Sayago Montevideo Uruguay - May 28th 2012

Hi All,

First off, with Joel, not a lot has changed. He's very ready to be baptized and truly wants to follow Jesus Christ, but his situation is no better. We talked to him about the word of wisdom and he told us to hold on a sec and came back with his tobacco. He handed it over and said I don't smoke anymore. It's always such a blessing to see when people truly are willing to make changes to follow Christ. Unfortunately, He still doesn't have a job and he got sick this last week so he wasn't able to make it to church this Sunday. We had a lesson with him and our elders quorum president who sugguested that he go take one of the church courses about applying for and acquiring a job. We'll see what developes, but until he can change his financial situation and make inner restitution with society, we really can't baptise him. We'll see what our leaders say and what the weeks bring.

We visited an lady who is 80 years old last night. Her name is Olga and she has short term memory loss, so she repeats a lot of the same things every time we visit her and she doesn't remember our names, she just knows that we're missionaries. She's been a member of the church for a long time, but the ward boundaries changed a year or two back and she got lost in the change. She doesn't go to chruch now because she can't make it on her own and we've yet to get someone from the ward to go get her. Yet, through her crushing sadness and lonliness, she is a shining light in my life. Whenever we visit her, she always testifies with acute power of the Savior and the role that He plays in her life. I always leave her house, having been boosted spiritually and with some insight or another in tow. It's great. :)

We'll that's about all for now. Elder Dickson is a bit trunky,...to be expected.  I'm excited to see what changes bring but it's all okay. The work rolls on and God grants me strength each day.

Let me leave you with a quick verse from Romans 13:11-12


11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

 I love verse 12 because of the visualization that it provides. Let us cast off all darkness, arm ourselves and ride forth in the glory of the morning of the first resurrection


Still I Rise

Elder Andy

Sayago Montevideo Uruguay - May 21th 2012 (The Parable of the Wounded Soldier)

Hi All,

I'm doing well today. I'm happy too. :) It's been rainy these past couple of days, but not too cold so that's a definite plus. I wore a jacket for the first time yesterday this whole week so it's not too cold...yet.
By the way I had blood sausage for the first time on mothers day. It was actually pretty good. I was pleasantly surpriesed by that.

Anyway, I went on divisons (Splits) with one of the zone leaders this last Tuesday. I hope that means I'm doing something right, not something wrong...We had a good time though. We talked and got to know each other. Elder Cooper is from a little town just outside of City of Rocks Idaho and he says I'm the only missionary he's ever met that knows where his back home is. That's the case because if he ever wanted to do anything he had to go into Burley to do it. He also wants to go climbing with me when I get home. I've heard that a lot on my mission already. Anyway, most everything fell through and no one wanted to let us in, and we looked up an old contact named carmen that they had and she let us in. We had a great lesson and got to know her and taught her about the book of mormon and the resturation of the gospel. It was a nice lesson and the first one I've had in a while which as pleasant as well. Then I went home that night which made it all the better because I got to sleep in my own bed.

Wednesday I had a realization hit me when we were having a lesson with a recent convert. We got inside and she dropped a bomb on us. Elders, I'm not planning on going to church anymore. It's not making a difference in my life. Well.....It would help if you had gone to church for the last two weeks was my first thought. Anyway we sat down and talked about what she was feeling and thinking and experiencing. It ended up being a good lesson and she did come to church yesterday but I couldn't help but think about being a front line fighter again. Once more in the trenches, we happened upon a recent recruit. He had a wound in his chest and it would continue to rip open with his struggles if it was not treated soon. We arrived and he said, guys I just don't want to fight anymore. It's not making a difference. I feel crappy. We surveyed the situation. His body armor laid next to him and his rifle, uncleaned and caked in mud lay next to his armor. We asked why the armor was off. He replied that it was just too hot and uncomfortable. Then my eyes fell upon the rifle. It was a good make, standard issue. I thought of all the times that mine had saved my life. I thought about the thousands of rounds that I had fired without fail. Then I realized that my rifle, while worn and chipped in some places, fired with out fail and offered complete protection because I took care of it. I identified the problems and did my best to correct them. I constantly had it out, cleaning, polishing, checking the action and adjusting the sights. A precision tool of destruction that required precise care. Then, I considered the rifle of the fallen soldier. His lay in the mud, the clip, empty, lay beside it. We asked if he'd been using it when he was hit. "No...It's too heavy and I don't know how to clean it that well. It miss fires a lot and I can never hit my target." Kneeling in the mud, I pulled a hypodermic needle from my bag. "Son, this is going to sting a little bit." I said as I pushed the point into his wound. "Great Scott, you trying to kill me??" He yelped as he pulled back. Then, the sedative kicked in and he relaxed. My companion quickly dressed and treated the wound and I saw to his rifle, carefully wiping the mud from the stock and cleaning the clip. We rose and walked away as our comrade on the mend murmured his thanks. We saw him in the trenches yesterday. His rifle was out. He was firing and he was surrounded by friends.

On Saturday, we stopped by the house of a contact that Elder Dickson and Elder Fitzgerald made when we were on divisions on Tuesday. We had a great lesson with Joel and taught him about the Book of Mormon as well. He knows a great deal about the bible, as he reads it a lot. Side note: His bible was printed in the 1890's. Freakin boss. Anyway, he wasn't too stoked about the idea of going to church but we said we were going to pass by the next morning regardless and so we did. He came out ready to roll and said he really enjoyed church. He has a very philisophical mind and he looks deep into the heart of all the world around him. Because of this, he sees a lot of societal problems and the underlying causes. He's prone to being pessimistic about it so we'll see what some reading and the Holy Ghost can do for this wandering soul.

Other than that, that's pretty much my week. Elder Dickson is starting to get trunky and is showing symptoms of the soon-to-die. That's okay though. I'm cool with taking the lead. That's pretty much my week.

Elder Andy

Sayago Montevideo Uruguay - May 7th 2012

Hi All,

I'm healthy, it's been very warm this week. I've heard that it will be warm clear through next week. And no I do not have the sweater yet. As for my neck of the woodss......we have no one to teach still. That's not for lack of effort though. I promise.

In relation to unmasked optimism...I wasn't aware that I was guilty. I'm just rollin' on (lil' BSC for ya.) I'm doin the best with what I have, just like McGyver. Sorry, I'm just in a really goofy mood. Life is boss when you're rockin the tag n tie. Granted, not if you're workin like KFC or a store. Only when you're a servant of the Almighty God.

Let's see. Tuesday was labor day. As such, pretty much everything shut down. Including the busses. So we walked 40 minutes to and from district meeting. That was interesting. I made hamburgers for lunch. That was good. On thursday, I went on divisions and was with my MTC companion once again. Elder Tyree! Little bit of deja vu and his area looks exactly like Buenos Aires. NOOOOOO!!! I'm back to square one! 8 months down the drain! Except I can actually talk to people now... that's cool I guess.


On Friday my companion tried to convince me that jackalopes are real and they are jack rabbits with little horns on their head. Granted this was at a members house in Spanish. After a hushed and very rapid discussion in English, I couldn't stop laughing. They were a little confused (the members) and we told them to not worry about it. On the way home that night I couldn't stop laughing as we discussed it. I felt bad and apologized but jackalopes...?


I've seen clips of things that I know for sure are funny in english and no one here thinks they are funny. Also, sarcasm does NOT work in spanish. That's a bit rough and I've had to bite my tongue more than a couple of times when I've been asked como andas? Well usually I use my feet but today I was considering my hands...Promblem is como andas is pretty much slang for what's up so only americans that speak spanish think I'm funny. :D Oh well.
As for mothers day...I have access to skype. I was origianlly just going to have you call our house phone but I think I'll opt for skype. I'll be sitting at a computer at 2015 on sunday so that would probably be the opportune time. :D



Saturday, we prepped to teach the ward on Sunday about missionary work. We printed the talk by Donald A. Hallstrom from this last conference and used parts of it. We taught about understanding the importance of the gospel and the chuch. Then we discussed the chance that we have to combine them and become powerful representatives and disciples of Jesus Christ as we live and apply the principles of the Gospel. Through faithful chruch attendance and application of the concepts of the gospel, we will truly bring others to the fold. They are always watching and when we are living righteously, we will be able to answer the questions when they come. Because they will come, one day or another. As members of the true and restored church, it is our responsibity to respond to any and all questions treating our affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ. It went off really well and I know that can be attributed to careful, prayerful, thoughtful preparation and then heeding the Spirit as we executed our master plan. We had about 40 minutes and ended up switching off every 5 or 7 minutes so we each taught for about 20 minutes total. It's also ironic because earlier in the week we'd discussed "winging it by the spirit" (A talk sometime by Elder David A. Bednar.) In reality, we cannot wing it by the spirit. We have to prepare, know the word, know the scriptures, think about it, pray about it, plan the talk. Then, when it comes to the actually delivery, the Spirit will guide our words and give us what we need to say, from our own memory banks. As such, the class went well and I'm very grateful because I was a little bit nervous for it. God has our backs though and so as long as we are obedient, it's all going to work out for our good right?

 

Basically, we're walking our pants off (not literally. How embarrassing.) looking for old investigators and new ones. It's hard going but I know that as we keep searching we'll find what this area needs. It's just going to take concerted effort. Like always right? I think if I'm not in submission to stifling optimism, I'd probably be drowning in the gravity of this situation like some sort of black hole swimming pool. If missionaries neglect faith and optimistic point of view, our brains would explode like so much C4 on a bank vault. The key to the work is trusting the Lord and pushing as hard as you can. That's why I'm optimistic. Because in the desperation of the realisation of what exactly I've gotten myself into, the only answer can be found in reliance upon the Lord. That's why missionaries are so creepily happy. Perspective and all that. No smoke and mirrors, just blantant realisation of reality. I know that Jesus Christ lives. That's why I'm happy and sane. That's why I'm in south america. To testify of that truth. That's the heart of it all. Not baptism, not numbers, not more members. The glorious truth that comes with the Spirit confirming to the heart that Jesus really does live, that He loves all, heals all and saves all. That's what's up.

Chau,
Elder Andy

Sayago Montevideo Uruguay - May 1st 2012

Hi All,

I'm currently in barrio Sayago in Montevideo. We are on the boarder of the mission with the east mission and it's a supportive ward. Elder Dickson is great. He and I get along really well. Not quite like elder V and I but we still have a ton of fun and he's not too trunky yet which is great. He is from more than a couple of places but most recently he is from Las Vegas for most of his teenage years.

As for the house, it's the nicest one I've seen in the mission. I know its not the best but its the greatest one I've ever been in. It's really small but that's okay. There is hot running water in all faucets which is great. The shower is tiny. Bit like a linen closet really but it's clean and warm. I feel like if i sneeze while showering I'll fall out but it's okay. The city is huge and our area is really mostly just houses. There is a store called devoto in our area which is like a smaller version of walmart which is nice. Prices on the other hand in this town are ridiculous. Good thing I'm a bit of a tightwad.

Yes we are walking, unless it's for things outside of our area and then we bus. I'd say the area is a little bit smaller than Tranqueras. Probably quite a bit smaller actually.  The stake patriarch is in our barrio. They just sent a missionary out 6 weeks ago and so mom is still struggling a little bit and loves having us over. She says not to worry because she is taking good care of me.

I'm very happy with the members thus far. If we could just find them some investigators to help now....That seems to be the problem that this zone has, finding. It seems like our entire zone is really struggling. As such, we do a lot of contacting and no one really has investigators. We'll see what the future brings. Elder Dickson and I just overhauled the area book and map and are planning on hitting all ex investigators to see if we can drum up some action for, with and by the spirit. Because everyone in this city works a ton so that they can stay alive and keep living in the city. We'll see what happens when we stir this pot up with the Rod of God.


I really don't have a ton of stuff to say, nor scriptures. This has been a really chill week and we're just trying to get things going in this area.   We went and visited a recent convert planning on reviewing tithing with her. We got in and chatted a little bit and then out of left field Elder Dickson decided that we should teach her how to use the scriptures. He picked one from D&C, the New Testament and the Pearl of Great Price. I picked one from the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament. She started looking for them and halfway through I thought that I should change the Old Testament one. So I changed it to ezk 37.16 & 17

 16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

That just worked out perfectly to wrap up the lesson. It was great. we both testified of the scriptures and then headed out. Bottom line is, follow the promptings. Even the little ones. It makes a difference.


Elder Andy