Tacuarembó Uruguay - Jan 14th 2013

Hi all,

Elder Lamb

I’m doing great and so is Elder Lamb. We bicker a lot like brothers just because it’s funny to poke fun at Canada and at the US so we get along really well. He’s tired a lot and falls asleep in lessons sometimes too which makes for interesting visits sometimes ;D He’s told me various times now that he’s so tired and that he’s always tired and I chuckled and said, me too. He’s not a wimp by any means so we work hard and we are always doing it the best that we can, setting goals, looking for what we did well and what to improve and above all, striving to follow the will of the Lord.  He’s a really good elder and wants to be able to speak Spanish yesterday. He’s progressing so rapidly with his Spanish that I know that the Lord is truly helping him. He has great desires to do good and is very humble. He’s also not afraid to ask me for help which is somewhat odd at times because I’m the Sr. Companion that’s supposed to know everything, how to do everything, how to get every where and when and were we need to be all the time. I just….I remember relying so much on Elder Johnson and Elder Velazquez at the beginning of my mission and now I’m the one who  is doing the leading and the guiding.

Elder Simpson and Elder Lamb

We had a stupendous week here in the guay and things are pluggin along nicely. The highs were the great lessons that we had for the first half of the week and the lows were the lack of lessons for the last half and nearly 0 investigators in church but we keep marching!  We saw so many miracle finds at the last of the week before and the beginning of this last week. I was awestruck for like 3 days at all that the Lord was doing through us and then we had a hard last half  of the week. I know that bit of a roller coaster up and down kind of rattled elder lamb and he was a little down for a couple of hours on one or two days, but he’ll soon get adapted. 

As for the weather, it’s been chilly here at night which is rather interesting. As of right now this summer has been much less intense than last year for this part of January so I really can’t complain about that. Mild heat, but nothing like the blast oven winds I felt last year. I may just be able to make it through this summer just fine and dandy. It’s looking like it’s going to rain with in the next day or so (by now I can tell by cloud formations and how the air feels when it’s gonna rain, pretty neat huh?) as such, it should get a little cooler and we’ve been having a constant breeze for 3 days which has just been pleasant. Even the heat we have been getting cools off nicely at night and even gets a little crisp in the morning. When we go running. THAT’S RIGHT! Once more I am a  street demon beatin the pavement with my kid in the early mornings and it is GOOD. I LOVE running first thing in the morning. We’ve seen some nice sun rises as we get out to run and some really deep reds and purples in the heavens. I’ve always enjoyed the stars and space and the sky….maybe it helps me feel closer to God.

I saw the Hand of God in my life in various ways this week, but primarily with the people that we were able to find and especially in the progress of elder Lamb. We weren’t able to find Marcelo again except in passing twice but we’re going to try our hardest this week and see if we can help him become a solid investigator.

In front of the Temple in Uruguay

It’s the best when I have a great study because I receive so many insights and revelations in such a short amount of time. Unfortunately, I fall asleep like 3 out of 5 times in my studies because I’m so tired all the time. I’ve taken to doing a great deal of my studies standing up just so I can comprehend what I’m Reading. But sometimes, there are days when I am wide awake and today was one of those days. I have come to love the bible quite dearly these past few months and this last week I studied out of 1 John 4 (see scripture below) and then I’m Reading the bible on my own time. Today I read the testimony and beginning of the trial of Paul in acts 22 and 23. He was a pretty boss follower of Christ. I also read out of Alma 10. V 5 is evidence of how often God is willing to spare us and  how much His hand guides us. V 6 talks about how He will call us many times and v 7 literally spells out how it will always be for the blessing of our lives and the lives of those we love. I really like that part because I started my study asking God to help me find something to strengthen my testimony of His love. He showed me what I needed for the day. I love the Lord so much and just want to be like Him.

Here is that scripture from 1 John 4.

1 John 4.7-11
 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might alive through him.
 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

Love
Elder Andy