Thursday, February 19, 2015

The one with the robbery....

February 16, 2015

Well, I think this is 2 weeks in a row that I’m writing a blog email so hey... Improvement! I’m getting there, guys, just suffer with me a little haha!

Well this week was pretty good. I am noticing myself getting a lot more comfortable with the people here and the language and I’m starting to enjoy myself a lot more. Things are looking up!!

This week, we didn’t have much progress with S, but we did have some progress. After almost 2 weeks of not seeing her, we had a solid lesson with her. We are working through an addictions book with her so she can stop smoking. The best thing that came out of that lesson however was that she told us that not having us in her home on a regular basis, she could feel the difference in her life. As the days went on without us stopping by, things seemed to get worse and worse for her and she could feel that she was further away from God. It was really cool to hear that. Sometimes I think as missionaries we feel like we don’t have that big of an influence on the people’s lives, but we really do. We are God's messengers and when we aren't there, Satan is. It’s a constant struggle.

But not only did we see a bit of progress with S, but we also found a member that is really excited to help her. We didn’t realize that we had a member living in our area only a couple blocks from S. So we stopped by Hna. P's house one day to talk with her and get to know her a bit. We talked about S and Hna P is so excited to help. She had us set-up an appointment in her house almost immediately. Unfortunately the appointment fell but the Hna P told us that any day, we can pass by her house and stop by S's house just to visit for a couple minutes so she can stop by without us and invite her over without us. That DOES NOT happen down here on a regular basis. I’m really excited. It’s going to help S a lot!!

Ok. About the robbery. It wasn’t us. Last night, the sisters were having a lesson in a plaza and just as the closing prayer was finishing, these guys ran up and basically attacked them. Pulling their hair, throwing them around. They are fine and no one got hurt, but a lot of stuff was stolen. Best part, the investigators are fine and none of their stuff was stolen so they are still progressing towards their baptism this Saturday. The worst part, is that the lesson was taking place in my area and so now the robbers think that all missionaries walk around with a lot of cameras and stuff and so we have to be a little careful in our area. But in the end, everyone is fine and nothing irreplaceable was taken. All scriptures were recovered, and as a missionary, your personal scriptures are one of your most prized possessions.

So this Saturday, in our ward we will being having 5, maybe 6 baptisms! Really cool! 2 are the two girls that were with sister when the robbery happened, another 3 are a super cool family. This family actually lives in my area but the sisters are teaching them. They are a golden family. The mom was about to get baptized about 5-10 years ago but didn’t do it. But now she is super excited and her husband and oldest son if getting baptized too. The oldest son (9 years old I think) wants me to baptize him so that’s exciting! I’m honored to be able to do it! The 6th is a Jewish woman that has been listening to the missionaries for a long time but is scared to get baptized. But hopefully this week it will happen! Keep Cipolletti 2 in your prayers!!

Well, the missionary life is hard but I love it. It’s a battle every single day but I wouldn't change it for anything. There truly isn't anything like it. I've learned so much about myself, my life, my Savior, and my God. It’s amazing. I’m so grateful for this opportunity. It’s indescribable. I love you all and I hope you know it. 

Que siempre sigan adelante confiando en su Dios que les bendice cada día. Nunca pierdan la fe y siempre sepan que yo les amo y que Dios les ama. ¡Hasta Luego! ¡Chau!


Elder Clifford

Thursday, February 12, 2015

"And the thunder rolls...."

February 9, 2015

Hey everybody! Thanks for tuning in to another exciting edition of The Argentine Life by Elder Clifford.

Well, things here are going good. As far as my area and the work there, we are in a finding stage. All the people we have been meeting and working with are fading from the initial wow factor that the Gospel always gets in people lives but they are doing ok. Hopefully we see some baptisms in our area in the next month or 2. 

But the other areas in the ward are doing great. This next Saturday, there is a wonderful family getting baptized. They were actually a reference from us and they live in our area but when we talked with the mom, she said the husband works a lot and so she prefers the sisters because her husband works a lot. But anyway, the sisters went and WOW! I have never seen anyone that is as prepared as they are. It’s crazy. And the ward completely took them in as part of the family instantly. It was great. The mom had received the missionaries in the past and almost got baptized but never took the step. But now the both parents are getting baptized and their oldest son. Really great.

So about the title of the email. Nothing big. I couldn’t think of a better title and we had a couple good thunderstorms this past week. In fact, Pday last week was great! We played soccer in the rain all day. It was way fun, until a giant lightning bolt went right over us and touched down nearby and so then we called it off and went inside haha but it was really fun. The only bad thing is that in the Patagonia, they don’t get a lot of rain and so they aren’t prepared for and so the streets flood super easily. After the storm last Monday we went downtown to do some shopping and the streets we all flooded. But we went anyway and got super wet. We were basically walking up to our ankle in water. It was fun.

I don’t think I’ve said thanks to everyone who sent me packages over the holidays! So Thanks! It really means a lot that you've kept me in mind. I receive quite a lot of candy which is nice haha! 

Thanks for everything you do. Just for spending time to read this means a lot to me. Thanks for your support and love. Thanks for your prayers. I truly can feel the influence. Keep praying for Cipolletti! I love you all. ¡Hasta Lunes! Chau.


Elder Clifford