Argentina ~week 55

We had another pretty good week this week. Today we had transfers and I'm staying. I forgot to bring my old agenda to the computer place (normally I use it to write my letters so I can remember what day everything was). Alot of the time we were just contacting people in the street.

On Tuesday we had District Meeting, then had lunch with Danny Galvan, a guy in the ward who was a returned missionary, went inactive, and is recently active again. He always helps us do visits. After lunch he went with us to teach one of the friends of the young men, but he wasn't there. Then we just went to look for some less active families.

Wednesday morning we were contacting, then we had lunch with the Montenegro family. After that we went and visited Felisa. We printed off a picture of her baptism, that she liked alot. We're helping prepare her to do baptisms in the temple for her ancestors. She's doing really good, loves going to church, and some of her family members have already asked for visits (they live outside our area so we can't teach them, so we passed the referrals to other elders). After we went and had mission correlation meeting.

Thursday morning we had a few appointments to go to. But they all cancelled on us. So most of the morning we were just doing contacting. We had lunch with the Silva family, and then stayed to teach one of the kid's friends, Leandro, who was there. He's about 15. We taught him the restoration, and help him to pray. That night we went to the church and played soccer with the young men.

My companion hurt his foot on Thursday, so Friday morning we just did weekly planning and cleaning in the pension. Later we were about to go out and visit a few families. Hardly anyone was home so we just did alot more contacting.

Saturday in the morning we visited one of our investigators Olga, who shared with us about how hard her life is for her, so we shared the Gospel lesson, instead of the restoration as we were originally planning to share. She felt alot better and wants to come to church next Sunday. Then we had lunch with the Jerez family. They are a very poor and lonely old couple. They always invite us over and talk nonstop to us and are grateful for our visits. It's always hard to leave because they don't let us talk, haha. Then we visited Felisa, and helped her more with genealogy stuff. We also tried to help her subscribe for the Liahona magazine, but they never answered the phone.

Sunday we had church. We were in charge of teaching the Gospel Principles class because the teacher wasn't there. Elder Gatto said goodbye to everyone in the ward (the zone leaders called us on Fridayabout transfers and said he was leaving. This transfer they didn't tell people where they were going). After church we went to the pension and cooked lunch. Then Elder Meza was throwing up so we couldn't leave. Later, the zone leaders called and said Elder Gatto wasn't leaving. Also Elder Orellana, my second trainer finished the mission today. He was District Leader, and we don't know who the new district leader is yet.

Anyways that's about all this week. It was  a busy week. Here are some pictures:

One is a sign about Obama that's in all the bus stops. Some pictures of lunch with Danny, and pictures from the Gira Misional last week with a few zones.

Have a great week everyone!

-Elder Severtson

We don't know who the new district leader is yet, and everyone thinks it will be me, haha. Anyways, I'm here for another 6 weeks, haha.

Argentina ~week 54

This week was another good week.

On Monday after PDay we finished moving most of our stuff to the new pension.

On Tuesday in the morning we had Zone Meeting. After that and lunch we had exchanges with our District Leader. I was with Elder Araneda and Elder Meza was with Elder Orellana. We mostly just looked for new investigators to teach.

Wednesday morning was the same and then we started cleaning the old pension alot. We finished the exchanges and went to teach Felisa and her granddaughter but they weren't home. Later we had missionary correlation meeting.

Thursday we had what is called a 'Gira Misional' which is when someone from the 70 comes and they give talks. Elder Spitale came and they talked about finding investigators and receiving references. After that we visited our investigator Olga and then had Executive Committee meeting.

Friday morning we went to visit a lot of people but none of them were home so we spent a few hours contacting people on the road, giving them a new card the church gave us for easter. We had lunch with the Silva family. All the appointments we had that day got cancelled but we did set up some appointments with new investigators for next week. At night we did weekly planning.

Saturday was the Ward Activity we planned. There were lots of little games and food that we helped plan. About 20-30 people showed up. It was pretty good.

On Sunday we had church. Unfortunately no investigators showed up. Olga said she was going to come but got sick. In the afternoon we went to a few appointments that got cancelled so we visited Felisa. We are trying to help her do baptisms in the temple.

Anyways it was a good week this week. Hopefully this week we can find some new investigators. Next week is transfers but I think I'll still be here with my companion.

Have a great week everyone!

-Elder Severtson

Argentina ~week 53

So this week was pretty busy and we did not have a lot of time to work unfortunately, but when we did it was good.

So Tuesday morning we went out to work and look for new investigators. And in the afternoon we had District Meeting.

Wednesday we didn't have too much. It was really cold for some reason, the rest of the week was hot. We had a few appointments that got cancelled. Then we met with Felisa and taught her granddaughter Oriana who is 12 and wants to go to church. We spent the end of the day packing because originally we were going to move on Thursday to our new apartment.

On Thursday I had to go to the mission office in the morning to do paperwork for my visa. I went on exchange with one of our zone leaders Elder Stevenson to do it. We got there at 8:00 then they told us the driver couldn't make it until one so we had to travel alot and go back and return again. Then we went to capital to get fingerprinted and got it all done. We got home pretty late that night.

Friday we did weekly planning and spent most of the day packing and cleaning. We moved some stuff over at night, but we had to stay at our old apartment that night.

Saturday we moved the rest of our stuff over to the new pension. We're still missing bed frames, oven, fridge, and a water filter so hopefully we get that done soon.

Sunday we had stake conference. It was cool to see some people from my old ward Hudson, then we had lunch and made a few trips moving stuff from our old pension to the new one.

This morning we cleaned a lot more of the new pension. We went to Pizza Libre with alot of other missionaries, and the rest of the day we're going to be moving.

Anyways, that's about all this week. It was pretty good, but hopefully next week we have more time to work.

Here are just some random pictures I took on the way to capital on Thursday.

Have a great week!

-Elder Severtson

Argentina ~week 52

This week was a good week and in ended with a baptism!

Tuesday we went looking for people to teach. After lunch and District MEeting we went to go teach Hilda but she wasn't there. We taught a less active family, the Rondan family and small lesson.

Wednesday most of the day we went looking for people to teach from the old investigators list. We had lunch with the Jerez family, and then we visited Felisa and shared with her 2 Nephi 28:30.

Thursday morning we did service with the Morel family, a less active family who has one married son in a neighboring ward who wants us to visit them alot. We moved rock and dirt for like 2 hours with broken shovels without handles. Then we had lunch with the Godoy family and that night we had executive committee meeting.

Friday morning my companion had Tramites, which is like paperwork and other stuff for the Visa. We took an hour busride to Quilmes to drop him off, I came back to my area with Elder Tolman another hour busride. 45 minutes later they told us they finished early, so we had another hour busride there, and another hour back. That was exhausting. Then, Felisa had invited us to lunch to eat pizza and we shared with her Alma 32, 42-43. And that night we had mission correlation meeting.

Saturday morning we did weekly planning because we couldn't friday morning. Then we got all ready for the baptism Saturday afternoon. It was great! My companion baptized her and then I confirmed her. We did the baptismal service with the Berazategui ward, who had 2 little girls getting baptized. Then that night we got a new investigator, Olga, and old lady that wants to learn about the church. She is having a hard time because 2 of her sons died in the past few years.

At church on Sunday we had the confirmation of Felisa. We came home and cooked lunch. Then visited a few families. Next week we have stake conference and it will be cool to see people from my last ward.

Pictures: This week I made pancakes. Also we have a lizard living in our bathroom. He just goes all over the place and has stayed there already a couple days. And then a picture from Felisa's baptism.

Anyways this week was great to be able to have Felisa's baptism. She always tells us that she is being an example for the rest of her family and she has faith that they will be blessed for her decision too!

Have a great week everyone!

-Elder Severtson

Argentina ~week 51

This was another great week. We had lots of problems with no electricity and no water. The elders in charge of the pensions told us that they are looking for a new pension for all 4 of us that live here.

Monday night we had a family night with the Silva family.

On Tuesday we had zone conference in the morning. They talked alot about our purpose as missionaries, to preach repentance to baptize. After that we taught our investigator Felisa about Temples and Family History work. Then we went to the Silva family house to get haircuts. Wednesday morning we went back to the Silva family to help paint their house. But it was a little rainy so we helped mix cement to make their counter tops. They gave us lunch. Then we went to visit this crazy guy Hugo who always talks to us in the streets. He's a drunk so we invited a member to go with us. They both cancelled on us though. So we spent the rest of the day looking for people to teach.

Thursday morning we went to visit a few less active families. Then, after lunch we visited Felisa and talked about the baptismal interview and asked if she felt ready for baptism. She told us yes. Then plan was to have her interviewed on Sunday after church and baptized on the 27th. That night we had executive committee meeting.

Friday we did weekly planning in the morning. Then we had lunch with the Morel family. A less active family, but we got them to come to church on Sunday. Then we went looking for some old investigators, then we had missionary correlation meeting.

Saturday we had lunch with the Jerez family, read with Felisa the story of Lehi's Vision, and spent the rest of the time looking for people to teach.

Sunday morning we went to church. Unfortunately none of our investigators came. We were going to have Ward Council after church, but they cancelled it like always. We had lunch with the Piñol family then went to visit some of the people that we invited to church but didn't come. Felisa's family told us she didn't come because she was at her daughter's house. Hopefully we can help to get ready for baptism soon.

Anyways here's some pictures of what happened this week. I have more pictures and videos on my onedrive account that my parents have access to.

And that's about it that happened this week. It was a pretty good week. Hopefully we can help more people get to church next week!

-Elder Severtson

Argentina ~week 50

So this week has been kinda interesting, but great!. On Monday was transfers, so Elder Pruner stayed with his new companion Elder Gatto in our pension and I stayed with Elder Redzich in Quilmes.

Tuesday we just had a little bit of time to get ready for our new companions then we went to the mission offices. Now I'm training Elder Meza from Santiago Chile! He's 18, and likes to play soccer. Also like 2 other people in our district are training and a bunch in our zone. Also, when we left we were kind of lost because it was a holiday and there was a parade so the bus we usually take wasn't at the normal busstop and we had to ask directions alot because nobody knew where it was.

Wednesday morning we had Elder Meza's for lesson with Felisa. We taught her about the Day of Rest in a Liahona magazine. She really liked it and we're going to help her get subscribed to the Liahona. Then we went shopping so he could buy his food for the week, and then we had district meeting. That night we visited the Silva family. That night was the first night this week without electricity.

Thursday night we visited the Perez family. A family where the kids are less actives and the parents aren't members. We visit them every once in a while because they are a really nice family. They can't go to church because they always work on Sundays, but we are trying to help them. Then we had lunch with the Silva family. Then we went to set up appointments with investigators and less actives. And that night we had executive comittee meeting. We had electricity a few hours during the day and then it went out all night.

Friday I had to do tramites, which is like paperwork for the visa here. Apparently they lost the FBI clearance for a lot of people when the mission changed, so I have to do all the fingerprint stuff again. We went to capital in a taxi to do it. And I attached a picture here. After that we got back pretty late and had to go to ward mission correlation, or whatever its called. We also had no electricity that whole night. Some of the neighbors protested by burning tires in the streets, which blocked all traffic, and I attached a picture. It was really hot that night because we couldn't use fans, and we couldn't open the windows because of all the smoke. But, we talked to the Elders in charge of the pensions about all the problems we've been having. Before, they said they were going to move the two elders that live with us to a new pension, but now they are looking for a new one for all 4 of us.

Saturday we did weekly planning, had lunch with the Jerez family. We taught Felisa about Tithing and fast offerings. and that night we were invited to the youth mutual activity then we played soccer in the end.

Sunday we went to church. Felisa went and told us she loved it alot. Her baptism will probably be on the 27th. The whole ward loves how now there are 4 elders in the ward. We still have a problem with the lunches. We passed out a calendar for lunches for both companionships, and nobody signed up. Also, We had to find a new person to wash our clothes, and only one hermana said she could do it and that it would take a whole week each time. We are hoping to be able to fix all these problems. We had lunch with one of the few families that helps us with lunches, then we brought our laundry to the hermana. After that we just visited a few less active families.

Today in the morning we went shopping and then played soccer with other missionaries. Tonight we have a family night with the silva family.

Anyways, it was a great week. We got a lot of things done in the little time we had that wasn't taken up by meetings.

Have a great week everyone!

-Elder Severtson

Agentina ~week 49

Another great week this week. After PDay we had a lesson with an investigator Javier Flores. We invited a member Daniel, but he just never showed up. Javier is a very bible fanatic guy and he loves to talk and tell stories. He's been an investigator a long time, but never progresses. We decided to talk to him about something he would like - the 10 commandments, especially because he works on Sundays so he cant come to church. He liked the lesson, but I don't know if he wants to stop working Sundays. A weird thing that happened is he wife always hides into another room when we talk to him, and she came out the last 5 minutes and began singing a weird evangelical song at the top of her lungs. Me and Elder Pruner make lists of all the very strange things people do here. One time a lady wanted to invite her neighbor over and shouted his name outside for like 2 minutes before giving up... and he lives like 2 blocks away.

Tuesday we had district meeting. After eating lunch in the pension we walked to this guys house, and a group of guys wanted to take a selfie with us, so we did. Then we got to Hno. Romero's house, a less active who got offended because nobody in this ward helps other people, which is pretty true, I'll tell you more later. Then we met with Hilda again, and taught her the word of wisdom, which she thought was a cool idea. Then we met with the Ward Mission Leader and shared with him who we are visiting with.

Wednesday we visited Felisa and taught the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity. She already knew most of it and lived it. Then we went to visit Facundo a young man member, and his mom Mabel, and investigator, but they weren't there. We visited a guy who shared with us that he met the church at age 27, asked for an age exception to serve a mission and was allowed one year but in his home mission (He actually served my last area). Now he's married with children, and just wants to do visits with us sometimes. We're thinking of doing a tormenta blanca soon, which is when all the missionaries come to one area for a couple hours to work. They can all have young men/women go with them to help encourage them to serve missions. We'll probably do it in a few weeks now that our area split. Then we visited another less active family. Also they finally got a new pension for the other elders that were living with us because an area in our district split, so they moved out.

Thursday morning we had no plans, so we went around setting appointments. Then we had a lesson with an old investigator and needed someone to come with us, so we asked this 18 year old kid to come with us. His family, the Achar family, all have some sort of mental disability, but I'm not sure what it is. They mumble everything and talk to themselves and nobody can understand them. But we had nobody else to come with us to we asked him. But, the lady ended up not being there. Then we had a family night with that Achar family, which was also weird.

Friday morning we had weekly planning. In the afternoon we taught Felisa the Articles of Faith, it's a good way to talk about a lot of smaller topics in one lesson. She told us she'd go to church on Sunday, which is her birthday. Then we taught Hilda with Brother Piñol again. We read 3 Nephi 11 and talked about it alot and she liked it. Another random weird thing on the list of pointless stuff we see people to: She wanted to light a candle, so she lit a lighter to light the stove then used that to light the candle. We don't know why. haha

Saturday we had no plans so we went to look for a lot of less actives people have told us to visit. Apparently here there's been a lot of people going less active because our bishop does nothing, and almost no members do visits and stuff. We have a hard time getting lunches with families and getting them to wash our clothes. From what I've heard from other Elders is that many people are going less active because of that. The other day only 47 people went to church. It used to be like 90 until about a year ago. This week the bishop moved to Spain randomly, he never even told us. Hopefully we can get a new bishop quickly and start helping out the ward. There hasn't been ward council in the ward for months, because we always ask to have one and they always cancel. Hopefully with 2 more elders in the area we can really fix all these problems. Saturday night there was a broadcast of the area plan of the South america south area.

Sunday Hilda went to church. She wanted to leave right after Sacrament Meeting, before the classes ,and we are worried she didn't really like it, because she likes all that evangelic crazy yelling stuff. After church we had lunch with Brother and Sister Piñol, then went to visit less actives. It started raining pretty hard. We went to visit Felisa and brought her a Triple scriptures for her birthday, and she was very happy about it. She explained to us she didn't go to church, because she was all ready in the morning, the her family started showing up for her 54th birthday. We had a lesson with them, and shared Mosiah 5:1-5. Her sister and one of her daughters are less active members and some of her other kids were there too. Almost all of them listened to us, which was good. A few of them said they'd come to church next Sunday.

Today we had Transfers. Our area is splitting so we are both getting new companions. We are going to have 4 elders in our small pension again, the other ones just barely moved out. Elder Pruner is with Elder Gatto who has the same amount of time as him in the mission (just finished his training), and I'm training again. I get my new companion tomorrow.

Here's a picture of me with Elder Rios in district meeting. A picture of the bags me and Elder Pruner made, we bought scripture bags in the temple, then took straps off our old bags to make a super light bag. And Friday morning we heard a lot of glass break outside and looked and apparently a truck lost a few crates of beer bottles, and the whole pension smelled bad after.

Anyways, that's about it this week. It was a pretty good, but busy week. Lots of blessing during the week. We're hoping the area split will help out the ward alot, and we're hoping to help a few more investigators get to church. Also, I hope my new companion is North American, because I think it'll be fun helping him learn Spanish.

Have a great week everyone!

-Elder Severtson