Abrir la Fecha

Office life runs like clockwork. Essentially it turns into a big blur. A fantastic blur. My head as we speak is spinning round in circles. The days go a lot faster when the long wandering of the streets in the morning is replaced with the demanding secretary schedule. Demanding in the sense of organization. The actual workload of the offices isn´t terrible, and the best part, almost everything can wait until tomorrow. If we get too busy, or if I have to go out and work, I can do it.

The hard part of the office is keeping the mind in the work. It´s not always easy being in a nice air conditioned room surrounded by North Americans. In that respect, I´m jealous of the missionaries out wandering through the muddy streets of the villas in the rain. Don´t get me wrong, I´m still doing missionary work, just after 4 or 5 in the afternoon. It´s a lot easier to leave with the spirit when we can get directly out of our personal and comp study and hit the streets. That isn´t always the case here, when I usually have to jump from my odd ball tasks here ranging from ordering plane tickets to entering information in the mission database, directly into a lesson. I´m sure Elder Ockey can sympathize with that.

But time is moving so much faster. The last transfer moved drudgingly slow. Now life in Adrogué has jumped in the fast lane. It really is a different mission here. The consolation comes when I realize that the Lord has called me to be here. I´ve found in the mission, and even further in life, that it´s almost easier to accept the big and hard assignments. My glamorized cinematically inspired aspirations want President to come to me and tell me something like "Elder I´m going to send you to an area where man eating crocodiles the size of airliners wander the streets and where missionaries have never set foot before, and I need Elders that can work a miracle." It´s the kind of call that appeals to the pride. I´ve found, and seen, and now can witness, sometimes it´s hard to accept the smaller calls. The calls sometimes perceived as easier or less important. Of course we all KNOW that these positions are necessary and that we should "stand where we are and lift,” but even still, when the call comes, I´m sure it takes every bit as much faith to accept and magnify the lesser role. "I´ll go where you want me to go" has no conditionals.

Outside of the offices we´ve seen enormous success. We have a new key indicator called "Abrir la fecha," or translated "Open the date" referring to setting baptismal dates. That means that we need to extend the baptismal invitation at every opportunity we have. Just yesterday we had two appointments where we almost got the commitment. One of those was with an investigator that has been struggling lately, Victor.

Victor is divorced and lives with his mom and two daughters. His long black hair is testimony to his shady past, and at first glance of his darkened eyes you know he´s seen too much. We decided to teach him the basic message of the restoration and extend a baptismal invitation. The majority of our prior appointments had winded up with him wallowing in self pity. As we taught about the first vision there was such a special spirit, and you could see his countenance change. When we extended the invitation to be baptized he still had his doubts, but told us he wanted to start over. I know this message has the potential to change lives.

Other than that the work has been progressing wonderfully. We have been able to find a new family and also find a few bible obsessed evangelists. That is pretty common here. The hardest points to teach are the fact that

1. You have to do something more than merely confess the name of Christ to receive exaltation. and

2. The bible is not the only word of God.

Anyways, I love doing missionary work. I love where I am right now with my comp. I know the Lord has a plan for each and every one of us, and if we go where He wants us to go, wherever that may be; we may just find he has more in store for us than we had in store for ourselves. This work is true. God lives and loves us.