Almost 1 month in Argentina!

Dear Family and Friends (which includes anyone reading this, in case you are wondering)

First a few items of business.

Dad, I don´t know what size of files MyLDSMail can handle. I would assume it is the same as Gmail, because that´s really what it is.

Mom, and others, I can´t get mail at my physical address. The mail system here isn´t too great. It´s fine if you only want to send out, like to America, but I haven´t seen mail being delivered to anyone. I will ask some members this week how they do it. For now the best option is email and DearElder/Snail Mail to the Mission Office. I have received multiple DearElders there, but no other kind of letters. The best plan is probably this- If you are directly related to me, email me (Mission Rule). If not, use DearElder, or snail mail, but send them to the Mission Office. If I am ever in an area where that is different, I will let you konw. I can print emails, and I check them every week and I get DearElders about once every two weeks. So that´s the way is.

I think that´s all in the way of business.

I can´t beleive that I almost have a month in Argentina. It seems like I was waiting for so long to get here, and now the time is just cruising by. This thursday will be a month here, and 3 months of my mission. Hopefully, I can do what I need to with the time that I have, which doesn´t seem so much now that I´m here.

This week we had a lot of good lessons with some good investigators. All the good ones are with members, which makes sense. Mom, the names of our investigators that you could pray for are as follows: Manuel (I don´t know his last name), Alejandro Antunes, Olga, Clotilde, Maria Lujan, Emanuel and Ëlizabeth. We had a missionary activity with the ward on Saturday, where we ´´reenacted´´ Lehi´s dream. I got the idea from a little book that Sister Lee sent me (Thanks!) full of missionary teaching tools. We had them in the dark, and they had to hold on to a rope and travel throught an obstacle course of sorts. And they had guides, helping them along the way, and there were also tempters, trying to make them do the wrong things. They ended in the Chapel, and we gave them a little tour of the Church. Then we had some facturas, which are basically big dougnut holes covered in sugar, with dulce de leche inside. They were the ´´fruit which was sweet and desirable above all other fruits´´. It was a good experience for everyone, the investigators who came, and the members also.

We taught Alejandro, who is the brother of a recent convert family in the ward, last night. He is very humble and loves when we teach him. At the end of the lesson (about what comes after this life), Elder Pepito asked him how he was feeling, if he was praying, and if he had been receiving answers. He answered that he had, and bore his testimony to us. He talked about how he saw the changes in his brothers life and personality after joining the Church, and wanted to have that same thing. He told us that he believed all the things we have taught him, and when asked to be baptized, enthusiastically responded with ´´¡Si, si, si!´´ He has to get married to his girlfriend first, so he will be baptized in mid-October. He is willing to keep the commandments until then, he said. It´s lessons like that that I had heard about, that made me excited to be a missionary. It´s amazing what can happen if you have the Spirit with you in the work. There are so many good people in this world who are looking for the truth but know not where to find it.

Another woman we are teaching is almost 70 years old and has a horrible memory. She forgets what she reads within 20 minutes of reading it. She is the friend of the Sister in our ward who does our laundry. So, during our second lesson with her, she was telling us about how she had been reading, and referred to Moroni. Then she stopped, and said ´´How did I remember that? I can never remember names.´´ She was really excited about it and I was happy to tell her that the Spirit could help her remember those things that she needed. To be converted she will need to remember what she has been taught, and what she reads, or at least how she feels when she reads in the Book of Mormon. I know that through the power of the Spirit, all things can be done.

Y ahora, voy a hablar un poquito en Castellano por ellos que pueden entender. Hay muchos miembros en este barrio quien les gusta hacer chistes, come quieren que yo digo, ´´Me gusta su porquería, Hermana. Eso es como diciendo, su comida es terríble. Es muy mal. Pero son muy buenos tambien. Me gustan mucho. Es muy posible que algunos de estas palabras son incorrectos, pero ojalo no es tan mal. Estoy muy agradecido por este oportunidad ser un misionero. Es una experiencia como no otro. Cuando yo tengo la oportunidad hablar y vistar con los miembros de la Iglesia, y con la gente que vive acá (aquí) en Argentina, yo sé que las cosas que estoy haciendo son buenas, y esta obra es la obra del Señor. Las experiencas que estoy teniendo ahora van a ayudarme durante toda de me vida. Estoy muy agradecido por todo el apoyo que recibo de mi familia y amigos y los miembros del barrio en Provo. Les amo tan mucho. Les extraño mucho tambien. Pero no hay un otro lugar que quiero estar. Este es donde yo necesito estar. Y eso es todo en Castellano por ahora. (You can use GoogleTranslate to read this part if you want.)

I love you all, and I am so grateful for all of you. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be a missionary.

Keep doing the things you need to be doing, and I will, tambien.

--
Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr
Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission