life here in Tolosa. It`s beautiful and the people are wonderful. I`m grateful for the spirit. I know we`re led by it every day as missionaries. The work isn`t possible without it. I know the church is true. I love you all. Thank you for your help, prayers, and support.

Green trees. Chirping birds. Lengthy fields.

I`ve come home.

Ok, so the actual city center I work in isn`t as Naturesque as one would hope. But it`s at the very least more quiet. Welcome to Tolosa. Which features the northernmost suburbs of La Plata. If I leave the boundaries of my area and walk through the fields about a mile or so, I`m in Ensenada.

A little bit about La Plata.

La Plata is actually the capital of the Provencia of Buenos Aires. In other words the actually city Buenos Aires serves as the Capital of Argentina, but the capital of the Provence Buenos Aires is La Plata. Go to Google maps and you`ll surely be able to find it. Zoom in on the capital, then scroll southeast for a bit and you should be able to find it.

La Plata is has a distinct lay out as opposed to the layout of the other cities in Argentina. It`s basically a big square. It starts from the center, and has streets expanding outward, each with its own number. There are no street names, only numbers. In order to make transport a bit more efficient, there are four giant diagonals that inscribe the square layout. It`s very different from the other areas I`ve been in, in and of that every one of the streets has a corresponding number instead of street names. It`s a bit harder to understand people when they spit an address out at me and it comes out a series of jumbled numbers, diagonals, and apartments. Very distinct.

Tolosa is... well hermosa. It`s beautiful here. When designing the city, they made a conscious effort to plant trees everywhere so as to subdue the urbanization. So it is a bit easier on the eyes than other places.

I received a warm welcome to a wonderful ward. There are plenty of people here willing to leave with the missionaries, and the excellent missionaries of the past have been working well with the members here. We don`t have a church that actually corresponds with our area, we have to take a bus downtown to where we share with La Plata 1. It makes it a little trickier to commit people to sacrament meeting, but we still have a fairly good attendance.

This week passed by as a blur. With the transfer date in the middle of the week, I`ve just been trying to get my feet on the ground. Even though I`ve only been here 4 days, it feels like a week. I`m grateful for this P-day, and a good chance to settle in a bit. This morning we did a bit of cleaning, a bit of buying, and a bit of resting to prep for the rest of the week.

The investigators here are great. Sandra is a recent convert. She only knew the missionaries for three weeks before she got baptized. She`s about 25 years old and dropped smoking, and got separated from her boyfriend all in that small time to get baptized. She`s got an amazing testimony. Now we`re teaching her kids Ludmila and Matias. 10 and 8. Both very bright. If all goes well they should get baptized next Saturday.

Other investigators include a golden family of dry members. Dry member is the phrase we use here to describe people who are already members of the church that are only missing stepping in the font. Lino, his wife Cintia, and their two children. It`s the picture perfect family. They have been listening to the missionaries for about three months and go to church every week. Their kids are even participating in the upcoming primary program. The bad news is they have a complicated divorce case. We have to communicate with the area lawyer to see if we can work it out so they can be baptized in the coming months. But it is going to be difficult.

My companion Elder Gonzalez is one of the best teachers I`ve worked with on my mission. At first it was a bit hard for me to understand him as it`s been a while since I`ve had a comp from South America. He comes from Uruguay, which is good as his accent mimics that of the typical Buenos Aires citizen. But he talks a bit faster and a bit quieter. The good news is this has been fantastic for my Spanish. After so much time around English speakers in the offices, it`s nice to be out here, isolated with only Spanish speakers. I can feel my language improving daily.

Elder Gonzalez is a hard worker, very diligent. I finished my training in Ensenada with Elder Bushman, and then left. Elder Bushman in turn trained Elder Gonzalez. So I`m about two transfers older than him. You wouldn`t know it. The kid is a prodigy. I learn much more from him than he learns from me. It`s rare to see such a good balance of teaching excellence, humility, and attitude. He does little things to serve me, like shine my shoes, or buy the bread for the day. Little stuff. It`s been an example to me of how I can be a better companion, and in turn motivates me to look for ways to serve him. So much of mission happiness depends on having a good relationship with your companion, so I`m very happy to have this time to work with him.

Well that`s about it for my situation right now. I can only say that I`m happy. This transition to an area is coming a lot easier than the rest. I`ve been through the drill before, so I know that the switch hurts for the first week or so, but things get better. That perspective has helped me a lot when I`m tempted to look back and say "I wish I was still in Adroguè" or "In Adroguè we had this thing or that thing." I know that this is where the Lord wants me to be. And there`s nowhere else I would rather be in the mission right now. I know this church is true. And this work is guided by revelation. Thank you for your letters and support.

Today Good Things Are Happening. Today I know God Loves Me.

Back to the basics.

I think it was President Uchtdorf in conference that shared the story about Vince Lombardi coaching. He would show his players the pigskin and say "this is a football. You throw it, kick it, and get it into the end zone to get points." Then he would show them the gridlines and say "this is the field, it`s 100 yards rectangular etc." I`m translating from what I heard in Spanish. But the point was true excellence comes not in mastering isolated complex aspects of concepts. Excellence is true mastery of the basics. I think the Karate kid does a good job of illustrating that too.

Sounds like the cougars went back to the basics, and it paid off.

For those of you who don`t know what`s going on in the mission field right now, there are a lot of changes with the 8 lessons. These aren`t given to us to replace Preach my Gospel. Preach my Gospel is divinely inspired and contains all the principles we need to become the successful servants the Lord wants us to be. The problem is it`s easy to get caught up in isolated aspects of Preach my Gospel, where true excellence in missionary work only comes after mastering the basics. Thus we have received 8 simplified lessons that teach us our priorities. Like the Doctrine of Christ and our missionary purpose. The role of the Spirit in conversion. Revelation through prayer, the Book of Mormon, and Church attendance. As servants of the Lord, we must have the basics down.

I saw that as an answer to my many prayers of how I could help my investigators better progress. I saw a big change in the way I taught this week as opposed to last week. The biggest change came from a focus on baptism. Nearly all of my lessons last week related to baptism in some way or another. I saw big changes in people as they considered making a covenant with God. It`s just a better way to teach. Why keep people in the dark where you can let them know your goals up front.

I had some personally uplifting experiences this week. Luis unfortunately has in a lot of ways dropped off the map. He works a lot more now, and the smoking hasn`t gotten better. It`s unfortunate. Additionally Veronica didn`t make it to church yesterday. She was going to get baptized next week, but postponed again to the 23rd. Unfortunately, if everything turns out the way I'm thinking it will I`ll be leaving here on the next transfer date, the 20th. I know that the important thing is Veronica getting baptized, but it`s a baptism I really do want to see... I have faith that everything just has a way of working out the way it`s supposed to. And if I`m transferred out of here before I can see Veronica baptized it will be for a reason.

7 months is a long time to be in an area.

This has been an introspective week for me. As I`m probably leaving here in the next week. I won`t be emailing you until the 20th as the transfer has been placed in the middle of the week for various reasons. So you`ll know my fate the next time I write to you. It`s bizarre to think about living somewhere else in the mission. I know this area better than I know my neighborhood back at home. I have every street within 30 blocks memorized. I`ve had a lot of time to think about it.

After so much time here, it`s led me to think about what I’ve contributed. What my legacy in Adroguè will be. Truth be told, I’m not sure. I went through a little rough spot where I wasn`t sure exactly what I`d done here, or if I had done enough to help the area and my companion. There were two experiences this week that really stood out to me and helped me with that.

The other day we had intercambios with the zone leaders. I was with Elder Hall from California. I had been walking down a street the day prior with Elder Martindale in a bit of a hurry, and upon seeing the houses said to him "we need to come back and clap here some other time." (In Argentina, doorbells are rare, and every house has a gate around it. It`s very impolite to jump the gate. You stand out front and clap your hands then the people come out. Thus we say "clap houses" instead of "knock houses.") I made plans to do that with our intercambio. The following day Elder Hall and I went by and met some rejections, until we arrived at a humbler looking home. We clapped and the woman came out, introducing herself as Norma. After a short door approach we asked if we could come in and say a prayer with her and share a message. Elder Hall added that it would only be about 10 minutes. With some persuasion she let us in.

Norma informed us that she had been too many churches. She had listened to missionaries years ago, but didn`t remember that much. At the present time she was studying the bible with the Jehovah’s witnesses. We started to explain, and Norma had many fantastic questions. Such good questions that our 10 minutes turned into over an hour. She was especially impressed by the first vision, that someone could see God, and that he was a real personage. We told her that she could pray and know it was true. She was really surprised when we told her she could pray, as her current bible study group taught her that she had to know a certain amount of study to offer prayers. We explained that God loves all His children and wants to hear their thoughts and feelings. She began to cry as we talked and said something that filled me with joy.

"This has been the most wonderful 10 minutes in a long time," she wept and laughed. "It`s been a hard couple of weeks, but today, today good things are happening. Today I know that God loves me."

She offered a beautiful prayer about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and the spirit filled the room. It was one of my favorite finding appointments of my mission.

The other day we went to Diego and Yesica, the couple that came to general conference. It was just Yesica there and we had a good charla. She had read a lot in the Book of Mormon, about to the end of 2 Nephi. It was impressive, and we challenged her to solidify that knowledge she already had with prayer. She told us that she didn`t feel like she had to ask God, she just felt it was true. We encouraged her anyway to kneel down and receive the spiritual witness. As we finished up, she stopped to thank us. Telling us she had been meaning to tell us how grateful she was that we had found her family. That her marriage was better and she felt the spirit when we came. She thanked us for all the blessings she had received in the past months, and it made me turn around and thank God. I love to see gratitude in the investigators. It gives me motivation for the bad days. When we`re out in the street getting rejected, when people are slamming the doors or refusing to listen. It`s all worth it to find the one. "Thank you for what you do. I`m happier now than I was before."

May the words of Norma forever echo in the rainy days of my soul. "Today good things are happening. Today I know God loves me."

I love you all, and thank you

Conference

Isn`t it ironic that the first BYU loss to Utah State in over a decade has to happen when I`m obligated to live within sight and sound of a cougar hating aggie fan 24 hours a day 7 days a week? Gary Crowton... I mean Bronco Mendenhall needs to "rebuild" his coaching approach and "raise the bar" a little higher than "The Quest for 2 Wins on the Season"

You can imagine that the emails received alongside my gleeful aggie companion have heavily influenced the start of this email. But in the words of President Uchtdorf "all of God`s children wear the same jersey." It`ll be a good chance for me to put some prophetic council in practice and tear down my pride.

Speaking of general conference, it`s always a chance for me to think a little about home. Not in a trunky way. More of an impressed way. Impressed at the miracle that general conference is. We`re thousands of miles apart, yet we`re watching the same transmission at the same time. We had a good turnout of investigators at the conference so I was watching most of the sessions in Spanish translating back to English. It was amazing how much I understood. They use unfamiliar words, and some of the translators were from Central America, and one from Spain. That darn lisp sure trips up my translation.

Saturday afternoon we had Diego Yesica and their entire family there. They marveled at the counsel received by living prophets. They were astounded by the angelic music, and couldn`t believe that every one of the members of the choir was from the same church, as they still assumed that the church we had was the only one. As the final note sounded on the closing hymn Diego shook his head with a big thumbs up and said the Spanish equivalent of "wow, good call Jensen." They left much edified.

My personal testimony of the modern prophets and apostles was increased as well. As I looked at all those men who I had testified of so much, I couldn`t help but think of it as the difference between our church and the rest. It`s one fantastic display of modern revelation. How blessed we are to sit at the feet of a modern day prophet. This conference more than ever I saw a special unity between the talks. So many focused on the strategies of the devil, the dangers of the natural man, the essential nature of agency and the consequences of our choices.

On Saturday night we got a rare treat. Missionaries from our mission never see the priesthood session live, let alone in English. But with special permission from the mission president, and Elder Jones, the senior couple accompanying us, we were able to stay up and watch it live in English in the offices. When Elder Nelson asked the full time missionaries to stand up, we all stood up with the whole body of the Lord, knowing that thousands of others across the world were shoulder to shoulder with us. I felt the camaraderie of my missionary brothers across the globe and a greater sense of appreciation for those who are making this sacrifice. I know this is the Lord`s work. Elder Jones drove us home that night, and we all felt like it had decisively been the best priesthood session we had ever witnessed. (The seventy from South Africa sounded like Bear Grylls from Man vs. Wild. He even talked about scorpions and stuff ha-ha! Amazing talk!!!)

Earlier this week, we had training for all the mission leaders. District Leaders, Zone Leaders, and Trainers. It was a great opportunity to learn from President Stapley. From Tuesday to Friday we had lessons from 10:30 to 4:00 in the afternoon. We`re learning the 8 new missionary lessons. They basically help us take PMG and simplify the basic principles for application in our work. Like President Uchtdorf explained in the Saturday session, we have to master the basics before we can master the complicated stuff. I felt renewed as a missionary, and a greater desire to apply all these principles.

Unfortunately my time is gone. It was a lot of info this week. Luis and Veronica were left to cool down a little bit, but we got them by the end of the week and things are back to normal. Maria Eva, our baptismal date, was able to attend conference. She loved it. `We`re very excited for her.

Well, yet again, gotta run. Time just went out from under me. I love you all, and hope to hear from you soon. I know the church has been restored. Thomas S. Monson is a true Prophet along with his counselors and the twelve apostles. They are all men of God. Jesus Christ is the head of this church. He is our Savior and Redeemer.

Les amo a todos!

I`ve gotten to know a lot about endurance on the mission. The majority of these thoughts have led me to realize that even if all we can say for ourselves is that we walked out the door in the morning, it`s still saying a lot.

This week I was pondering a lot about what mission success is. What I want to get out of my mission. What I have accomplished thus far, and what I want to accomplish in the coming months. And perhaps more important than "the what" of my mission is "the why." Why did I want to accomplish the things I have accomplished, and why do I want to accomplish my goals for the remainder of the fleeting time that has been left to me. I have discovered on the mission that the "why" is infinitely more important than the "what." It doesn`t matter if we accomplish miracles. Choice are the words of the apostle Paul, "without charity, I am nothing."

This week we moved pensions from my air conditioned paradise, my home for over a fourth of my mission, and went down the street to a brand new apartment. It was fun to have a new place, but the settling in had some undesirable effects on the work. Elder Martindale and I ended up running errands and resolving a lot of temporal matters, like getting our water filter working, and making sure we had a squeegee. By the end of the week we were essentially settled in completely, but there are still the occasional growing pains that accompany the change.

The biggest blow to this week was Luis hitting rock bottom. It had been a long day filled with miscellaneous errands in the morning, and rejections in the evening. Investigators talking about their previous evangelist baptisms and the saving grace of Christ. People just seemed especially disinterested. It was a relief to have Luis and Veronica at the end of the night.

We were trying to teach about 2 Ne 4 and using the strength of the Lord to overcome our difficulties. Luis finally snapped. After nearly 5 months of teaching them, a marriage, and dozen other commitments later, the brick wall of smoking never seemed more insurmountable. Luis protested that nobody in the church is perfect. And he was a lot more righteous than a lot of people. "So why can`t I be baptized? Nobody`s perfect! Just because I smoke doesn`t mean I can`t be baptized. I thought baptism was to clean us. This isn`t what Jesus taught." And then he continued, "If you want to tell me how to live my life, you can stay outside. But this is my choice and my life." Etc. etc. etc.

It was late, I couldn`t feel the spirit. To say that I went back to the apartment discouraged would be an understatement. It was a big setback. Combined with the present circumstances in the area, it was easy to ask God why. Why is missionary work so hard? The heavy burden of the salvation of these persons, not resting upon, but at the very least influenced by the decisions of a couple of teenage boys. I got angry at myself. Why did God let me teach the wrong thing? Why wasn`t I inspired to say other words, or give the lessons in a different order? Or if I was and didn`t listen, why was I given this responsibility in the first place? I knew that I could give myself the answers, but at the same time, I struggled. I feel that I know all of you, the readers well enough, and trust you enough to express to you these personal thoughts and trials of mission work.

My thoughts for the better portion of the weekend, as I reflected on that moment with Luis, were generally reflected in that direction.

I guess in a strange way, I didn`t get a solid answer until yesterday afternoon. As I was walking down the street talking to people. We had a few moderately successful contacts, when I saw an older lady leave from her door to see her son off to work. I complimented her on her beautiful house and began to talk. It wasn`t long into the conversation that I felt something within me, a deep love for the simplicity of her words and the concern for her family I could feel. Naturally, not forced, I offered her the gospel as a solution, and she let us in to offer a prayer with a little persuasion. We had a sweet conversation about the love of God, and the restoration before we left her with a word of prayer. As we walked away, tears filled my eyes as I realized something profound.

"I love her." I said to my companion. "I was able to find that woman, because I can honestly say that I love her."

And suddenly, I realized something deep within me. That I had perhaps looked for over a year for ways to become a successful missionary. I had nearly destroyed myself trying to squeeze out success like the parched juices of an under ripe orange. I might have done successful things, but perhaps not for a successful reason. "The what" was always more important to me than "the why." But last night, I realized something more important than my hair splitting questions and inadequacy from the week before. I realized that I was capable of loving these people, my companion, and this work with all my heart. And that`s the only thing that really matters anyway.

Spring is in the air here. It´s a nice balmy 70 degrees here with a cool breeze. We postponed p-day to Wednesday for the entire zone so that the office Elders could participate in the zone activity. Kind of ironic they decided to do that AFTER I was out of the offices. We played Fútbol and basketball. Then we ate an Asado. (The equivalent of the Argentine Barbecue. Basically big stakes on the grill.) But it was poorly planned and we didn´t have any bread, potatoes, salad, or anything. Just meat and soda. Further evidence that this work is inspired as we see the result of leaving even the smallest tasks up to rambunctious 19 year olds.

Congratulations to Elder Lauritzen who has returned with honor. I await your email anxiously and expect a full report of what´s going on.

Apart from that, thank you to all those who wrote me emails this week. James, Grandma Jensen, and Jonathan, mom, and dad. It made my day. If I didn´t get an email back to you I´m sorry. You’re still in my thoughts and prayers.

This week has been one of the best weeks in a while. We´ve seen progress in many of our investigators, and managed to integrate a few new faces. The big news is Luis and Veronica are getting married on Friday! We have moved their fecha to the 18th. It gives them a little time to get everything in order. I don´t want to say that I pick favorite investigators, but it´s hard not to. Luis and Veronica are a beautiful young couple that will contribute immensely to the ward here in Adrogue. They came to church last Sunday, and loved it. Especially Veronica, who gave her testimony in relief society. Several of the Hermanas came up to me afterward commenting on how impressed they were with her. This is going to be one of the most special baptisms of my mission. All of them are meaningful, but there´s something meaningful about baptizing a family. Seeing Luis and Veronica make the changes to get married has been a joy. I know that they are going to be a more united family here on Earth, but most importantly they are going to be an eternal family. I can´t express my joy in seeing their progression in the gospel.

Enrique has been progressing as well. We lost track of him a little bit last week, but thankfully he is back on track. On Sunday he came to fast and testimony meeting and really enjoyed it. We´ll get the full story when we go to his house tonight for our appointment. We´re still working on getting his absolute baptismal date. That has been a bit of a challenge. With Enrique it will just be a matter of time.

The biggest new face this past week was Carlos. Carlos was found by Elder Martindale while we did exchanges about two weeks ago. He and Elder Mortensen were able to make the inspired find. Carlos is about 50 years old and lives on a sketchy street in the villa. You have to walk down a long passage behind a closed door to arrive at a few humble houses out back. His is a small room with the stove awkwardly placed at the doorway and a spare room divided by a curtain where his bed is placed. That´s where Carlos is. At first entry, the bad smell of alcohol with the dirty plates makes you cringe a bit. But Carlos makes the small place hospitable. My relationship with Carlos has taught me a lot of things, made me change my thoughts.

Carlos knows he has problems with alcoholism. He wants to stop. It doesn´t take long talking to him to realize that. What´s more, he recognized the missionaries immediately as messengers from God. As a matter of fact, he refers to us as his angels sent from God. Carlos has a sad story that has gotten sadder and sadder as the teaching goes. Last visit, on Monday, he talked about his wife and about his children. He used to work as a high end car painter. Painting for Audi and Lexus. You may be wondering what a luxury vehicle artist like this is doing in a hole in the wall like that. "Now look at me” Carlos says "surrounded by drug dealers. Wondering if I´ll eat tomorrow. Wondering if I´ll wake up in the morning." I didn´t need to ask him what happened. He already told me.

"I drank. I drank a lot. And I can´t stop now. I can´t stop because the devil has me on his chain. And where he tells me to go, I´ll go. I don´t have a choice anymore. The devil has bound me down. And when I want to go to work, he says, ´no Carlos, you have money. Just a little drink won´t hurt.´ And the Devil pulls the chain and that´s where I go. I lost my family. My children can´t stand to look at me. You have to help me!" He wept through tears of shame, "you have to help me. Please help me! Take the chains away. Take the devil off my shoulder."

His story broke my heart. We have already testified to Carlos about the power of the atonement. We told him that he didn´t have the power in himself to stop his natural tendencies. We also told him that these tendencies might have been natural for him. But a quick read in Mosiah 3:19 revealed to Carlos what he had to do. It didn´t take a lot of brain storming for Carlos to think of the blessings he was missing out on because of his addiction. His family. His job. We testified of the power of Christ to liberate us from our bonds. That as he trusted in the power of "him who is mighty to save and cleanse from all unrighteousness" he would undoubtedly be able to focus on a new future. Instead of focusing on the things he was missing, we had Carlos focus on the blessings he would receive. That he had the power to decide, and in the strength of the Lord he could "put off the natural man."

Seeing Carlos there, helpless and enslaved and hopeless. The shadow of a family man. The former success now slathered and saturated in alcoholism. And his testimony of the Devil. It was an accurate depiction of things I had read about in the Book of Mormon for my entire life. "For the time is at hand that all men shall reap a reward of their works, according to that which they have been—if they have been righteous they shall reap the salvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the damnation of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil, (Alma 9:28)," "and thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell."

Carlos told us that the devil had found him in his time of prosperity and abandoned him in his time of misery. I testify of the reality of this lesson. I have seen the blessed and happy state of those who keep the commandments. I have also seen painfully time and time again that wickedness never ever was happiness. I don´t tell this story to put Carlos in a bad light. I´m sure if he could talk to each of you, he´d say something similar.

Avoid the chains of the adversary. He rewardeth you no good thing. If you feel like Carlos feels, pulled about by the will of the powers of darkness, trust in the Savior, and let Him give you the strength to overcome the adversary. Trust in the merits of he who is mighty to save. I know that happiness, peace, and the promised blessings of prophets both ancient and modern await you.

Thanks to family and friends for all the emails this week. Thanks additionally to dad for the very erudite discourse from Sacrament meeting.

You may be wondering why I couldn`t write last week. We usually used the office computers, but unfortunately, I forgot, I am no longer technically an office Elder, even if I am in the same Pension, the same area, teaching the same investigators and going to the same church. It was mildly frustrating, leaving myself and Elder Martindale searching for an internet cafe. When we finally found one close to the pench, there was only 30 minutes of email time left, and only one computer available. I of course, gave the opportunity to my hijo, whose family was undoubtedly more needing of an email update. Elder Martindale had switched areas, trainers, and everything. As for myself, I`m just a washed up Elder two months past the year mark. I assume that you all know that I`m ok if one of my emails falls through the cracks.

Speaking of time, it`s been 14 months now. I`m not usually one to point that out, but this week marks one year living outside of the United States. Wow. That went FAST. Time is relentless.

So about what happened.

About a week and a half ago I was sitting in the offices thinking about the changes in the mission. Pondering the prospects of me being transferred out of the office early. Considering that I was district leader here in Adrogué, and that there was no feasible way in my mind that I could be removed from the office, I declared to Hna Jones that I was "indispensable" at that time in the offices and she didn`t have to worry about me leaving until the transfer date as planned.

A few hours later, we ordered the flight for a trainer in the mission to return home unexpectedly, and suddenly, the situation became different. As I sat on the couch eating Gobstoppers on my P-Day and watching the newly released DVD`s of "The District" from Preach my Gospel, Hna Jones marched in announcing that President had gone into a meeting with the Assistants to decide the fate of the Trainee now left trainer less, Elder Martindale. She pointed a finger at me "and your head is on the chopping block Mr. Indispensable."

I was fully expecting to receive the call looking down the throat of an emergency transfer to Luis Guillon. Sure enough, the President`s voice was on the phone in a matter of minutes. "I`ve got a special assignment for you Elder Jensen. Are you ready to be a trainer?"

"I think so President. When`s it going to happen?" I asked indignantly.

"We`ll send the assistants over tonight with the truck. Your assignment will no longer be the offices, primarily you will be proselyting."

I assumed that I understood the president clearly. I thought I was leaving Adrogue, and I only had an hour or so to say goodbye to all the investigators. I contemplated leaving Adrogué so suddenly, and it hurt to think about. Only after President talked to Elder Boyer was it clarified.

"Wait a minute!" Cried Elder Boyer, "Elder Jensen’s not leaving. I`m leaving!"

And so it was. I was going to be training exactly where I was at in Adrogué. No moving. No rushed goodbyes. Suddenly the clouds lifted.

Roll the clock forward a few hours.

Suddenly the assistants walk into the chapel late, with a bright red head straight out of Price Utah. There was an instant amistad, as I took over the training like a good step father. It was a very strange situation, but Elder Martindale was up to the task. He was clearly starved with the desire to work.

The next morning, it was the nicest day of the year to date in Buenos Aires. A balmy 70 degrees with clear skies. We left, and talked with everything that moved. EVERYTHING. It felt amazing after being in the offices for so long to get out and thrust the old sickle in for a full day. Elder Martindale kept up just fine.

This past week and a half has been full of ups and downs. Ups because we`re working hard. Downs because we have encountered some adversity as always. I know, thankfully, that the Lord is in charge. And we have been led to some elect people as fruits of our finding efforts.

Brief investigator updates as my time is nearly gone.

-Last night Damian announced that he would be moving to Monte Grande. The town over from Adrogué. About the equivalent from Sandy to Draper. He had a severe fight with his father, and now has decided he can`t stand it anymore. It`s a complicated situation. We began teaching, ironically, his parents at the same time, so the family will keep listening to the charlas... hopefully.

-Luis and Veronica were scheduled to be baptized on the 11th of September. Unfortunately, Luis couldn`t make it to church yesterday for some various, legitimate excuses. The bad news is he hasn`t been for over a month now. We`re seriously thinking about postponing that date so that he can be better prepared.

-Enrique the man that we found with Elder Boyer was progressing on fire to baptism. He came to church and everything last Sunday. Due to some complicated situations with his kids, he was forced to do a few odd jobs fixing up their houses. We couldn`t get hold of him all last week, but found him at the end of the night last night. So all is not lost. We have an appointment tonight and we should be able to get hold of him.

-Xavier has disappeared in his exams again, and unfortunately hasn`t been reading or praying as a result of school. We`re seriously considering dropping him if we can`t find him this week.

-Diego and Yesica have been progressing a lot more with reading and praying. They missed church again yesterday which is unfortunate because church is what got them in contact with us in the first place. We`re looking to see some more progression with them this week hoping that they can read and pray.

-A GOOD FIND: We found a man named Rodolfo last week who was clinically depressed after the death of his father 2 years ago. We taught him the plan of salvation, and he loved it! Amazing spirit.

ANOTHER GOOD FIND: We found a man named Sergue from St. Petersburg Russia. He worked on a nuclear submarine during the cold war. Definitely one of the coolest finds of my mission. He said the closing prayer in Russian.

No time to say anything else. The work here is amazing. Thank you for all your support. I`ll try to write a bit more next week.

To frame the context of this email, I´d like to share an experience that happened to me the other day.

As Elder Boyer and I were walking down the street on a crisp winter morning (just about spring now) we saw a man washing his car in his driveway. Especially motivated to talk to everyone, we struck up a conversation. He was surprisingly willing to talk to us, but surprisingly unwilling to accept any of our message.

"God is on vacation," he ranted, "and he´s not coming back."

His cynicism radiated off of him like cheap axe and alcohol. Before I was too quick to judge, I asked an explanation.

"Like I told you," he grumbled as he scrubbed his car down with a rag, "God is on vacation. You take three steps into the villa, and you´ll see. Those kids starving in the street. They´re destined to be pives y chorros, and those the ones that can survive. What has God done for any of them?" He paused methodically to throw his rag over his shoulder and stared me down. "God is on vacation."

I thought about my calling as a missionary. How I was set apart to declare "glad tidings." The Gospel. I looked the cynic in the eyes and said "He does live. I know He lives. And we´re His hands. If we want to change the world, it starts right here."

The man gazed at me condescendingly and began to laugh. "Vos pensás que podés cambiar el mundo?" or "You actually think that you can change the world?"

I was taken aback by the question. In my time in Argentina had I really changed anything? I wasn´t sure what I was going to say to this skeptic, and trusted that the words would come.

"I know the world can change, because I know that people can change. I´ve seen them change. It may happen slowly, but there are good people out there who will stand up for what they believe."

It sounded cliché to me. But I believed it now. As we kept walking down the street, I thought about my life before the mission. How pessimistic I was. How I was generally prone to think the worst of people and society. A glass half empty man. The greatest irony is, that in this past year, if I didn´t have a testimony of God, I would have an even greater abundance of fuel to throw into the cynical flame. There are hundreds of people we talk to. Why were we not baptizing by the hundreds and thousands? Why is the church so small compared to the rest of the world? Why are there so many inactive members? Why?

I learned something about optimism. Because amongst all the doubts, there are certain rays of glorious light that make all the hardships worthwhile.

Like the other day when we went to the follow up cita for a man who we had found the previous week. Enrique. He had listened to the missionaries many years back but had never actually taken their invitations. He had a good finding appointment, but it wasn´t spectacular, and we weren´t sure what to expect. As the older man let us into his house, we had our reservations. To our surprise, he did read in the book of Mormon. "I thought to myself the entire time I was reading," he started with a voice nearly choking with tears "Is this the truth? Is this what I´ve been looking for in my life" I bore my testimony that I knew the Book of Mormon was true, and that he had found his answer. "I know I have too," replied Enrique.

There was another experience on Sunday. Diego and Jessica who had missed church two weeks ago had fallen out of contact with us. We gave them a call on Thursday to ask how they were doing. "I read in the book" said Jessica "and I love going to church. We want to go on Sunday." They did go on Sunday. We had our doubts, but they showed up. Diego stayed for all the meetings and had many good questions about the Book of Mormon, which he had been reading steadily.

We made a good street contact with a man who accepted a Book of Mormon on Saturday. We rarely if ever give out Book of Mormons in street contacts, but the man loved the message so much and insisted so that he could read it. His name was Jorge. Jorge wanted us to come back at an hour that we were normally in the offices. With how busy we have been lately, it was difficult to make the decision and leave. Especially because our first instinct told us that it was extremely rare to get a return cita on a contact. If you don´t enter in the door on the first try here, you probably won´t get in. We put aside our doubts on Monday, and went to the appointment. Jorge was there waiting for us. We went in and found him and his Sister. He had read the part and was especially impressed that Jesus Christ had come to the Americas, something that just made sense to him. "Why wouldn´t Jesus come to the Americas if God loves all his children?" At the end of our appointment he prayed to know if the book was true. The spirit was incredibly strong.

I tell these stories because even though in bulk orders the Lord´s promised blessings aren´t manifest, it´s through the small and simple things. Optimism is the faith that keeps us going in spite of what our natural circumstance indicates. Because we have to believe that God knows what His children need. There is a sacred thing about people who defy their instinctive dispositions to do the wrong thing, and "become as Saints through the atonement of Christ."

Thirty seconds ago, when I was writing the above paragraph, I got a call from President. One of the trainers that recently got a new missionary is for one reason or another, going home tomorrow. President had a special assignment for me. I was going to continue the training of Elder Martindale. More news on this as it develops. I thought I was going to get emergency transferred out of Adrogué. As it turns out, I´m staying right here. But as a proselyting Elder. Not as an office Elder. Which, if I could have had an ideal scenario for my situation, it would have been that. I love this area. I love these investigators.

I know this is a lot of information in a little bit of time, but I´ll keep you informed. My P-day will now be on Monday again. So you can go back to sending my emails on Sunday night.

I love you all! This church is true! God loves us!

I don`t want to say we had a flat week last week, but it was a bit flat. To start off, the Wednesday P-day thing threw the entire system off. We were walking zombies that morning and were scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel of energy to get ourselves excited to work. Then we had to work in an intercambio with San Jose to do a baptismal interview. I left my newbie in Adroguè and switched places to go with Elder Mortensen. His comp, also a newbie, Elder Gaffney worked with my Newbie. It turned both literally and figuratively into the perfect storm as the clouds came in at the end of a beautiful week and started pouring rain.

To make matters even more interesting, the other Elders here in Adroguè are experiencing flooding in their Pension. As a result, all three of them have moved temporarily into our pension for the week. It has meant a lot of Elders in a very confined living space. We have to find creative ways to keep ourselves studying on time etc. Just another crazy brick in the mission wall. Nothing surprises me anymore.

The transfer ended this weekend, and I was a little worried that I would leave Adroguè. After all 4 transfers is the normal amount for a missionary of my time to be in an area. But President decided to let me stay and finish my training. Which was a pleasant surprise, as it would have been a shame to have to leave Elder Martindale behind after 4 short weeks together. We`re looking forward to at least another transfer more. What`s more, now I get to see the baptism of Luis and Veronica. I`ve been in Adroguè for six months now. That`s hard to think about. To put things in perspective, last general conference was my second week in this area. I`ll see general conference again here, and have another month. It`s almost for certain I`ll leave after that. But it really will be a shame when that day comes. Adroguè is my home. I feel like I really have a ward, friends, family etc. One out of every four days of my mission will be spent in Adroguè. Crazy to think about right?

The good news is that Luis and Veronica were set for their baptismal date on Saturday. They got married on Friday!!! They showed up at church bright and early on Sunday and everything. We announced the baptism in sacrament meeting, and everything was just a big bowl of baptizable peaches.

The bad news is that after church the president of the Elders Quorum, who lives in front of them, explained to me that that morning he had seen Luis smoking...

*Elder Jensen slaps hand directly on face

Now we face the dilemma of postponing the baptism, which is funny because the entire ward is incredibly excited. It`s not every day you get a young energetic marriage baptized into the church. Many people had already told us that they had invited friends, family etc. If I told you I knew what to do, I`d be lying. To make matters worse, my mission cell phone is now out of credit, crippling my ability to communicate. So time will tell. I`m praying that the spirit can show me the right course of action whether or not to go through with the baptism. We always encounter adversity when we are coming close to doing the right thing. If we have to wait on the baptism it won`t be the end of the world. The important thing is that they get baptized, and that they`re ready. Everyone within reach of this email PRAY FOR LUIS! He has to completely let go of smoking to take this step in his life.

The progression of investigators has been a difficult thing the past week as well. Conflicting schedules, work changes, have caused some problems. Which leaves us with a lot of people we`re only visiting once a week. Unfortunately once a week isn`t going to yield what we need to see baptisms. So we`re looking for more consistency in our investigators. It`s motivating me to be a better teacher. It seems like everyone has so many doubts, it`s hard sometimes. I feel the pressure. Then I remember that it`s the Lord who is directing this work and if I feel that way it`s because I`m trying to do things by myself. Maybe I can`t convince the people here to change but the spirit can. Teaching by the spirit and relying on God has been a big focus for me the past few weeks. We`re clearly being led to people, but just finding people to teach isn`t enough. It`s the progression that matters.

Enrique has reverted almost completely to "my original baptism was good enough" and is now at a brick wall. To make matters worse, he probably won`t be able to meet with us this week as he has a lot of family coming to visit him. It`s frustrating to feel like we`re taking backsteps, especially from someone who was coming to church and told us he knew the Book of Mormon was true. Every appointment we have with him has been less and less successful, until now he has missed church and can`t see us. We`re fairly concerned for him.

A success this last week was a good find of a man named Anibal and his wife Carmen. She has been sick and bedridden for over a year, so we teach both of them sitting at her bedside. Last time we taught about the restoration and they agreed to come to church. Anibal has been truly humbled by his afflictions, and is willing to accept the gospel. I`ll keep you updated on his progress.

Carlos has unfortunately taken a little step back as well. Having the normal troubles with smoking and drinking. He explained to us over again that he was first and foremost evangelist, but he did want us to keep passing by. He just wasn`t sure about going to church. We defined with him that he definitely wanted to get out of his circumstance, and then invited him to do the basics we were offering and see the difference in his life. Read. Pray. Go to church. He wouldn`t be able to really know if the things would help him unless he did them. So we got at the end a firm invitation to recommit.

My time is running short as always. The work in the area continues. After every hard week comes a better week. I know that the Lord directs this work and He has power to bring about the changes in these people`s lives. I love you all. Thanks for your prayers and support.

El Ganador

P-days in the offices are usually pretty slow. I like that. It gives me a bit of time to sit down and write in my journal, write letters, etc. With just me and Elder Boyer, it isn´t much of a celebration. But such is life in the offices. And we have found small ways to enjoy it.

Today we went bowling. I´ve actually become fairly competent at the sport (is bowling a sport?) during my time here. Elder Boyer is a bowling champion. A veritable legend in my eyes. Out of the three times we´ve been I never was able to win a game. Today, I was hungry.

From the drop of the first pin, I could tell Elder Boyer was off. Instead of the usual explosion at the end of his throws there was a pathetic patter as two or three pins dropped to the ground. I wasn´t exactly hitting home runs either (sports metaphors don´t work so well when talking about sports stories ha-ha) and we stayed about neck and neck the entire time. My heart would sink as the ball would slide to the gutter, but thankfully, I was able to pull off miraculous spares two times. I had Elder Boyer by 10 points, and was smooth cruising to the 9th frame, when suddenly he got another spare. By the last frame, Elder Boyer was still down 4 pins, and I was confident that if I could at least get a spare to finish the game, I would leave Discount Dragon Bowling a champion. Then, it happened.

Boyer greased his shoes and stepped up to the line with a face so saturated with concentration it resembled a bag of dried raisins. One lofty toss of a bowling ball, an explosion of pins, and the dirty deed was done. Elder Boyer bowled a strike, followed by a solid 7 pins which he knocked down with ease. For those of you who understand bowling, I was then forced to get a strike or a spare to get an extra frame and knock down at least 8 pins to win the game. The prospects were unlikely. Slowly, I stepped up. Gripping the bowling ball with three sweaty sausage fingers. I wasn´t one to exactly make big plays in the clutch. I let the first ball go, gazing with anticipation. With a big pop and shatter, I a wrecking ball left one lone pin standing in its wake. It was make or break. I had to knock it down to stay in the game. Another tense throw in the still air, and to my shock, the pin went down.

There I was, throw number three. The game in my hands. 8 or more pins knocked down, and David would slay Goliath. I saw my life before my eyes, everything I had never achieved athletically in my life could be on some small level be restored to me should I knock these pins down. This had become more than just a game of bowling. The little cardboard cutout of a dragon holding the "two games for 1" gazed mortified by the tension of the moment. The symphony of silence blared deafeningly as I stood up to bowl one last time.

A deep breath, a lunge, and the dull thud of hard plastic on slick wood. It moved a little to the left, then to the right, then in a moment comparable to Luke Skywalker shooting torpedoes down the exhaust shaft in the death star, with similar odds and similar results, my own life long yearning to do something athletically spectacular was, in some small misconstrued distorted way satisfied, as the explosion of pins was drowned out by a choir of heavenly hosts shouting hallelujahs with angelic zeal. STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!

The odds were beaten. Elder Boyer, defeated. The Death Star, destroyed. Beyond that, the world may have kept spinning. But if you checked your watch today at roughly 2:37 Buenos Aires time, you might have noticed that time stood still. A timeless victory at the very least.

Well... Anyways

this week has been solid. A lot of ups and downs. Ups in the sense that we really have been able to progress things in the offices. I´ve found new ways to get around my position. To get the letters that we usually send off without the database. I think I´ve finally got a system that is simple and consistent enough to work for Hna Jones. The office has become like a puzzle. I´ve had to rebuild my job, but do it in an incredibly simple way. I´ve realized here it´s not easy to teach people new things. That includes teaching them the gospel. The role of a teacher is a challenging one.

The progress in the offices has come at a price, that price is less time in the area. Even still, I´ve felt the Lord´s blessings upon us as we have been able to maximize the time that is allotted to us. That´s something I´ve learned better in the offices than any other place in the mission. Principles of prioritizing and finding the most important thing, to execute it most efficiently.

News on investigators is more of the same. Damian is still struggling a bit accepting the Priesthood. Gonzalo is still hesitant to accept a baptismal date. We haven´t seen Xavier in more than a week because of complications with getting out to his house and his schooling.

Amidst the investigators though, Luis and Veronica have taken a big step. In our appointment last night they gave us their official marriage date. Veronica was able to take the kids to her mom´s house and drop them off there while she went yesterday morning to take out a date from the Registro Civil. It´s all there. In black and white. Luis and Veronica are getting married the 10th of September. (For those of you wondering, this transfer ends on September 13th) So as of now, the official baptismal date will be Saturday September 11th. We are so grateful to have investigators like them who are doing what is necessary to change their lives. It is impossible to not feel the spirit when we are with them, and we feel very distinctly that they have great things to contribute to the church in Argentina.

So the updates will keep coming as they come. I know I said this last week, but with the offices settling down a bit, we should be able to make more time this week to get out in the area. As of now I´m content with the progress we have seen. Luis and Veronica are some of the best, if not the best I´ve taught on the mission. To them, reading, praying, keeping commitments isn´t a hard thing. It just comes naturally. They love the blessings that they get from being obedient. They love the blessed and happy state that comes from doing the daily things to invite the spirit in our lives. That is our joy. To see people progress, embrace, and make sacrifices for the Gospel. And watch them receive the blessings that always come.

Thank you for all you do for me. For the prayers in my behalf. I love you all.

This week has been another epic series in the battle of the database. Combine that with our usual crazy duties for the first week of the transfer in the offices. We´ve been a bit busy to say the least. Thankfully the worst of it is coming to an end, and we should be able to get out in the area more this week.

I´ve spent my days trying to unify the mission database that we were using in Access, and getting it all that data to the church database. IMOS. The biggest challenge has been getting IMOS to generate a data source in Excel, from which I can then merge letters in Microsoft word. It sounds complicated, but mostly it has been a lot of busy work. A lot of data entry. A lot of trouble-shooting and computer problems. And I´m by no means a computer expert. I can tell that what little knowledge I have has been helping me, and perhaps it´s for the best. The brilliant computer programmers of the mission designed a system that none of us can understand. They have long since gone leaving us helpless to amend the now outdated systems they left behind. So perhaps it´s the best thing that a simple mind is on the job. I have to establish a system for the secretary that will not just work for a few months, but the coming years.

On that note, it wasn´t exactly a surprise to learn that I would be in the mission offices for six more weeks. This will be my fourth transfer here in Adrogué. I had mixed feelings over the weekend. Of course I would rather be outside doing missionary work. But for one reason or another, the Lord wants me here. What´s more, I will more than likely be here now for the baptism of Luis and Veronica, and hopefully Damian´s son, and others that are progressing. It has become very clear to me that there is still a lot of work for me to do here in Adrogué, and as always, it´s where the Lord wants me to go.

Luis and Veronica weren´t able to take out their turno to get married on Tuesday as a result of the intense cold. On Tuesday we´ll go and pick her up with the Jones couple here in the offices and take her where she needs to go. Sometimes we have to take the investigators by the hand and guide them through the steps. I´ve seen that a lot in the mission. Helping people keep commitments takes a bit of extra effort.

Damian is doing great. He was able to come to church last week, but yet again without his son Gonzalo. We have really focused on teaching him. We had a lesson two nights ago about recognizing the voice of the spirit. He was able to really see the importance of it. He says that he doesn´t need to pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true because he already knows it. It says good things and talks about God. We testified that by praying he wouldn´t just know in his head if it was true, but in his heart as well. Tonight we have an appointment to watch a church movie with them.

Last night we were able to visit Xavier, formerly known as Savior. (He wrote his name down and we realized that´s what he has been saying the whole time.) He has been progressing fantastically. Really profound questions about prayer and God, but at the same time, so simple. For his immense study of philosophy, he is very charming, and humble. Willing to learn, accept, and act upon what we´re teaching. Last night we read the parable of the seed in Alma, and he learned a bit about the meaning of faith. I know that we were led to Xavier at the right time and the right place. Because he is able to speak English, the Jones can teach with us as well and participate. Part of me thinks that the Lord put him in our path for that reason.

In other news, that family we found a few weeks ago, Diego and Jessica, both came to church with their two children on Sunday. They caught me completely off guard. We had a pretty skeptical lesson earlier in the week with me and Elder Herrera and Jessica and her sister. She was very anti-Mormon and had everything from Polygamy to the mysterious Mormon gold tax on us. (Apparently she believed that to join the Mormon Church you had to donate a certain amount of pure gold to get baptized. This was how we put the statues of the Angel Moroni on all our temples. It wasn´t the most ridiculous Mormon rumor I´ve heard in Argentina.) To say the least, the lesson was less than edifying, and my hopes for Diego and Jessica to progress were less than optimistic. Then, on Sunday, unexpectedly the whole family showed up to church. The mission is surprising like that sometimes.

We have been having enormous success, and we have managed to keep the area at the very least relatively progressing while we have been in the midst of the office crazy. The Lord has blessed us to be able to magnify the small time that we do have to keep finding and keep teaching. I testify that God knows each of us personally, and is able to guide us by the spirit if we are listening. I miss you all very dearly. It´s strange hearing about the changes at home. New nephews, marriages, dates. Dad switching to apple. (Of all the aforementioned, the last one surprised me most.) But all in all, there isn´t anywhere in the world I would rather be than right here right now in Buenos Aires. I believe sometimes we can see through the windows of life, the moments that we will yearn to return to for the rest of my life. Argentina runs through my blood now. I´ll strive to return to this country for the rest of my life, looking for the feeling that I have right now. I love this work.

Another week at the Office

It´s been another great week in the offices.

And considerably warmer here too.

I´d say it´s a balmy 65 outside right now and not a cloud in the sky. When I think that it would be the equivalent of January in the northern hemisphere, it just makes me happy. Enjoy the furnace of a state you’re living in right now.

I´m at the end of my 3rd transfer in the offices. Which is making my head spin. Time is slipping through my hands faster and faster. The mission never slows down, especially not this week.

The office complications this transfer have been enormous. The presidential change. Missionaries leaving for other missions mid transfer, other missionaries coming from other missions mid transfer. The latest development has definitely been the biggest blow. The office computers allegedly had a virus on them. The workers from the area offices took them out to clean them. The good news is, they got the virus. The bad news is, they erased all traces of the mission database in the process.

The database essentially includes personal information (address, bishop, stake, parents, etc) for more than 200 missionaries. We merge all the letters that we send out based on that information. Fortunately we were able to get a database back up from February, but there are still a lot of bugs. And I´m no computer genius. We´ve been pulling our hair out trying to straighten the problems out, but with little or no success. It´s been an adventure.

Speaking of adventures, on Friday morning we go to President´s house to see the big transfer board. It´s the biggest privilege of being in the offices. It´s like March madness for the office Elders. We all have picks for where everyone is going in the mission, and who is going to make it on the top ten next transfer. This time around I´ve got to guess my own fate. But now it´s hardly a step out into the dark. I´ve gotten to know the mission pretty well after three months in the offices.

Remember my old comp Elder Gibbs? Well he was recently chosen to be the new assistant. It has been fantastic to see him around the offices again.

With the database meltdown, we have been struggling to get out in the area. I hadn´t worked in the sun for the better portion of a week. With transfers coming up my job has been a bit more low key, but come next week things will be pretty loco again as week one is hardest on the Secretary position. I honestly don´t know how long they´ll keep me here. If I´ll go first thing next transfer, or if they´ll send me out to an area first thing next week. The anticipation is something I haven´t felt in a while. For the past two transfers there was no chance of leaving. Uncertainty is the flavor of life. Without it, everything is just a bit more bland.

As far as the area goes, we have been in a bit of a rut. Damian has been progressing in his reading, but unfortunately missed church last week. Keep him in your prayers. Gonzalo is trying to see the point of being baptized. We´ve made a conscious effort to refocus on just reading and praying.

Luis and Veronica also had a bit of a struggle to get to church last week in the rain. We went and watched the testaments with the whole family, which made for a very spiritual experience. Even Luis was a little teary eyed afterward. They had many questions for us, and wanted to know where they could find the story in the book of Mormon. I had to explain that it was fictionalized. One of Luis’ daughters that was visiting from his former marriage asked if we would ever be able to see Jesus like that. I was able to testify to her that we would if we followed the path that he has set for us.

In our appointment last night, Veronica explained about a dream she had had wherein she was wandering through the streets lost and confused. She couldn´t find her way home. She asked everyone she saw on the street, but no one could tell her where her house was. She was just about to the point of hopelessness, when an old man told her that she had to have faith that she would find her house again. A short time after, a light formed around her, and a staircase appeared with a door illuminated at the top. She asked us what it meant and if it was from God. I had her go get the drawing that Elder Boyer had made from a few lessons back of lesson 3. It had the staircase labeled with the principles of the gospel Faith, Repentance, Baptism Etc. We asked her what she thought the dream was telling her to do, and she explained to us that it had to be telling her the need for baptism. They are such elect investigators.

We had a fantastic finding experience. Two weeks ago I shared with you 3 contacts that happened in the street. Diego and Yessica we taught once and had a very powerful cita. We have another appointment with them in 2 hours. Rocky and Monica we have taught twice and we have another appointment tomorrow. The third I told you about was a bit disappointing. We went to his house in the rain and no one was home. It had been over a week and a half since contact when we had our Saturday night planning session. We were feeling down as a result of the current office situation and the day we had had when Elder Boyer told me to try calling Savior one last time. As the phone rang, my mind was running through all the little things I had to do in the offices, all the current frustrations I had at the time. I had tried calling this man at least five times before with no luck. I was so busy thinking negatively that I could hardly believe it when I heard an "hola" on the other side of the line. I couldn´t believe it. We set a cita for Monday night.

Going to that appointment wasn´t easy. Especially considering it was in a dangerous part of our area, and we would have to go relatively far away to get there. After a prayer of guidance we set out to find Savior. Upon arrival, there was no answer at the door, but sure enough, he opened it up after a bit. It was definitely the most interesting finding cita I had had in the mission. The man was high class. A foreign language major speaking anything from Dutch to Portuguese to Russian to French to English to Spanish. He was able to talk to us mostly in English for the night. When we walked in, Elder Boyer immediately noticed the big bongo drums he had against the wall. Savior invited us to a veritable jam session, and we sat around playing the bongos for the first 15 minutes. After we were able to have a brief chat about the importance of L1.

Well I´m out of time. I would like to write some of the other experiences from the week. It really was amazing. I´ll keep you updated on transfers.

I know this church is true, and God guides this work every day. The longer I´m here the longer I realize that this is a marvelous work and a wonder. When I think that there are over 60,000 other missionaries out there all having experiences like these every day, it strengthens my testimony that this is the truth. I love you all. Thank you for the prayers on my behalf.