Finally a new letter!

Well, things have been pretty busy down here. But that is a good thing, because it means our mission is having success. The more baptisms we have, the more work I get. I love it! I want everyone to know, I absolutely love being in the offices of the mission. As on office elder, I have a cool responsibility. I facilitate the communication between the missionaries in our mission, and the Church. I make it so that all those baptisms we are having "count". I have a scripture that I love that talks about this: "It may seem to some to be a very bold doctrine that we talk of—a power which records or binds on earth and binds in heaven. Nevertheless, in all ages of the world, whenever the Lord has given a ^adispensation of the priesthood to any man by actual revelation, or any set of men, this power has always been given. Hence, whatsoever those men did in ^bauthority, in the name of the Lord, and did it truly and faithfully, and kept a proper and faithful record of the same, it became a law on earth and in heaven, and could not be annulled, according to the decrees of the great ^cJehovah.

I feel blessed that I get to participate in this process. Plus, I get to do all the other officey things that I love to do. I have been working recently with one of the old Assistants who went home about a year ago (we do video chats, and just normal chats and send files back and forth) on redoing the reports President Stapley uses when he meets with Stake Presidents. It is all done in Excel. It actually probably seems really boring on the outside, but I love the feeling of creating when I can take all of these random numbers, and turn it into something that can be used to improve the missionary work. Dan (the old assistant) is coming down here for an internship in a few weeks, and is going to come spend some time here so we can re-do some things and perfect the whole system. In fact, we are going to re-create the entire process of collecting and processing the numbers of the mission. (I actually don´t like when numbers are a huge focus when you´re out in the field, but in here they are a huge part of what I do.) So he is coming and we are changing it all up! I am really excited. He is a nerd like me, and is a mac guy. (of course)

Other than the few hours a week we get out to our area, that is what takes up most of my time right now. This next Monday is transfers, and we have Elders up from the coast staying at our pench from tonight until next thursday! Elder Pepito, my trainer, is going home on Monday! I can´t believe it´s been so long already. He has been down in the coast the last few months, so he is one that is staying with us tonight. That will be fun. He was there my first few months in the mission field, and I´ll be there his last few days.

President didn´t assign a new Elder to replace me for this transfer, so that means I am almost for sure going to be here until my birthday. I´m glad, because it gives me time to master this job and pass it gift wrapped to the new Elder.

Cuídense. (Take care.)

T.G.I.T.

The Gospel Is True

--
Elder Scoty Stobbe

Hump day

Hello, Everyone!

Sorry for not writing this week. But I am writing now!

I can´t believe it, but it has already been a year! A YEAR! The time has flown. Sped by. Someone has put the clocks on fast forward. I hope I can make the best of the year I have left. I like Rob´s motto, Sprint to the Finish. I know I´m not really finishing yet, but I feel it still applies. So don´t blink anyone, I´ll be there before you know it!

So this week, in fact tonight, about an hour and half ago, we had a cool experience with our investigator, Gonzalo. First a little background. He is 10 years old, and his Dad is a member. We have been struggling with them for some time now, even before I got here. At one point, his Dad (Damian) wanted him to get baptized, but he didn´t want to. We worked with him, prayed for him, and finally he decided that he did want to be baptized. But Damian chose that point to realize he wasn´t sure if he wanted to stay in the church, and was working some personal things out, and didn´t want his son getting baptized unless he was going to stay. It basically came down to him not having a job, and thinking Heavenly Father should provide him one to show him that the church is true, or something like that. We tried to explain to him that it didn´t work that way, and taught him all about sign-seekers and stuff, but all the same he kept waiting for that sign. It was difficult for us, knowing that he was preventing his son from being baptized by his stubbornness. But we prayed all the same, knowing as well that Heavenly Father has his own means of helping his children. So, after weeks of teaching, praying, and waiting, our prayers were answered. He got a part time job, started coming to church every week with his son, and is going to let his son get baptized.

Now, that is all well and good, but what if Gonzalo doesn´t understand enough to get baptized? Sometimes it has seemed that way, that he doesn´t understand or remember what we teach him. Tonight, while we were teaching, it was the same. He seemed to struggle understanding. We felt good while we taught, and when we finished, we at least knew that we had all felt the Spirit. To end we asked Gonzalo if he could offer the closing prayer. He was hesitant at first, but then Elder Hermosilla reminded him that he had promised the last time to pray this time. (A good trick to make kids pray, tell them they don´t have to pray this time if they´ll do it the next. It´s like taking away their agency! haha) Anyway he started praying, and instantly the Spirit about doubled, and through what he said we could tell that he did in fact understand exactly what we had been talking about (the Plan of Salvation). When he finished he was smiling, and we asked him how he felt. We could tell his response, ´´Good´´ was a huge understatement.

Sometimes it is hard to tell if someone is progressing in the Gospel. But Heavenly Father gives us the opportunities to see and feel the changes in them. They don´t have to go around talking and explaining the Gospel to understand and internalize it. He is only 10 years old after all, but he understands the importance of Prophets, Scriptures, and The Atonement. If all goes as planned, he will be getting baptized this Saturday, or the next.

I have been getting a lot of emails lately, and I love it! From Robert, Matthew, Sheyene, among others. I will be writing you all back, have no fear.

Have you guys sent that package yet? Just curious... I don´t know if it will get here in time if not. Oh well.

I got a package from Aunt Julie with more Vitamins. Thank you! I love you! And I was talking about you guys today. The Jones (the ´´senior´´ couple that works in the offices) were telling us about some changes with senior couples, and I got to tell them about how I was serving at the same time as my Aunt and Uncle, and my cousin! It was great!

Dad, thanks for all pictures! Keep takin´em and sendin´ em. I would like a good one with Ellie and her glasses...

Well, that´s all I got for now.

I love you all!

Cuídense

More stress. New companion (they are not related)

Well, I think I finally did myself in. I have been working pretty much
non-stop in the offices this last week or so. We had a deadline to meet, and
had to stay very late at the office last Thursday night. So late, in fact,
that I did not get any sleep that night. Nor did Elder Hermosilla. Finally,
on Friday night, I got the much needed sleep I was lacking. But a
combination of that, plus being a little too stressed made me sick. I have
been pretty much constantly dizzy since Saturday. And we had transfers so I
couldn´t take it easy, or just go out and work in the field. We have had
stuff to do every day. I am doing my best to not get stressed now, and
hopefully I can get healthy again so I can keep working hard.

With the new transfer, we got a new companion. Elder Hermosilla is training
a new missionary to do his job, named Elder Meza. He is from Santiago, Chile
just like Elder Hermosilla. He is my first companion who is younger than I
am. Both in age, and in his time in the mission. He is perfectly suited to
do his job. He knows how to handle people, and be a ´´wheeler-dealer´´ as
Elder Jones says. He is about 5´3´´. I will send some pictures next time.

This is short. I will write more later.

Loves

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

Long time no see

Hey everyone, I know it´s been a while since I have written. There is a little less time here in the offices.

I have been enjoying my work, and I do almost everything on my own now. Occasionally I have to ask E. Pratley for help.

I´ll share a few things from what I have been doing these past few weeks. Including in the offices, and in the mission work.

This week, I was asked to help in a mission-wide project. For the next three months in our mission, we have a goal to baptize 100 people every month for the next 3 months. There are about 90 companionships in the mission, which means everyone has to do at least one with a few doing 2. So, President Stapley was trying to think of a way to rally the missionaries around this cause. He went to the scriptures, and the obvious answer was Captain Moroni when he wrote/made the Title of Liberty to rally the citizens of the Nephite nation. So I was commissioned to alter the famous picture of Moroni for this little campaign. It was fun, and not too hard, and I was able to help out the mission, I hope. It turned out a little blurry from the poor image quality I started with, but oh well. I have attached that picture.

My basic daily duties are as follows: orphan duties, cooking duties, dead guy duties.... just kidding. I think I have already said this, but just to make sure. I take care of all mail, packages, and supplies for the missionaries. We have to go to the capital to pick up the packages every few weeks, and once a week, I deliver everything to one half of the mission, and then the next week, I do the other half. I can officially drive a stick shift without a guide now too. This week we did the deliveries in Elder Jones´ car, which is an automatic. It has been almost 10 months since I have driven a car, much less an automatic, so that was nice. Other than that, I sit and play computer games. haha I take email, enter forms, track stats, things like that.

In the other part of things, we have been having success with our investigators. We had a baptism last saturday, a man named Gabriel Perez, and we are going to have another one tomorrow in between sessions of General Conference. His name is Alex, and he is 12 years old. He will be the only member in his family, but his mom supports him fully, as well as his dad. They say they aren´t ready to be baptized right now, but that they are excited ´´to have a mormon living in their house.´´

I have been learning a lot of new Spanish with E. Hermosilla. He makes me realize that even though I can talk just fine, and communicate whenever I need to, I have a long way to go if I really want to be a ´´Spanish Speaker´´. But he helps me every day to pronounce things right, new words, saying this correctly, etc. And he does it very patiently.

I don´t know about everyone else, but I am very excited for General Conference tomorrow. I have come to appreciate so much the fact that we have modern revelation. We are about to here what Heavenly Father wants for us RIGHT NOW. We are going to receive a confirmation of the veracity of the Restored Gospel, as well as strength, counsel, and motivation to press forward in this ever--changing world. And I will be listening to hear President Monson speak like Yoda. Pay attention, and you will see what I mean.

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me, to give me a conference to help and to edify me. That for me he would send his word through a satellite, to show me the way to do what I know is right.

I know that this isn´t even very long, especially after the drought, but it is already time for me to get off.

I love you all. I think about you all the time, and I hope that you are all doing your part to receive all the blessings our loving Heavenly Father has for us.


Love,

Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr

*There was no explanation with any of these pictures, sorry.

We had to come in a bit early today to accompany some Zone Leaders who are

here for a training, so I have a smidgen of free time.

So yes, I think I was assigned here because of my knowledge of computers.

I´m not entirely sure. But so far it´s all learning processes and new ways

of doing things. So it´s still a learning curve.

So far I have done some expected office-type things. I enter in the

baptismal forms for the records of the church, gather weekly numbers from

the Zone Leaders, keep track of people that were baptized and confirmed,

baptized without being confirmed, etc. All for the records of the church and

the mission so we know where we are at in the work, number-wise.

Yesterday we got to take a ride in the truck that is for the use of the

Assistants to the President and the elders who are working in the offices.

It is a stick shift, so I will have to remember what Will taught me for

that! We went to some of the Stake Centers to deliver supplies. Copies of the

Book of Mormon, pamphlets, new member packets, things like that. It was

interesting to travel the mission by car, instead of by train or bus. We

could go wherever! haha. Normally you just go from your area, to district

meeting, and back. So I am getting to ´´know´´ the mission a little more.

On Wednesday night, I was able to sort of ´´fulfill´´ by purpose. The

Assistants to the President were trying to get a video from online for the

training yesterday and today. It´s a clip from ´´Facing the Giants´´. They

couldn´t get it and were having problems, so I stepped in and offered my

help. I was able to get it for them, and it made me feel a little more

useful. The first few days have been full of more learning, and less doing.

I am excited to be here, and grateful for this opportunity to use my

talents!

Dad, congratulations on the success of CleanSlate. Prayers are being

answered!

Shalet, I hope everything is going good in school! Keep up those grades.

Don´t follow my example.

Shered, I heard you are tearing it up in Ward Basketball. Did that already

finish, or what? Keep it up, and don´t forget what we talked about on

Christmas.

Kate, Hello! I love you. (Somebody squish those huge cheeks for me. Sierra´s

pretty good at that, if I remember the pain in my own cheeks correctly!)

Matthew, Welcome Home, brother! I can´t believe you already finished. And

only a few more weeks until Robert comes! Wow. Stay strong, do good, and

remember who you became in the mission.

Gene, thank you. I hope I can do my best here in this assignment. I´m glad

to know I have your love and support.

Everyone else, I love you. I think about you all, all the time, even if I

don´t address you by name. Know you are in my thoughts.

Have a wonderful day, and remember, It is easier to prepare and prevent,

then to repair and repent.

--

Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr

New Assignment

Hey, Everyone.

First off, CONGRATULATIONS, SUMMER AND WILL!!! (And Hunter and Ethan) Kate looks so cute! Her cheeks are HUGE! haha. I love you guys, and her already!

I don´t have time to write very much at all today.

I received a new assignment which moves my P-Day to Wednesday, and sometimes I might not even have one.

I have been assigned to work in the offices of the mission as the Registrador (Registrar). It basically means that I will be in charge of all forms, statistics, materials, orders, mail, and things like that for the mission. I am very excited for this opportunity, even though it means less time proselyting. That is always the catch with working in the offices. But luckily, my new companion(s) both want to break the normal ´´being-in-the-offices-means-you-don´t-baptize´´ stereotype.

I am currently in a trio. I am with Elder Pratley from Boise, Idaho, and Elder Hermosilla from Chile. E. Hermosilla is my first Latin-American companion that I have had in the mission. Elder Pratley will be here long enough to train me in the systems and procedures, and then he will most likely be transferred out, and E. Hermosilla and I will be together. I know E. Pratley from my first transfer here, and I met E. Hermosilla today. They are both great, and I am looking forward to these next few weeks/months.

I am serving in the area of Adrogué B, in the city of Adrogué. The address you have to send me letters is the physical address of the mission offices. It is a church building with the offices upstairs. I have´t seen my pension yet, but I have heard it is one of the nicest in the mission. With air conditioning in the bedroom and the kitchen. In my last pension, we had one fan, and there wasn´t even a difference between the bedroom and kitchen. It was all one! haha.

So, hopefully on Wednesday I will be able to send out a longer email, with answers to questions and stuff like that.

Love you all.

--

Elder Scot Daniel Stobbe Jr

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

Failure is not falling down, failure is not getting back up

This last week went by fairly smoothly. It was a “routine” week in the mission. Luckily, “routine” means meeting new people, spiritual experiences, and growth through trial. I will share one story that happened that illustrates my general view of missionary work.

First off, us as missionaries have a job to do. That job is to invite people to come unto Christ by sharing the restored gospel, so that they have a chance to repent, be baptized, and enter into the kingdom of God. I realized shortly after getting here that we can only do so much, and then it rests with them to accept and act, or not. So, we go out every day, we talk to people in the streets, in their house, waiting for the bus, wherever. We do our best to be obedient so that we can be worthy of the Holy Ghost to guide us in our work. And when we finally find someone who is willing to listen, we teach and testify with that same Spirit. But as it says in Preach My Gospel, even some people who hear the message, and receive an answer as to the veracity of our message through the Holy Ghost may walk away. For whatever reason, they choose not to accept it. That is the hardest part of our Heavenly Father’s plan. No one can be forced. That is the hardest part about missionary work....

But this story isn’t about that side of the work. This is about how agency is also the best part of Heavenly Father’s plan. We had been doing our best all week. Working hard, visiting our investigators and members, doing contacts, praying for help, all the good stuff. But we didn’t find anyone new to teach all week. On Saturday, we went to lunch with a family in our ward se llama los Gaspari. They have been members for over 30 years, but had been inactive for a year or so up until about November. They asked us how the week had gone so far, and we told them. They said, “oh, that” too bad elders. Sometimes the work is just hard. ”Yeah,” we replied. After we finished lunch were sitting there talking and they stopped and said, “Oh by the way, we have a referral for you guys. It’s our next door neighbor, and she will be here in 10 minutes!” We were so surprised and so grateful for them. It turns out that their neighbor had been going to an evangelist church for a while, but felt like it didn’t have what she was looking for. She commented on that to Sister Gaspari, the member, and asked her what she should do. “Well, you know what? You didn’t find what you were looking for in that church because it’s not the true church of Jesus Christ. Luckily, my church is. You should come over on Saturday and listen to two young men who are called to teach people like you who are looking for the truth.” This lady, Amalia, was touched by the Light of Christ inside of her and the Holy Ghost from this Sister. She immediately agreed, eager to find out if we really did have the truth. So on Saturday afternoon, she came over, and we had an AMAZING first lesson where we talked about the Doctrine of Christ, his Atonement, and what it means to have His true church on the earth today. At the end, she said it all felt right and she was eager to go home and read, study, and pray to see if it is really what she is looking for. We on the inside have the advantage of knowing that it is what she is looking for, so we are just going to pray for her, keep working, and wait until she receives her answer. She has one of the purest desires of the truth and her Savior’s love that I have seen so far on the mission. When we asked her what the Atonement of Jesus Christ meant to her in her life, she teared up, and couldn’t talk for a while. Finally, she told us she couldn’t describe it, but she felt inside the importance of being able to repent and be forgiven. “To be clean,” she finally got out. “That is what I want.” We were and are so grateful for that opportunity we had to meet her. The importance of members in missionary work is immense. I have not seen a person change and get baptized yet on my mission that did not have a member as family or a friend. The ones who truly accept our message can see the difference in the lives of their loved ones, and want that. It says in Doctrine and Covenants that many people are looking for the truth, but know not where to find it. But luckily, the members they know do know. That is the beauty of this Gospel. Once you have it, you can bring it to countless numbers through your example, and a little bit of courage to talk to them about the Church. It wasn’t meant this way, but I am adding on to this message a call out to all who are reading this to find ways to share the Gospel (including to those who may already be members, but are struggling.)

I know that this is the work of the Lord. He guides us and works with us every day. I love being a missionary.

Elder Scot Stobbe