Monday, October 17, 2011

Did Lehi have a plac on when he shared the fruit?

A warm Spring Greeting to all!  It was for me a good week, lots of learning, lots of thinking.  Lots of being a Missionary.
algunos asuntos.  Harrison, thanks for the words.  I’m a bow tie fan. But don’t spend a ton!  Save it for the mission and so you can go to las tinajas!  That’s a fancy restaurant we went to today.  It was 53 pesos a head.  It was way good.  We actually went around centro today seeing what we could get our hands on.  And we asked for bow ties, but couldn’t find any.  But we did find the sweetest ties!  The only problem was they were silk and 200 pesos each!  ni ahí!  We settled for the 20 peso ties at the persa, and I bought 3.  And a jersey for 35 pesos.  I was a spender today!
So what I’m trying to say with all this. . . .  is go with the orange duck suit!  Love it.  But the important part is who are you going with!  The best part of all the emails received today was...- and next week me and Lauren are inviting some people to church.  YEAH!!!!  That makes me day.  I told Elder Lounsberry that when I read that.  We were in a bus going to centro.  That’s what I do Mom, print the email in the morning, then respond in the tarde.  So don't feel guilty about writing much.
My creative juices aren't flowing.  I think it’s because I don’t have a juicer here.  Haha.  Joke.  So maybe Harrison you could just read the Book of Mormon together with the girls.  Instead of going to the grind. I loved that part in Amanda’s Email.  We did that with a new Saturday, and it was such a big difference.
Dad, I actually remember not answering a question last week. Running is not just a p day thing.  Every pday we do run a 5K +.  But entre semana I usually run twice.  Which is 3x per week.  It makes me feel wonderful afterwords.  Ready for the revelation of Personal Study.  
I loved the Wilson Blessing Faith story.  And about Benson catching a pass in Saturdays game.  And Benson this week I read a letter you wrote me about how you won your first football game!!  So sweet.  It made me smile, just like every time I read your loving letters.  I also love the pictures you draw me.  Sometimes they take a quick second to interpret, but thank you for always being fiel in writing me!  Go Benson!  Don’t you bajar those brazos on piano.  You are in a stage of your life where you can explode it!  You have a lot of time.  Please dedicate a larger portion of it to mastering the piano.  Will you?  You will be eternally blessed later in life.  And ESP on the mission.
I love the Elders living in our house stories.
And the Ahmed stories.  Will I get to meet him?
Sounds like Amanda had a tough week.  There’s a thorn or two on every good rose bush. And Amanda’s a good rose bush.  I’d say red.
I love to hear that the Family is surviving.  Doing well.
Know that your Missionary in Argentina is doing wonderful.  Everyday isn’t a skate on ice, but prayer pulls me up.  And I survive.  I believe many good and essential things are being learned in my life, most of which I will darme cuenta of later.  The Mission is so wonderful.  
I think I say that so much.  And it is because I really believe it.  We can live so close to the Spirit and receive so many blessing and Miracles.  In tears Elder Kammerman (the old financiero, finishes in 6 weeks) taught me something wonderful last night.  Success is not about how many tasks you complete, but about the people you help. The MIssion is about People.
And one those People is Maria Eugenia.
This email is a little late because we had a great PDay interruption teaching Maria E.  She came into the offices about 4 and we taught her with Sister Packer.  Can you believe it was Sister Packers first lesson in the entire mission?  Not to be the last with me here.
Maria was hesitant about accepting a fecha for the 22.  Then at church she told Elder Burr that the 22 was her day.  I was psyched!  She loved church and had read the whole Principios del Evangelio lesson before coming!  Church was great this week, and for RS Hermana Packer went with Maria E.  So that’s why we decided to teach with Hermana Packer today.
Maria speaks english well, and she understands it better.  It was an amazing lesson we just had.  The spirit was so strong.  I learned SO Much! Both from my comp and Sister Packer and Maria herself.  It is amazing what a missionary can learn from the investigator.  At the end of the lesson both women were in tears and embraced each other. Maria E is a chosen one.  A humble one.  To her the Gospel has that familiar ring.  That’s when Sister Packer told her, because this isn’t the first time you’ve learned it.  All in all, it was a wonderful spiritual lesson.  Maria could be baptized tonight.  She is so special.  I am here for people like her.
I just recently overheard Sister Packer say, That was the best experience I’ve had in a long time.  Cool!  We love working with the Packers.
I have got into reading Jesus the Christ this week.  And I’m an addict. I don’t join in with the normal pench conversation these days.  I put my mind in the pages of that book and GO.
A Special Mothers day with the Avila Family.  Last night they invited the office staff over for dinner.  It was wonderful.  After dinner in the living room with the Famila Avila and some 10 Elders.  We sang the hymns.  I was the Pianist and it was very special.  We sang the Spirit of God juntos.  Then 2 Elders Sang O my Father.  And that made Hermana Avila cry.  Then during the final him of all 7 verses of 16 un pobre forestero she cried again.  It was very cool.  At the switch point in the song, on a couple verses, I went up an octave.  Then Hermana Avila shared with us things so Special.
Happy Argentina Mothers Day mom.
My focus is Miracles.  I want to connect myself more to the Lords way of Doing Members Work (I’ve retitled ‘missionary work’ - for me it’s ‘missionaries doing Members  Work’ And I love it.  Did Lehi have a plac on when he shared the fruit?)
I want to seek those miracles and Hearts the Lord has prepared.  I know that I can baptize thousands.  That’s what Alma, Amulek, and Aaron, Omner, and Himni did.  I learn every week again what it means to be a Representative of Jesus Christ.
I took the determination to be more obedient and focused this week.  I had very cool experiences.  We got out of the offices at 4 everyday. And then worked good All Saturday.
Carmen, pray for her.  Her children flew her to Chile this week.  Or they tell us that.  They are such an opposition.  Carmen has the best friend Hermana Vera, a great missionary.  We made brownies with them this week, and that was fun, and very yummy.
I also had an amazing lunch with a RM that really helped and changed me.  The way I think, the way I work.  And this week it sunk in that I can do what ever I want to do.  I can be whatever I want to be. Anything is possible.  Let us not put limits on our lifes.
Amanda’s language in her last letter, I almost wrote talk, sounded like something out of GC sometimes.  
I have never held more billetes or bills at any other time in my life than this week.  10,000 pesos ARS.  That is so much money!  The thickest stack of money.
That is a lot of visas to renew!  I have realized that a big part of my job is to spend tithing money.  So thanks for paying your tithing. That’s one of the things we taught Maria Eugenia today.  Sister Packer helped so much in that lesson.  There was overflowing love. Maria Eugenia is in her mid thirties.  See picture, taken today.  Mouth Closed!  Whats Up!

I might just have to end this by talking about FOOD!
With the Familia Mendoza we ate anticucho.

Cow Heart
It was delicious.  Prepared with love in the write way.  Then for lunch yesterday with them we had si beach e.  That’s how it sounds.  The last E is like beach too.  Basically is was like being in Japan 30 years ago because it was Raw Fish!  With spicy peppers.  It was great.  A fun fun experience.  
With the Famila Mendoza
Presidents house last night
Who knew they have Cafe Rio in Mendoza.  In memory of Mom

Love, Elder Ostler