The big city

My watch broke and now I have a really cool tan

Well, as the title says, I´m in the main city now, in Rosario, in the Azcuénaga ward. My new comp is Elder Argyle, from Draper, Utah (my first comp from Utah).

I had a really... unique first day. Normally, the first day is super spiritual, and there are really cool and inspiring stories about missionary work. We had a sweet lesson with a recent convert, but what really made yesterday unique, wasn´t what happened in the streets, or in someone´s house, but what happened in our´s, about our pensh.

When I started my mission in Casilda, my pensh was terrible. I truly did not like it at all. My first weekend, we stayed in our zone leader´s pensh (we had to travel that day), and I thought that their pensh was the best thing in the world. I thought that their pensh was a palace compared with mine. Their pensh, is mine now (no, I´m not a zone leader). In the last year and 4 months, a LOT has changed in that pensh. When we got to our pensh Elder Argyle turns to me and goes "We have a cockroach infestation." I didn´t think much of it, until I opened a drawer to put some clothes in it, and a cockroach scuttled out. That was just the beginning. Long story short, we ended up buying two huge cans of RAID and we fumegated the pensh last night. We killed at least 100 cockroaches, maybe 200. Because of all the poison in the air in our pensh, we decided it would be best not to sleep there. So, we went to our Zone Leader´s pensh and slept there last night. All in all, I can´t complain because our Zone Leader´s have AC, and that I had an amazing night of rest.

I don´t know it any of you remember Elder Ostler, but he is one of my Zone Leader´s now, and is in my district. I´m really excited for this transfer.

Elder Yaques (my trainer) goes home tonight. I can´t believe he´s already done. It feels like it was just yesterday that I showed up to the mission home in Rosario and we met. We were on the bus ride together from Venado Tuerto to Rosario, I was with him for his last 4 1/2 hrs before he went to the mission home. He was a fantastic missionary. He will be missed.

I love my area so far. We have one investigator who will be getting baptized the 21st. She and her less active boyfriend will get married the 20th of January. Her name is Sandra.

I´m really excited. This area is gonna be great!

Elder Brown

Alma 37:6-7

Now ye may suppose that this is ^afoolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by ^bsmall and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.  And the Lord God doth work by ^ameans to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very ^bsmall means the Lord doth ^cconfound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

Semana copada

We had TWO investigators in church! Both are super solid and will be getting baptized in the next three weeks!! Junior and Victoria are their names (I have mentioned both before). I´ve seen lots of progress in my time here with the members and their level of interest in missionary work. Our branch president has a daughter the same age as Victoria, and they invited her and us over to their house for a Family Home Evening in their house for tonight.

This week was really unique. We (as a district, given that their isn´t a stake here) got together in the main plaza and we put on a huge event. We had choirs (one adult and one children), dance performances, and a live Nativity. It was sweet. We (the missionaries) participated in the adult choir and in the live Nativity. We were the angels. It was sweet. The songs we sang were really good. Reminded me of the good old days of WFHS. Don´t miss those days too much haha. Being a missionary is way better than being a high schooler, lot´s more stuff to do now.

We had a sick lesson with Victoria in the house of one of the strongest member families (the Rivoira family) in the ward with her friend Florencia (who´s less active). We taught about the importance of going to church, and Florencia and Victoria said they would go. Sunday morning we woke up to rain, and Victoria went on foot. She walked a little over 2 kilometers to church by herself in the rain (unheard of amongst the Argentines). She is really excited to get baptized, and we are excited for her!!

Junior is psyched out of his mind for his baptism next week. I hope I will be here for it. Transfers are next week, and I´ve been in this branch since July. Even though I´ve been in two areas in this branch, everyone (ie all the members and all the missionaries) say I´m gone. I hope not. I would absolutely love to be here for Junior´s and Victoria´s baptism.

I hope you all have a ¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!

Los quiero,

Elder Brown

Alma 7:10-13

And behold, he shall be ^aborn of Mary, at ^bJerusalemwhich is the ^cland of our forefathers, she being a ^dvirgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and ^econceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God. And he shall go forth, suffering pains and ^aafflictionsand ^btemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ^ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.And he will take upon him ^adeath, that he may ^bloosethe bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit ^aknoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the ^bflesh that he might ^ctake upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

John 3:16

For ^aGod so ^bloved the ^cworld, that he ^dgave his ^eonlybegotten ^fSon, that whosoever ^gbelieveth in him should not perish, but have ^heverlasting ⁱlife.

Achieving Goals

Our sunday school class (I thought I wouldn´t fit in the picture beside my comp, so I went behind everyone when I started the timer on my camera)

gluten-free pancakes and homemade syrup

Lately, as a mission we have been trying harder to meet our goals. Last week, Elder Hill and I met our goal for New Investigators and Investigators with a baptismal date. This week, we met our goal for lessons taught with a member present!! I think that is the first time in 14 ish months (I´ve been out for 16) that I´ve met that goal!!! So, are pretty hyped.

We had the primary program yesterday, and the chapel was PACKED. I don´t think I´ve seen that many people in church since Gilbert. I think we had more than 100 people present (I didn´t count, that is just a guess). One of which was Ezequiel Dicecco.

Ezequiel Dicecco is an investigator of ours. He is the pareja (what we call someone who lives with their boyfriend/ girlfriend w/o being married) of Carina Galeano (less active, who also went yesterday). They´re son is Benjamín. He was part of the primary program, and they went to see him sing and say his part. Poor kid started crying when it was his turn to speak. But, I think that helped Ezequiel to feel the spirit. Ezequiel went to he Córdoba temple open house a few years ago (Córdoba is the province right next to the Santa Fe province, where I am), and said that more than anything, he wants to go back to the temple and get sealed with his family. Unfortunately, in his words, he is "kinda stubborn when it comes to going to church" (not sure if that makes sense in English). But, he went yesterday. That´s the first step, and it´s completed :)

Unfortunately, nor Junior nor Victoria went to church. Victoria´s grandma got sick and she had to stay home to take care of her. Junior´s mom (who before last week never tried to do anything with him nor fulfill with her responsabilities as a mother) called out of nowhere and said she needed to be with Junior for the weekend to do something with him (something about some papers). So, he didn´t go. It was an even bigger bummer because he had memorized his part in the primary program and everything. I don´t know if I mentioned this last week, but, the little capo stood up during sacrament meeting (he was the first, he even beat Hna. Allende who always is first) and bore his testimony. He is such a capo.

When we were leaving church yesterday, Tomás and his mom (who is also a convert) stopped Elder Hill and I, and asked us if we had a lunch appt with someone. We told them that we didn´t, and they invited us to eat chicken asado!! It was awesome! He and his mom are still active (he got baptized in September, and she in August). So they are fighting really well! I am really grateful to have been part of their conversion process (not just for the food they give us, hehe). It is always really rewarding to see people make these types of changes and keep going!

Have a great week!

Elder Brown

Alma 34:32-35

 For behold, this ^alife is the time for men to ^bprepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of ^cthis life is the day for men to perform their ^dlabors.And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many ^awitnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not ^bprocrastinate the day of your ^crepentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the ^dnight of ^edarkness wherein there can be no labor performed.Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful ^acrisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth ^bpossessyour bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become ^asubjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth ^bseal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

Nuevos

Some delicious gluten-free treats and asado

This week was just plain awesome.

We found 10 new investigators this week, and every single one is really solid. We have three investigators with a baptismal date. Victoria Sosa (whom I mentioned last week, and we haven´t been able to pass by her house since then), Junior, and Angel Coronel.

Junior. I mentioned him a few times. He is the 9 year-old in-law of a less-active member, but, he lives with the sister of his sister in-law, and she took him to church yesterday!! If he goes to church these next two Sunday´s, there will be a baptism this year in our area!!

Angel Coronel. He has gone to church twice of his own accord. I had heard from my last companion that Angel is a little crazy. We went by this week, and had awesome lesson. He learns really fast. He, along with Victoria, accepted the baptismal date of the 7th of January.

We had 4 less-active members in church :) it was really sweet!

I don´t know if I have mentioned Alan Galeano or not, but, he is a 22 year old member. When I got to this area, he was less-active and addicted to League of Legends. Then there was a huge problem with his cousin, and we took advantage of the situation and tried to teach him. He was really receptive, accepted everything we said, and is now preparing to serve a mission :). He probably won´t be ready until November or December of next year, but, it´s still really cool.

Los quiero a todos,

Elder Brown

Moroni 9: 25-26

 My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto ^adeath; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and ^blong-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your ^cmind forever.

 And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sitteth on the ^aright hand of his power, until all things shall become subject unto him, be, and abide with you forever. Amen.