Tranqueras Uruguay - February 6th 2012

First things first, it's been raining on and off for three days. This would be okay, but it's really humid and it's south american rain...that means there aren't a ton of drops but they're HUGE! Makes for some fun walking. At least it's warm so getting a little wet doesn't suck. It's far too warm for a trench coat so I just rock my umbrella and it's good enough. Yes, there are only about 12 active members. We eath with a recently inactive sister every sunday and sometimes on mondays if we can't think of an excuse fast enough. It's wonderful that she wants to feed us, but she serves really heavy pasta with thin meat sauces and bread and so we come out feeling like we just ate thanksgiving dinner. We usually have to get about two plates down before she's happy with how much we've eaten. Pretty much we eat with the same people every week. We've only had one different person give us food once since I've been here. It's pretty much always the same, guiso of some kind. Basically it's rice, some seasonings, a little meat and maybe some veggies. We got grilled chicken and mashed potatoes this last saturday which was a nice mix up. Today, we bought cereal and had that for lunch with some leftover pizza that we ordered out thursday night. The pizza place knows the missionaries number by heart and exactly where we live. Looks like the North Americans can't ever have too much pizza. Elder V  (Velazquez)  and I think it's kind of expensive so maybe we'll try some of their sandwhiches next time. Vamos a ver. (We shall see).

You don't think I could grow a mustache of that nature if i wanted to?!?! How insulting! Okay yea, elder V's girlfriend sent them in a package. They were also in the same package that had the yo-yos that we totally burned through because we used them that much. We had a lot of fun taking those pictures. He and i have sworn to each other to have as much fun and work as hard as we can while we're together. We're each so grateful to be able to walk the streets of Tranqueras and testify of Jesus Christ with out best friend. I feel like I've know him for years, not just a month. He and I get along really well and have such a good time. At the same time, we shore each other up when the other falters or feels discouragement. I can see the fire of the gospel burning in his eyes each day and I just love working with him and becoming absolutely immersed in the spirit.
 
Our house doesn't smelly like sweaty mold anymore. Granted that's the humidities fault. Now it smells like cinnamon sandal.  Incense is the best.  At least it's not sweaty cinnamon sandal. There's an alliteration for ya. Anyway. We decided to go work an hour before starting P-day today, because we get in some of our best work in the mornings. We went to go contact some of our really good contacts and first lessons because we haven't been able to find two of them which is frustrating. That being said, we couldn't find them again, imagine that, and so we contacted for our fall back plan. It was humid and everyone was shutting us down. Lo and behold, the Lord threw us a bone. We found a new investigator. Her name is Guarasilva and she's not home too much because she works in Compana but we came at the right time. She let us in and then proceeded to tell us about how her nephew had bought a motorcycle against adivsment and crashed it on New Years eve and now he's brain dead. Plan of Salvation anyone? It was a perfect set up and we had a great lesson. We got to know her a little bit, so hopefully she'll be comfortable with us calling and coming over to continue teaching her.

If the Spirit could be placed in a nuclear warhead, we blew it up yesterday. In the dismal deluge of the afternoon, we were illuminated by eternal fire. We left the ground steaming behind us and charbroiled a few malignant spirits. Actually,  we went to visit a sister who had a baby this last week. We walked into the room and got lit up like a few sand ninjas in US marine territory. The spirit was so strong in that room, it was like the hand of God slapped us in the face. As called representatives of Jesus Christ, we will never be able to summon the spiritual power of a pure spirited new born child of our Eternal Father. That spirit was so recently in the heavens and the glory still radiates from the feeble and meager vessle that is a human body. I am truly grateful for childrens. After that, we went and had a lesson with a less active which was pretty normal. Hopefully we can get him to church and comfortable with the ward.

This is where it gets good. We went to a first lesson that a member had sugguested and she was there. We talked for a bit and then started teaching. She was pretty receptive but elder V and I were working so well together, which actually means we weren't doin a thing. The spirit was calling all of the shots. Then the investigator said all the other missionaries had hammered baptism. This is the part where I told her I was not there to dunk her. I had struggled with that same idea in the CCM (MTC). I only came to invite people to come to Jesus Christ and to feel and know of his love, but that in order for that to happen, we have to enter the waters of baptism. We cannot come closer to our Savior but through the waters of baptism. I told her that the primary purpose of our visit on that day was to invite her to talk to God, read of his word and see if it was true. I love  teaching.

The spanish goes great when I'm with investigators. Outside of lessons, I'm still a gringo. After this, we had a South American rain storm as we went to go see a recently inactive couple. We talked with the husband for a bit and then he said he had a question about something he'd found in the book of revelations. Uh-oh. Bad sign. I can't tell you how many times i've had scriptures from revelations thrown at us saying we're false. Turns out he just thought it was cool and wanted to share it with us. Phew. Then we really got to the heart of it. Like so many others, he too has a problem with the branch president. I guess a lot of bad things went down a few months back and this area tanked. We have to fight against that, plus we have to try and bring others unto to the fold. Makes for interesting work. We constantly pray for this area and for what we can do. The answer: Keep following the Holy Ghost and working with our very best efforts. And so it is.

A couple days back I decided to conduct a study on meekness, the least defined attribute of this gospel. Walk with me in the pages of Moroni 7. Verses 43 and 44 if you wouldn't mind. Looks like we can't have faith or hope without meekness. But what is it? The topic guide sugguests we research contrite heart, humility, poor in spirit, and teachable. That's a good start. Let's dig deeper. Moroni 8:26. Meekness comes with the remission of sins. In the very moment of forgiveness, that feeling, that's the feeling of meekness. We have to be meek for the Holy Ghost to descend upon us and bring the healing power of the Atonement to our heart and soul. Deeper still. D&C 84:106 The strong in spirit must impart of their strength to the weak. By doing so, we will recieve a little something called charity. Oooooo, let's bounce back to Moroni 7. Verses 32-48 detail a reverse engineered recipe for faith and hope, attributes we as members of the church like to focus on. Yet, beneath faith and hope lies meekness. Further on the road, there lies the origin, charity. So, in my half formed opinion, meekness is that feeling between sorrow and joy in the repentance process. It's what allows us to recieve pardon. It is demonstrated by the humble and faithful servant. What was that? What about charity? Glad you asked. We can have NONE of that, without charity. Take a look at Moroni 7:35-37. Take that, rip your chest open, grab your scapel, cut your heart wide like a smile, and gently ever so gently, place those verses in there. Not the raw material though! You have to analyze it first. Observe it, absorbe it, poke it prod it question it. Ponder on it. Talk to God about it. Talk you yourself about it. Live it, learn it, be it. Then you can have it in your heart. When you do this, then maybe, just maybe, you can  have meekness. And maybe, sometime during the eternities, you can become that faithful and hope filled servant. I know it will take me that long to get there.

Well, that's all i've got for now. Except for this awesome scripture about rock climbing that elder v showed me that he got from a talk that richard g scott gave in Nov 2006 (Conference issue ensign, but you already knew that.) entitled "The Atonement Can Secure Your Peace & Happiness." I strongly recommend the talk to anyone that loves to climb. The scripture is Moses 7:53. Climb on.

This is a war, the casualties are real. As medics and front line fighters, it may not be blood that spots our hands and faces, but the work is just as grisly. It may not be bullets that fly past our heads but the firey darts of the adversary are just as deadly. It may not be litteral screaming that fills the air, but I can hear it. I see the fear and the pain in their eyes. We try to make it to some before it's too late. We miss others, because we're human and we can't do this all on our own. But we know how the war will end. The word of the Lord will roll forth and cover the face of the land, and in robes of scarlet The Magnificent Creator will come once again. The world will burn with the rain of fire, but the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ has the power to save all of mankind. Never forget Him. He will never forget you.  Time to grab my rifle, my medical bag and head back into the trenches. Pray always, that you may come off conqueror. I know I do. Pray for sunrise, because we are the harbringers of fate. The end is coming. Let's face it with God at our back.

Elder Simpson

Tranqueras Uruguay - January 31th 2012

Things are hot.  The temple trip was great. I really miss the spirit of the temple and the peace that can be found within it's walls. I do get to go once more before I leave and if any of my zone's are close enough to the temple during the duration of the mission I think we get to go at least once then too. I actually understood a lot more than I thought i would and it really was a wonderful experience. I find that in the scriptures, the language is much more simplified in spanish and it helps you think about and realize things about the gospel that had never occured to you before. Looks like the gospel is true in spanish too. :)


Tell grandmother I slept on both bus rides to and from the temple and that I sacked out that night. I'm tired all the time. Most of my morning prayers and numerous prayers during the day are me beseeching God to keep me awake and give me the strength to keep going. I'm so tired all the time but it's okay. I've got God on my team. I can promise there have been numerous days this week where it wasn't me getting out of bed but concourses of angels rolling me out.


We're finally back on track for a normal week so yes, lots of work. Our Zone Leaders asked us to find 9 last week. The mission goal for each week is 8 and we only had five days in our area. We decided to fast saturday night and Sunday morning. Saturday night, we found jessica. We were across the area and trying to look up some really good contacts and old investigators but everything fell through. So, we decided to pray. Then we hi-tailed it to the other end of our area and started tracting. We decided to do one last door and well...you can guess the rest.  We found a new investigator named Jessica.


During sacrament meeting, in walked an investigator we'd dropped and she brought 5 others. We talked to 2 of them that were interested and had 9 found by sunday night. The Lord truly blesses his servants. I have no doubt about that. i have actually been doing some of the teaching. Elder Velazquez are really focusing on following the promptings of the holy ghost and so whenever we feel like we should say anything we use the sign and start teaching. I've started talking a lot more the last couple of weeks and so hopefully at this rate my spanish will improve rapidly.

The branch meets in a house that used to be an Elder house. There are 308 members on record and 12 active. This last Sunday we had about 40 people there. Elder Velazquez and I were ecstatic. Fasting really does pay off. :)

Tranqueras isn't actually that far from where I was before. The food and the people are about the same. There are more and less farmers out here at the same time. Tough to describe really, but it's the way it is I promise. The house is certainly cleaner and elder Velasquez and I are pretty good at keeping it tidy and spider free. Yes, we eat with members Wednesday through Sunday. We fend for ourselves mondays and eat at the line in rivera on Tuesdays for district meetings. Today we're going to have french toast and bacon for lunch. I made the syrup last night. I like eating too much for us to go hungry mom. Don't you worry. :)

If i slept with the mesh over me, i'd probably drown in my on sweat. As such, i sleep about two feet away from the walls. I've yet to hear of an elder getting bitten out here so hopefully i'm not the first. We're walking more than we were in Tres cruses because there are no buses out here so it's all by feet. On P-days we explore shops and restaurants that we find. Today we took pictures and then we're going home to make lunch and clean and write family and friends. He and I also write sometimes and so we're developing a series of short stories together. I actually really enjoy P-days out here. Rather relaxed. Tranquilo (peaceful) is what matters.

Tonight I'm going on divisions with a member of the branch presidency and we're going to go do some teaching. I've done it before but it still makes my stomach do turns when i think about it. I know that in the strength of the Lord I can do all things. As such, i try and clear my mind of worry and doubt before we leave so that I can be open to the voice of my Heavenly Father directing me in the pathes he would have me walk.

We are pretty agreeable when it comes to food so we really just buy things and then share them. It works out nicely that way. I'm so glad you get to know that area more and more each day. It's the same way with me. We find something new everyday and we're thankful for the chance to explore as we work. We meet a lot of interesting people, some grumpy some happy some complacent, some sad but mostly it's funny when people are scared of us.


Spiritual thought time. I spent my personal study today in 3 Nephi 19. So much can be learned about the ministry of Christ, the manner of prayer, demonstrations of faith and desires to serve in this chapter. The magnitude of the spirit while reading this chapter is of crushing proportions. I cannot express the feelings I had while reading. I'll share a thought I had about verse 3. "The people did labor exceedingly to come to the place where Christ would minister on the morrow. Labor exceedingly. This is the night of our lives. The coming of Christ is eminent and be it that we pass on to meet him or arrive in the city of Bountiful when he comes, I would that each of us did labor exceedingly. They received news of his coming, grabbed food and walked out the door. I'm sure they walk/jogged the whole night through in order to arrive and upon doing so, they were taught by the called disciples of Jesus Christ. They had an opening pray, taught with exactness from the Saviors words and closed with a prayer. Then, they went about doing what he had commanded them the day before, namely baptism and confirmation. it was during this  time of proactive obedience that they received ministry and supplication from on high. I testify that as we activly seek to obey the words of Christ and rely on pray, that we too can receive supplication. We have to demonstrate our faith before we can receive God's help, and sometimes that means we walk out the door for the day. And sometimes, to demonstrate our courage AND our faith, we go to bed saying, i'll give it my absolute best tomorrow. Feast upon the words of Christ, for they are the words of life and salvation. I testify of his divinity as a called servant of his ministry. He lives, He loves us, and His invitation is to all. We only have to choose to "labor exceedingly" and demonstrate our faith on his words and the help will come. 

Enjoy the pictures, we had fun taking them.

Elder Simpson

Tranqueras Uruguay - January 25th 2012

Hi All,

Here I am finally. We were notified last minute of a temple trip that we took today and they cancelled our p-day.   I don't have nearly as much time as I'd like because I got off a bus from MonteVideo about 15 minutes ago and I have to catch a bus to Tranqueras in about 40 minutes so I'll make this quick.

Anyways! Elder Velazquez is doing great!  He and I continue to wear ourselves out every day. No, his family did not convert. Just him. But, he has a family in the church whom he took the lessons with and they're very supportive. He gets letters from his girlfriend a lot and his church family sends him packages and letters as well as emails so it's all okay. He has a very firm testimony of the gospel so he doesn't really get `fased by much.

I try to make my letters as interesting as I can, but I blink twice and another week has flown by. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was moving out to Tranqueras. Days feel like hours and weeks like days. I forget sometimes that I did something two or three days before because it feels like it was yesterday.  When we get out and work hard, the days come screaming past. It's hard to believe this change is already over and I talked on the phone with you an entire month ago.

So about the temple trip. When my mtc group entered the country we didn't get a chance to go to the temple because everything was done so fast because president had to leave. They let us know on Friday that we ( Elder McDaniel and I), were catching a midnight bus to MonteVideo on Tuesday night. I was in La Padreda  doing divisions with the junior companion of our District Leader, Elder Mullen. He was in my area with my companion. So, Elder Velazquez and I caught a bus out here on Tuesday morning for district meeting and then did a choque de fuerza in the area of chico dos. Basically that means we contacted for 8 hours in another area to help them out and give us something to do. Not as bad as it sounds because it poured all that morning so the temperatures were relatively low for the rest of the day. We had some really good conversations and stumbled upon a menos activo (less active) where we were able to end the day on a strong spiritual note.

Also, we found a former Stake Patriarch and so we were able to talk to him and recharge our spiritual batteries. Anyway, we then caught a taxi to central uno at about 9 at night and ended up staying awake til midnight because they didn't have mattresses and by the time we could have gotten it worked out we would have had to leave. So, we walked the remaining 4 blocks to the bus station where we met up with Elder  McDaniel and his companion Elder Killpack. Elder Velazquez and Killpack went back to Killpack's place after Elder McDaniel and I caught the 00:30 super-cama to MonteVideo. (By the way, La Padreda where I went on divisions is also the 4 elder house that elder McDaniel is in.) Our bus got into Tres Cruces bus station in MonteVideo at 6:30 this morning.

We met up with the office elders and high tailed it to the mission home where we pounded a cinnamon roll and walked to the temple. We did the 8:00 session with `president and it was so wonderful to be in the celestial room once again. How I've missed the temple. It was really hard to stay awake because of the crazy hours and it was all in Spanish. The Lord truly blessed us for being there though. Anyway, we got done and changed back into our suits and went to the mission home for 10 minutes and then grabbed sandwiches and went with the office elders back to Tres Cruces bus station and then Elder McDaniel and I got on the 12:30 bus to Rivera. And that, has been the last two days of my life. I'm freakin tired.

We found some amazing investigators this last week and the work looks like it's going to pìck up very very soon in Tranqueras. Elder Velazquez and I have great hope for this area. Our bus leaves at 8:15 so we'll have to move fast.  The weeks without mail suck and then you all go and send me a ton like you did last week. Thank you all so much.


Quote of the week from elder v: "We're gonna keep going like two rats on fire. I don't even know what that means" I just don't think i can top that. So for now, I'll be running like a rat on fire.


 Jesus is the Christ. He gave his life willingly on the cross for all of us. He submitted to the will of the Father that night in the Garden of Gethsemane. Only through him can we recieve salvation and true healing. I testify of his divinity and power everyday and I see the difference that he makes in the lives of those who turn to him. I pray for you all and I know that God loves each and every one of you. Above all else, never forget that.

Til tuesday!

Tranqueras Uruguay - January 16th 2012

Hello All,

Where on earth do I begin....I'm in Tranqueras with my new trainer/senior companion, Elder Ulysses Velazquez. Tranqueras is about an hour bus ride away from Rivera and it's in the middle of no where. The town literally shuts down from the hours of 1 to about 4 and sometimes from noon til 5. That's all about the area for now. I have to keep things in order or I will lose track of what everything I want to tell you.

Elder Velazques is from Spokane Washington and has been a member of the church for just over 2 years. He's completed a year at BYU-I and was studying to be a youth preacher for an evangelist church when he started taking the lessons from the missionaries his senior year. He has been out for 8 months and is in his 4th change. He knows the Bible like the back of his hand and has an absolute hunger to learn more of the Book of Mormon. I remind you that I have been out for 4 months and am in the middle of my 2nd change. A situation such as this is rare at best, unheard of at the very least. That being said, VAMOS ARRIBA!

Coming into the area was interesting. About a half hour out I asked if there was a lot of lumber production in the area. You remember in books when they talk about forests appearing as oceans of rolling green? I saw that. Tranqueras is a small island of barely functioning civilization in a calm but deep sea of foilage.


The new area is tough. Lots of problems.  A lot of the people are very judgmental and we're working mostly on revitalizing the branch. Without their help, it's going to be impossible to get any work done in this area. The mission is stressing working with members so we're trying our best with that. The problem is, there are only 12 active members in our ward even though there are 300 members on record, and roughly 30 other churches out here, all with more attendance each week than ours. Without a strong ward, the work here is going to die. That is our task. I level my sword and wage war. Elder V and i mean business. We've come home exhausted each night this week, happy with how we've done. We're seeing a little bit of progress in some of the menos activos (less actives). I'll keep you posted on all of that.


I truly love elder Velazquez. I'm going to learn so much from him. He aches to follow the savior and we try our very hardest  to be the best missionaries we can be each day. He has such a testimony of Jesus Christ. I don't even know if i can describe the power his testimony holds. It's astounding. My spanish gets a little bit better everyday. I'm speaking a lot more out here that in was in Rivera so we'll see if that helps. Elder V is still learning so it makes it fun when neither of us know the word we're looking for.   The members really seem to like us and we leave a lot of people smiling so that makes me very happy.

I currently live in a place I've dubbed the spider house, a reference to the legend of zelda. The catch phrase in the house is, Elder we're gonna need the mata'todo (Kill all) and a lighter. Because the mata todo doesn't work on these ones. They're too big. I've currently killed about 3 that were as big as the palm of my hand. You have to burn them because the bug killer doesn't work on them. Needless to say, we keep on our toes. It's getting to be kind of funny  now and I'm a lot less....fearful of spiders.

I don't know if i've told you this yet, but its HOT. This last week was actually okay, because it rained for a couple days and the clouds stuck around for a couple days but it was hot at 10:30 this morning which means we're right back into the devils armpit.

I have actually been drinking a decent amount of milk and yogurt. I try and keep myself eating healthy down here. It's hard but it's certainly possible.

We laugh a lot every day and some days come close to crying during studies. We continue to learn so much from each other and from the Spirit. And we yo-yo. His girlfriend sent him 2 yo yo's in a package and so we have a lot of fun with that. We tried out a lancheria today. Type of a diner. It was decent. We just look for ways to have fun and new things to do out here. I just think this is what missionary work is really like. We pray often, and are constantly seeking to do the Lord's will and have a great time while doing so. We see the hand of the Lord so much in our travels. Yesterday, we contacted for about 2 hours. Everything we had fell through and so when that happens, we try and find menos activos (less actives), inactivos (inactives) or go find new investigators so that we're not wasting time.

We ask for references if we ever visit members. So anyway, last night, we knocked 30 doors. 4 answered. It was a rough night, but we keep up good spirits because we have faith that the Lord will watch over us for doing his work. This morning, we left at 10 to get some work in before p-day. We found a great family. The Lord sometimes pays us back immediately, some times we have to wait. We visitied a lot of menos activos this week and committed them to all go to church. None of them showed up but we ended up going to get two of them. This is one of those things were we're just going to have to wait. We have faith that the Lords will will come about in this area as we apply ourselves to the utmost of our abilities.

President passed by our house Tuesday morning so that we could interveiw with him. He's interviewing all of the mission currently. We don't have zone conference  this month. Anyways, he said that this is a very tough area. Elder V has not been taught how to train. I'm still very new. This area is in need of a swift kick in the butt. And 2 newbies got the assignment. I know that as we apply ourselves, we can do it. President testified of how he knows he receives counsel from the Lord when it comes to making changes. I know he does.

Elder V and I just mesh.  It feels like elder V and I have known each other for a long long time. He says the same about me. He wants to be such a good missionary and each day we strive to be the very best we can be. I come home so tired every night. If I sit down i start falling asleep. We are putting our all into this work. He and I learn to love the Lord a little bit more each day. We learn to love and respect the people a little bit more each day. We're always learning what works and what doesn't. We have to be flexible if we are to follow the Lord's plan for us. If i might quote my companion, "It doesn't have to be glorious to have purpose." Tranqueras is by no means glorious.

The importance of daily scripture study is immeasurable. I marvel at the fact that some days it can take anywhere from 2 minutes to an hour to study a pair of verses, depending on what the Lord has prepared for me to learn that morning. My testimony grows each day of the Book of Mormon. I too echo the testimony of Joseph Smith, Jr. No book will draw us closer to our loving Heavenly Father than that book. It is the key to everything that we profess to be. We can learn so much from it's pages, for it was written to edify, sanctify and rectify our lives. Each of the prophets received divine revelation when they recorded their words and as such, each word was placed in the book of Mormon for a very specific and divinely guided reason. It trurly is another testament of the life and works of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We can learn of his words and his will for us. The sanctity of this book is astounding. Cleave to it with every fiber of your being. Think on it's words. Trust in it¡s counsel. Ask your Eternal God, every day of your life, if it is true. You will always receive an answer. I pray that we never lose sight of this.

Chau for now
Elder Simpson

Rivera Uruguay - January 9th 2012

Greeting for the last time from Rivera Uruguay

We worked HARD this last week. We found 13 new possible investigators, had 10 lessons with a member present and 7 other lessons and 50 contacts. We put up some pretty respectable numbers. Last night, at 10:35 our phone rang. I answered and it was our Zone Leader Elder Pope.  There's an elder in Tranqueras and so he's getting sent to Monte Video. There's also a pretty fresh elder there, 3rd change which means he`'s just above me, who's had a rough first three changes and he needs a fresh start. The districts have been reorganized in this zone twice in the last change (three weeks. Hump day is this wednesday.) and so I'm going out to Tranqueras with elder Velazquez and my trainer, Elder Johnson, gets the new elder from Monte Video.
Elder Killpack and Elder McDaniel are changing with Elder Rivas and Elder Taylor, the latter of which goes home next change. So! The world went up in flames in the last 24 hours.

Last week when we were dealing with a lot of the fury of the storm, Elder Johnson was having a really hard time with it and so I offered to give him a blessing of comfort. He said yea, so we turned the lights on and I'm so thankful to my Lord above that I'm worthy to utilize the healing powers of heaven to bless those around me. That was a really good experience.

Elder Velazquez, was born in New York and grew up in Washington state, in Spokane. He converted 2 years ago when he was studying to become a preacher. He knows the bible back and front as well as the original 150 pokèmon.. :D He's in my zone and has been since I got here and so I've met him more than a couple times. I'm really excited to be able to work with him. He's very passionate about the work and has about 6 changes left.  The Lord need me in Tranqueras and I'm excited to see what I can learn and do out there. It's got a reputation as a pretty rought area.  Hopefully Elder Velazquez and I can do some serious work and see some results. The Lord knows that there is something that I can learn out there and that my progression in tres cruzes has come to an end. Time to move on.

We transfer tomorrow morning at 9:30 so it should be a pretty clean switch.  This is not a negative special change, but rather an opportunity for Elder Johnson to help another elder out and for me to learn a lot more. All I know about my new area is that it's about a 30 to 40 minute bus ride away from town and we only come in 3 P-days out of the change. We come in every Tuesday for district meeting and there are cibers out there so i will still be able to email. Oh, also, I anointed for the first time in Spanish this last week. That was really cool. 

To quote our Zone Leader, "Fists up and fears out. There's no room in the pit for a coward." I'm definitely in the pit and in active combat against very real forces of evil, but I fight with the power of the lord. I finished Alma and now I'm in like heleman 5. The Nephites always win when they put their trust in the Lord. 1 Peter 5:8, I memorized this one this week, "Be sober. Be Vigilant, Because your Adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Maybe I construe my daily occurrences as something far grander than they really are, but i like it, and i think it's an honest evaluation of the situation. These are real human souls that will have eternal consequences waiting depending on how they receive us.

By the way, I hit my 4 month mark yesterday. Nuts huh?  We've got a big mission. I don't know if I've said this already, but there are 230 missionaries in this mission. I don't know how that compares to else where, but from what I've gathered that's pretty sizable.

So, it's HOT down here. I don't think my emails have done that justice. It's hot by 7:30 in the morning. Like sweating hot. We  take cold showers morning and night so that we can sleep and start the day off right. I have a cowboy hat now to keep the sun off my face, because even though i use sunscreen, my nose is starting to burn. I use sun screen every day and so with the hat, i should be totally fine now. ;D

I found nutella in a free shop last week. I finished it in 2 days. I'm trying to start eating healthier now, because i'll get fat off of coke and nutella. I've pretty much stopped drinking soda the last two weeks, and i've been drinking about 2 litros of water every day. That reminds me of drinking DP or coke in the shower....Jeez those were the days. :)


I think as members we forget sometimes how different we really are. How happy we are. How clear this life is to us. There are a lot of very lost and confused people in this life. The gospel rectifies and answers all of our questions.


Spiritual thought of the week. We were teaching a lesson to a bunch of little kids, aged from 8 to 11 at a members house. We were talking about Alma's parable of the seed and elder Johnson asked how we grow our seed of faith. One of the responses really lept out at me and so I felt like i'd share it. The boy, Gabriel, simply said we accept the seed. I'd never thought about that. So often we talk about all the things we have to do to develop a testimony such as read and pray and meditate on what we read and apply it to our lives. That does not mean we should over look the first and just as important step of accepting the seed. It is offered but we have to take it in our hands and place it in our heart for it to grow. Then we can nourish and till about it and such sort. Christ talks of the planter who scatters seeds, and so if we combine both parables, the gospel is offered. Sometimes it falls on rocky soil or is scorched or eaten up, but sometimes, it falls on fertile soil, where there are eager hands there to plant it and take care of it. The gospel is a gift, and gifts can be refused. I see it every day. But it is also accepted. And it clicks with some people. You can see it in their eyes. They know that what we testify of is true. Their heart tells it to them, and the Holy Ghost tells them it's true as well. Remember, we have to accept the seed before we can nourish it. :)

By the way, when you're boxing, they tell you to keep your elbows tight and in. Lifes a battle, we gotta keep swinging. 

Almost all the members are pretty well off and so the food we get isn't too sketchy. But. There are plenty of areas that are like that out here. I'm on Brasilian frontier right now. There are places in the interior that are super poor too, but don't even worry about it. I don't drink the water unless i use a filtered water bottle they gave us or unless i buy bottled water. Also, i was all my fruits and veggies with a tiny bit of bleach in the water and I pray extra hard over every meal. I'm on the Lord's errand. He will not let any harm befall his servants if we put all of our trust in him.

This is just the next step in my ascension to the heavens. Trivium has a line that goes, i will bring my insurrection, my war upon heaven. Well, i'm here to tell you, I will bring a chance for salvation, my war upon evil. I'm a preacher shakin dust off at you from my heel. Okay not really but that's a line from the showdown. But in reality, i'm out here doing what songs and stories are written about. I'm living through insanity. Take 45 minutes ago. We got 7 blocks away from a park when elder McDaniel realized he'd left his backpack with his camera in it. Needless to say i shoved my backpack at him and his companion and I took off. Elder McDaniel was wearing alpargatas and I trusted the hunch I had this morning and wore my running shoes. Thanks for the advice on the hunch thing again dad. We made it about 5 blocks back before we ran into another pair of Elders that for some reason had stayed behind and had Elder McDaniels backpack. God is watching out for us mindless 19 year olds. We're just smart enough to stay alive and just animated enough to do anything we can to bring the gospel to people. That's my theory on why god sends us out. He's watching me. And you as well.


Well, that's all I've got for now. I know it seems like a deluge of insanity, but i'm actually doing really well. I got a lot of my packing done this morning, and we'll finish up tonight after 9. After pday from 6 to 9 I'm gonna go say good bye to the members in our area. I've met some really really nice families out here so I'll take pictures. Don't worry :)

¡Chau!

Elder Andy

Rivera Uruguay - January 2nd 2012

Hi All,

This week has been.......full.  We did a little teaching but right now we really have no progressing investigators which really gets discouraging at times... The guy who came to church now works a job for 14 hours a day, 6 days a week and sunday is his only day off. He's 15 and lives about an hour to hour and a half walk from the church. We called him and talked to him and he said he's done. He believes in what we are teaching and that it really is the truth but right now he really just doesn't have the time for it. It's rather sad and i hope he can find the time later on. We left on good terms so I think we left a lot of seeds for him to mull over.

I love the 'Guayans. They're very nice people and they aren't afraid to talk to you unless you start talking about the Gospel. Then a lot of them wave the finger, tell us no and leave. :) A lot of the people work at plants, make bricks, work at stores they operate out of their front room, work on farms or just don't work. There's a decent amount of cops too but a lot of them live in Montevideo for a week and work and then have a week off at home. Their quality of life leaves a lot to be desired, but most of them are happy with that.

Every one is always drinking Mate (mah-tay) and most of them have bad teeth. AC doesn't exist nor does carpet. Aside from the creature comforts the states knows, they're pretty well supplied with gadgets and food. I go to a ward called tres cruces and there are about 90 members that are mostly consistent in attendance. We meet in a full blown church building and there are 3 or 4 in Rivera, which is pretty much where i'm at. The stake center is rather nice too and all the buildings are beautiful and well kept. It's about a 30 to 40 minute walk to the church for us so we make sure we have everything before we leave the house. Few of the members drive cars, more drive motos (scooters or really really small dirt bikes. Most people i'`ve seen on one is 6) and the rest walk. And yes, EVERYONE speaks spanish. I've met 2 people in this area that speak english. One is a member that learned it on his mission and the other is a lady that lived in Australia for 25 years.

I've been reading in the Book of Mormon a lot lately and i'm currently in Alma 60. I love Moroni, Pahoran and Helaman. Men of such a caliber that the world rarely sees. True heros. I love reading out of it's pages and I'm a little bit sad when I realize that I'm out of study time. Never thought I'd be this missionary :) The Book of Mormon really is the word of God. I can feel the power of the testimony of the men who wrote it. It's words really do testify of Jesus Christ, his works and his divinity as the living Son of God.

That being said. Time for a funny story. We were at a members house this last week and their son has a recently shaved head. I asked the father if he was going to do the same. Unfortunately, i said ¿se va a afeitar su corbata tambien? No response. So i tried it again, this time a little bit more clearly. He gave me another weird look. Then my companion chuckled and said, no i don't think he's gonna shave his tie. :D We really had just been talking about ties and so i got corbata stuck in my head and it just so happened to take the place of the word pelo, which is hair. Gotta love spanish.

Well that's all for now!

Chau
Elder Simpson

Rivera Uruguay - December 20th 2011

Hello,

It's rained for the past week and yesterday and today the clouds have all been gone. The humidity is back in full force and it is HOT! I don't miss the Utah cold weather yet.  I am staying in Rivera for at least one more transfer with my trainer so i don't have to worry about any of that.

There are a handful of houses down here that have lights but for the most part, there are no decorations. In all honesty, everyone is too poor to afford any of it. I saw an old man rockin a belly shirt the other day. That was.....interesting to say the least.

Here's a scripture you can share that I  like: Alma 21:23 basically, daily diligence breeds zealous obedience. Not just obedience but zealous obedience. The Lord will instill zeal into our lifestyle as we follow him daily.

I had this thought as i saw a kitten the other day. The animals down here are disgusting up close but look cute and cuddly from afar.  I worte it in my planner so this is verbatum: "Sometimes, the Devil will appear as a starving and helpless, yet disease ridden kitten. Innocent but a vehicle for plauge and evil nonetheless." The Devil does his best to appear crippled, innocent and helpless to appeal to our soft side. We ARE encouaraged to be charitable AREN'T we? What could be the harm in just playing with this sweet little cat....? The consequences are there and are deadly, regardless of the coverings. To paraphrase Christ from the Sermon on the mount, "There are wolves in sheeps clothing" and kittens that appear to be real. The claws are just as sharp over there, and just as deadly in your throat. We need to make sure we steer clear of the diseased and infected temptations that the adversary will present us. Charity is possible, as it is married with prudence and wisdom. The Lord would never have us be fool-hardy in our effort to help others.

It's been pretty chill. Not much to report from the front lines. All's quiet on the western front.

Elder Andy