Hectic Week

April 4, 2016

Good morning! I really enjoyed conference. Elder Hollands talk was very good.

We had our investigator F and her boyfriend less active G in 2 of the sessions which was great!    Other than that, it was a pretty hectic week.

On Tuesday we had our zone conference, on Wednesday night I had to leave for Neuquén to do my "leaving the country" paperwork and just clear everything up so I have a smooth and safe transition out. So I was gone all day Thursday and then we had conference on Saturday and Sunday and so it was crazy. But it was a good week! 

Last Zone Conference

Update

March 28, 2016

GOOD MORNING! The Obama day was boring. We could only leave for set appointments so we were stuck inside almost all day. It was horrible. It was just a vacation for the Obama's. 

The investigators did better this week haha. We got to see them and we were able to get out of them some of their principle doubts so that is helpful. Hopefully this week we will be able to see a bit MORE progress and be able to get things done before I head out in a couple weeks. 

We are hopeful that they will come to conference. We have to still explain to them what conference is and how that will all work but we NEED them to come. They need to come to help them progress. It is perfectly timed, haha,

We found 2 new families this week which is awesome! We taught them the Restoration and they understood pretty well and like the message. We could only see them one time each and so we are hoping this week to see them a little more and help them to progress a little more. All around it was a pretty good week. The only downside is that none of the investigators showed up to church. 

CHAU!

Good Morning!

March 21, 2016

GOOD MORNING! Well, this week was hard. I don’t know why but nothing went our way. Our investigators are the same as last week because we couldn’t see any of them, which sucked. BUT! I have faith that this week will be better. Please keep us in your prayers. 

We got an email regarding the visit of President Obama and we are still not sure exactly how that is all going to play out. I’m thinking on Thursday when he is here in Bariloche, we are going to be stuck inside but we'll see. There are also reports that major marches and pickets and possible terrorist attacks may be planned but don’t worry. We'll be fine. :) Haha 

March 14, 2016

The investigators are doing alright. This week we didn’t see much progress. In fact, we've hit some walls with doctrinal issues but we are working through it. But although they are not in agreement, they all still want to keep meeting and find the answers so that is fantastic. We really do have awesome investigators right now. 

Elder Bednar came a few weeks back and we had an amazing conference with him, we learned a lot. 

Last Transfer

March 7, 2016

Today is transfers and I am staying in Bariloche.  So while everyone is coming and going we don’t have a lot planned for P-day today. We are going to eat lunch, ice cream (they have the best ice cream and chocolate in all of Argentina in Bariloche, its great!) and then go to a Catholic cathedral.

The investigators are good and if all goes well, should all be baptized before I go home. They each all have 1 assistance to church and you only need 2 minimum to get baptized.  F came to church with her boyfriend G (who is inactive) and their kids. S went on a weekend trip to Chile so she couldn’t come but we left her with a LOT of homework to do haha. E we saw this week and taught her the plan of salvation. We invited her to church but she didn’t come.   They are all really cool and are loving everything they are learning so it should be a good transfer. 

Obama is coming to Bariloche March 24 and 25. It should be crazy. He is coming with Argentina's president too so the city should be shut down for a couple of days. They say he is bringing 850 personnel with him haha. Chaos!!

Elder and Hermana Clark came to visit Bariloche, they are an elderly couple serving in Trevelin which is 6.5 hours south of Bariloche and its the southern most point of the mission and is 20 minutes from Chile. They are really great!

Chau!!!

Elder and Hermana Clark visit Bariloche

Presidente and Sister Casariego with Elder and Hermana Clark

Gnome Waterfall and Gutierrez Lake Lookout

We went to Gnome Waterfall and then hiked up to the Gutierrez Lake Lookout

Another Week

2/29/16

Our investigators are doing well:

F - F is reading in the Book of Mormon. This week we taught her about temples and eternal families. The lesson got out of control because her inactive boyfriend (who is always present in the lessons) started asking really deep questions about how everything is going to work out in the Spirit world and F got REALLY confused. We paused, I simplified and then we ended talking about how the most important thing she can do is get a testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. She hadn’t prayed about them and so we committed her to do that. She still couldn’t come to church but this next week she should be able to!

S - We had a good lesson with S this week. We talked about the Restoration and it went well. She understood fairly well but had lots of questions that she didn’t want to ask because she wanted to read and she if she could self-answer them. She came to church AND her husband (who we don’t know and met for the first time in church) came with her. That was a miracle. They stayed for 2nd hour Gospel Principles and then left.

E - E was a miracle. She just showed up to church. We don’t know her and barely know where she lives. She said she felt like she needed to go and see what the church is all about. She liked it. We are going to try and visit her today but we have a confirmed appointment for Wednesday.

This week should be interesting because Obama is coming to Bariloche on Thursday. We'll see how that turns out.

The weather is starting to change, it’s getting dark earlier and light later. It’s really noticeable here in the mountains. The leaves haven’t started falling but the day light time is changing, Fall is coming.

Chau!

Elder Clifford

Great Week With Lots Of Miracles

2/22/16

We had a great week with lots of miracles. We are teaching really wonderful people. 

S- S was a reference from a member. She was a Jehovah’s Witness for a long time but decided to leave because she didn’t feel what she wanted to in that church but still has that knowledge. She initially asked us about Baptisms for the dead and so we went into that and explained the Plan of Salvation, talking in detail about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. There was not a dry eye in the place (except for the daughter who wasn’t really listening haha). It was a POWERFUL lesson and she felt the Spirit. She didn’t come to church on Sunday but we put a baptismal goal for her for the 12th of March. She is really prepared.

F- I think I’ve talked about F before. She is a miracle. We were standing around one day not knowing what to do and an inactive member drove up on his motorcycle and introduced himself and told us to pass by his house in the week. F is his girlfriend who showed up while we were there. She had questions and we started teaching her. We also had a REALLY POWERFUL lesson with her and her boyfriend this week. In that lesson, we did the same thing: taught the Plan of Salvation with emphasis on the Atonement. Again, not a dry eye in the place. It was cool because they both realized the need for repentance in their lives. We but a baptismal goal with her but we will have to change it due to her work schedules on Sundays. 

C Family - We haven’t really taught them but they are another Part member inactive family we found. The husband isn’t a member but has attended several times and never got baptized. His wife is a member but has been inactive since her parents separated. Funny story: Her father lives in Roca and I served in his ward and know him personally haha, this world is a small place for a Mormon. I’m more convinced of that every day haha.

That’s all I can think of for now. We have other people but those are the focuses for now I’d say.

Elder Clifford