Well hello there everybody. Today the rain hit with a fury and so did the aches and the chills, so I’m searching for Ibuprofen to get over it. But other than that, everything is absolutely peachy. I think it was about 90 degrees when I woke up today and now that it has been raining a couple hours it is probably about 70 but with 100 percent humidity. Kind of reminds me of North Carolina.
But yeah, so there isn't a whole lot to say today since I just talked to you all and spilled my guts about everything. Things are well. We have a few investigators that are progressing that are doing well. One is Jorge Mazzala, from Buenos Aires. And the other is Mikaela Moyata. We have also picked up an old investigator I was teaching a while ago; her name is Natalia and her boyfriend is a member.
So they´re all going along and there are a few people on the side that are doing alright as well but it is just too early to tell whether they are really interested and committed or just curious or just polite. That is one thing that happens a lot. There are a ton of people that just will listen to you because they have been taught all their life that you have to respect other religions in order to have others respect you but they would never think about changing. There have actually been times where I have asked someone the question "If god told you that he wanted you to learn these things for your salvation and that it was the only way, would you obey him?" And they just straight up say no. So there are those who are so trapped in tradition and such that they just won´t open their shells and come out of their armour and let anything unfamiliar in. But that is the point of what we are doing; searching for those who are willing, those who are teachable and those who are ready and have true faith.
So have true faith people.
Love you. Out.
Elder Jeffrey Darrell Rose
29 December 2009
28 December 2009
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire!
Well, first of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you.
I am missing you all a ton at this time of year, but you know what, this may just be one of the most special Christmases that I will ever have because I know that there is nowhere else that I should be in this very moment. Well, things here are festive, just not in the same way as the states. Festive Argentine style = lots of booze, fireworks (most of which get thrown directly at you) scattered Christmas lights, weird Argentine versions of American Christmas music, pan dulce (fruit cake, which actually gets eaten not just re-gifted over and over and over), and crazy people everywhere.
But enough of the description of Argentina; just remember that there are those in the world that would like you to send a fair amount of that snow you are getting our direction to drop the temperature by a couple dozen degrees. Ha-ha. So this has been a rather dynamic transfer with the new elders here in Perico. It is cool having 4 in the same ward. This last Sunday, Monica came to church and this time she brought both of her daughters and her boyfriend. It was great to see them there. I love seeing how the Lord fulfills the promises made by his servants. She is now seeing how the Lord is blessing her family (not only her boyfriend) but her sisters too, by having them be interested now in the church as well.
In church we also had an old investigator return to church with the help of her boyfriend who is a member. Also another girl we are teaching came, her name is Mikaela and she is awesome. After the first time we met her, she read the part we had left in the Book of Mormon 3 times! People rarely even read it once, let alone three times. But the coolest story of all is Jorge Mazzala. We found Jorge knocking doors about two weeks ago. The first time we taught him we just talked about the church a little bit and got a time to go back when he wasn't working. The appointments have progressively been getting better and better. We have had the help of a couple of members. Now every time we go to his house alone, he asks about those members. On Saturday we passed by and it turned out that he was working on a car (he works as a car body mechanic) and he really didn't have much time, but I sat down in the car with him and started helping him dismantle the car. (All that work with Brother Boomgarrden helped out :) and we got to talking. We talked about the part in Moroni 10 that he had read and at the end of the appointment we invited him to come to church with us and he accepted. We left for church at 9:45 and when we got to his house he was outside waiting for us. He came and participated in the principles of the Gospel class and sacrament meeting. He was dozing off a little during sacrament meeting and later told us he had been up until 4 in the morning working but wanted to come to church because he had made a commitment to come. What a stud!
So his background is that he moved to Perico about 3 years ago and about 3 months ago he and his girlfriend got separated and she took the son and daughter back to Buenos Aires where they originally lived. He has been struggling though not having them around and we have been praying for him in regards to that. After church was over, we invited him to get to know the bishop. They ended up having a 1 hour interview and when he walked out of his office he was smiling and it looked as if he had been crying a little bit. We asked him how he was doing and he told us he had had a really good chat with the bishop. As we said goodbye to him he looked at us both and said thank you and his stare seemed to be saying something that he had never seen before, as if he had had his eyes opened and had a new light in them. That was super cool. So this week has had its ups and downs, but I am happy all in all. I Love you all so much, to each and every one of you I wish a merry Christmas and that you may have a very special time. Don´t miss me... too much :) ha-ha. I’ll be there next year :) take care. Celebrate for me. Pray for me and my companion. Pray for our investigators.
Me despido. chau.
Elder Jeffrey Rose
I am missing you all a ton at this time of year, but you know what, this may just be one of the most special Christmases that I will ever have because I know that there is nowhere else that I should be in this very moment. Well, things here are festive, just not in the same way as the states. Festive Argentine style = lots of booze, fireworks (most of which get thrown directly at you) scattered Christmas lights, weird Argentine versions of American Christmas music, pan dulce (fruit cake, which actually gets eaten not just re-gifted over and over and over), and crazy people everywhere.
But enough of the description of Argentina; just remember that there are those in the world that would like you to send a fair amount of that snow you are getting our direction to drop the temperature by a couple dozen degrees. Ha-ha. So this has been a rather dynamic transfer with the new elders here in Perico. It is cool having 4 in the same ward. This last Sunday, Monica came to church and this time she brought both of her daughters and her boyfriend. It was great to see them there. I love seeing how the Lord fulfills the promises made by his servants. She is now seeing how the Lord is blessing her family (not only her boyfriend) but her sisters too, by having them be interested now in the church as well.
In church we also had an old investigator return to church with the help of her boyfriend who is a member. Also another girl we are teaching came, her name is Mikaela and she is awesome. After the first time we met her, she read the part we had left in the Book of Mormon 3 times! People rarely even read it once, let alone three times. But the coolest story of all is Jorge Mazzala. We found Jorge knocking doors about two weeks ago. The first time we taught him we just talked about the church a little bit and got a time to go back when he wasn't working. The appointments have progressively been getting better and better. We have had the help of a couple of members. Now every time we go to his house alone, he asks about those members. On Saturday we passed by and it turned out that he was working on a car (he works as a car body mechanic) and he really didn't have much time, but I sat down in the car with him and started helping him dismantle the car. (All that work with Brother Boomgarrden helped out :) and we got to talking. We talked about the part in Moroni 10 that he had read and at the end of the appointment we invited him to come to church with us and he accepted. We left for church at 9:45 and when we got to his house he was outside waiting for us. He came and participated in the principles of the Gospel class and sacrament meeting. He was dozing off a little during sacrament meeting and later told us he had been up until 4 in the morning working but wanted to come to church because he had made a commitment to come. What a stud!
So his background is that he moved to Perico about 3 years ago and about 3 months ago he and his girlfriend got separated and she took the son and daughter back to Buenos Aires where they originally lived. He has been struggling though not having them around and we have been praying for him in regards to that. After church was over, we invited him to get to know the bishop. They ended up having a 1 hour interview and when he walked out of his office he was smiling and it looked as if he had been crying a little bit. We asked him how he was doing and he told us he had had a really good chat with the bishop. As we said goodbye to him he looked at us both and said thank you and his stare seemed to be saying something that he had never seen before, as if he had had his eyes opened and had a new light in them. That was super cool. So this week has had its ups and downs, but I am happy all in all. I Love you all so much, to each and every one of you I wish a merry Christmas and that you may have a very special time. Don´t miss me... too much :) ha-ha. I’ll be there next year :) take care. Celebrate for me. Pray for me and my companion. Pray for our investigators.
Me despido. chau.
Elder Jeffrey Rose
15 December 2009
Still Tickin'
Everything is going rather well here in Jujuy. Yesterday was transfer day. I am still here with Elder MacO and we have split the area and we now have two more elders living with us and that should be a cool opportunity. The majority of our lunch appointments we have together and all of the converts that I have taught now live outside of my area, but we will see each other in church every week and all that so that should be really cool. I am excited to be able to concentrate our efforts a little more in a smaller area and hopefully find people that we have never been able to meet before.
So, yesterday was super busy. We spent the majority of the day in the terminal waiting for the other elders to arrive or sending them out. Oh, and I was called to be district leader this transfer so that should be a new and exciting experience.
Last weekend Monica got baptized, it was a really cool experience; the best part was that Ricardo, one of my converts, was the one that was able to baptize her. He had to repeat the prayer a couple of times and put her under the water twice but it got done and it was a cool occasion. There weren't a whole lot of people there and her family didn't come but we had the support of the ward members and things are going well with her.
So right now we are making plans on how to work more effectively in our half of the area. We also did a lot of cleaning and setting up for the fact that we are living four in our apartment now. I'm gonna have to get used to having a little more responsibility now that I have to teach district meetings and do baptismal interviews and all that. I gotta step up my game and start remembering things a little better, but I think that it will be good for me. I like where we're at. We have a few good investigators and I really want to get to finding more more more people to teach. There really are so many things to do in the mission and just in life and in general and it gets me to thinking about a lot of things. One of the things that I love is that the Lord gives us comfort in all of this. Mosiah 4:26, 27, Joshua 1:8 and a little quote. "Many callings will cause you to feel incapable, but you will do them, because the callings come through the Lord´s ordained servants... the way will be opened unto you... your faith and trust in the lord will be great, and this will make you strong." I love you guys a ton. Keep it up, keep praying, keep serving, and keep being good :).
Much Love
Elder Jeff Rose
So, yesterday was super busy. We spent the majority of the day in the terminal waiting for the other elders to arrive or sending them out. Oh, and I was called to be district leader this transfer so that should be a new and exciting experience.
Last weekend Monica got baptized, it was a really cool experience; the best part was that Ricardo, one of my converts, was the one that was able to baptize her. He had to repeat the prayer a couple of times and put her under the water twice but it got done and it was a cool occasion. There weren't a whole lot of people there and her family didn't come but we had the support of the ward members and things are going well with her.
So right now we are making plans on how to work more effectively in our half of the area. We also did a lot of cleaning and setting up for the fact that we are living four in our apartment now. I'm gonna have to get used to having a little more responsibility now that I have to teach district meetings and do baptismal interviews and all that. I gotta step up my game and start remembering things a little better, but I think that it will be good for me. I like where we're at. We have a few good investigators and I really want to get to finding more more more people to teach. There really are so many things to do in the mission and just in life and in general and it gets me to thinking about a lot of things. One of the things that I love is that the Lord gives us comfort in all of this. Mosiah 4:26, 27, Joshua 1:8 and a little quote. "Many callings will cause you to feel incapable, but you will do them, because the callings come through the Lord´s ordained servants... the way will be opened unto you... your faith and trust in the lord will be great, and this will make you strong." I love you guys a ton. Keep it up, keep praying, keep serving, and keep being good :).
Much Love
Elder Jeff Rose
08 December 2009
¿Como andan las cosas por allá?
The update for this last week... It has been pretty nice weather first of all; It hasn't really gotten all that hot and it has been sort of raining or at least misting for a couple of days. It keeps the work a bit easier to do when the temperature is below 100 degrees. Be that as it may, it feels cool but usually it still hovers around 90 degrees. It is really weird that that feels nice and cool for me :). So that is cool but now to the stuff that really matters.
I was asked along with my companion to participate in two baby blessings on Sunday, which was a first. In church on Sunday we had a few investigators, but by far the very best part of it all is that Monica Rodriguez was there and yesterday we spoke with her and she said that she wants to be baptized this Saturday "!" How cool, right? She said that when she went home from church on Sunday she told her parents that she would need someone to watch her kids if they didn't want to come to her baptism. Her blood family and the family of the father of her kids don't really get along good so that is a bummer but she said that the people who want to support her will come and if they don't, oh well. She is definitely one of the most decisive people that I know.
We had a former investigator return to church after a couple of weeks which was cool. He is actually the father of one of the babies that was blessed on Sunday.
Then there is a really cool story for you all. On last Thursday we were at the bus stop waiting for our bus to go to district meeting and a lady turns to us and asks us what time the meetings at church are on Sunday. We told her and started talking a bit. We got on the same bus and started teaching her. We set up an appointment to go teach her in her home and she got off far before we did. She said she would go to church and in the second hour of church she showed up with her 6 year old daughter. I was super surprised but at the same time I had a feeling that she would go. So anyway, we have an appointment to teach her tonight and she said that she was going to the Relief Society activity today. That was the success stories of the week.
It was a good week all in all but there is still so much to do. There is one thing that I have learned and that is that there will never be a moment in which I am satisfied, that there is always more work to do in the Lord´s vineyard. I gotta go, but just think about that and think about whether you are satisfied or whether there is more to do:). Just think about it.
Love you all TONS
Elder Jeffrey Rose
I was asked along with my companion to participate in two baby blessings on Sunday, which was a first. In church on Sunday we had a few investigators, but by far the very best part of it all is that Monica Rodriguez was there and yesterday we spoke with her and she said that she wants to be baptized this Saturday "!" How cool, right? She said that when she went home from church on Sunday she told her parents that she would need someone to watch her kids if they didn't want to come to her baptism. Her blood family and the family of the father of her kids don't really get along good so that is a bummer but she said that the people who want to support her will come and if they don't, oh well. She is definitely one of the most decisive people that I know.
We had a former investigator return to church after a couple of weeks which was cool. He is actually the father of one of the babies that was blessed on Sunday.
Then there is a really cool story for you all. On last Thursday we were at the bus stop waiting for our bus to go to district meeting and a lady turns to us and asks us what time the meetings at church are on Sunday. We told her and started talking a bit. We got on the same bus and started teaching her. We set up an appointment to go teach her in her home and she got off far before we did. She said she would go to church and in the second hour of church she showed up with her 6 year old daughter. I was super surprised but at the same time I had a feeling that she would go. So anyway, we have an appointment to teach her tonight and she said that she was going to the Relief Society activity today. That was the success stories of the week.
It was a good week all in all but there is still so much to do. There is one thing that I have learned and that is that there will never be a moment in which I am satisfied, that there is always more work to do in the Lord´s vineyard. I gotta go, but just think about that and think about whether you are satisfied or whether there is more to do:). Just think about it.
Love you all TONS
Elder Jeffrey Rose
01 December 2009
Thanksgiving Argie Style!!
Well, there isn't a whole lot to say about what is going on here. We ate Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday with the normal family and we ate empanadas, how festive, right? Ha-ha., it was cool though, and then on Friday we ate at zone conference which was good; potatoes, pork, corn, lemon meringue pie. And the conference itself was way good. My comp left his suit jacket in the cab on the way there so he is already down one jacket.
Church this Sunday was good. We had the Ruiz family in church finally! Monica missed though. But we had 3 other people who came as well. So we are excited to say that within the next 3 weeks we should be having about 5 baptisms if everything goes well. That would be really really cool and I would be excited. We are working hard to meet that goal and I definitely need your prayers, more on the behalf of our investigators than for me. Also, for my companion since he is struggling a bit and really wants to be here but it is just hard for him. We´re working hard though and I hope that you are doing the same.
Other exciting things to say that have happened in the last week, not really. But I want to share a story that I have already shared with at least one of you but it is a good one. One of those moments that one lives for in the mission.
So we went to teach Monica; the single mom with two daughters that we have been teaching for a while. We sat down and started talking and the lesson went super well. We talked about the sacrament and the importance of it. After the lesson, we were talking to her a little bit about baptism again. Since my comp doesn’t understand much of what was going on I did most of the talking. I asked her if she still had the desire to be baptized. And she said yes, but like before she said that she still doesn´t feel prepared enough to take that step. She said she needs more time to be well prepared to do it. I was very proud of her when she said that because there are many who rush into this sort of decision without thinking it over much. Then what she said was what hit me hard. Not in a bad way, in a very good way. She said "I know I am not quite prepared to be baptized, but on the subject of being baptized, I am decided." She said that no matter what she is going to do it. We asked if she would commit to do everything possible to be prepared and we would do the same so that she can get baptized the 19th of December, right before Christmas, and she said yes, definitely. That was the highlight of my week and perhaps one of the top 10 coolest things that I have had happen to me in the mission, so it is pretty cool :)
My new companion is doing really well. He´s a bit frustrated with the language but I constantly try to keep him excited so that he can continue to do the work like it should be done. We are learning a lot together.
In our district there are 4 companionships. Elders in Perico, Monterrico and Aeroparque (the city of Aeroparque is Alto Comedero) then there are hermanas in El Carmen. That is the district, and then the other district which is the rest of the zone is two sets of hermanas in Palpalá (1 and 2) and then elders in Alberdi, Alto Comedero.
Everything is going good. The companion switch took me off guard but that’s what I’m supposed to be doing so I am all for it. We had zone conference last week and I talked with president and he congratulated me on it and apologized for me not knowing, he said he asked the assistants to tell me but didn´t know what happened there. It is way good though. A new experience but I like it a lot. Thanks for writing.
Well, I am off for now. I love you guys a ton and thanks for all you do for me, especially for your prayers. Love you all.
Take Care
Elder Jeffrey Rose
Church this Sunday was good. We had the Ruiz family in church finally! Monica missed though. But we had 3 other people who came as well. So we are excited to say that within the next 3 weeks we should be having about 5 baptisms if everything goes well. That would be really really cool and I would be excited. We are working hard to meet that goal and I definitely need your prayers, more on the behalf of our investigators than for me. Also, for my companion since he is struggling a bit and really wants to be here but it is just hard for him. We´re working hard though and I hope that you are doing the same.
Other exciting things to say that have happened in the last week, not really. But I want to share a story that I have already shared with at least one of you but it is a good one. One of those moments that one lives for in the mission.
So we went to teach Monica; the single mom with two daughters that we have been teaching for a while. We sat down and started talking and the lesson went super well. We talked about the sacrament and the importance of it. After the lesson, we were talking to her a little bit about baptism again. Since my comp doesn’t understand much of what was going on I did most of the talking. I asked her if she still had the desire to be baptized. And she said yes, but like before she said that she still doesn´t feel prepared enough to take that step. She said she needs more time to be well prepared to do it. I was very proud of her when she said that because there are many who rush into this sort of decision without thinking it over much. Then what she said was what hit me hard. Not in a bad way, in a very good way. She said "I know I am not quite prepared to be baptized, but on the subject of being baptized, I am decided." She said that no matter what she is going to do it. We asked if she would commit to do everything possible to be prepared and we would do the same so that she can get baptized the 19th of December, right before Christmas, and she said yes, definitely. That was the highlight of my week and perhaps one of the top 10 coolest things that I have had happen to me in the mission, so it is pretty cool :)
My new companion is doing really well. He´s a bit frustrated with the language but I constantly try to keep him excited so that he can continue to do the work like it should be done. We are learning a lot together.
In our district there are 4 companionships. Elders in Perico, Monterrico and Aeroparque (the city of Aeroparque is Alto Comedero) then there are hermanas in El Carmen. That is the district, and then the other district which is the rest of the zone is two sets of hermanas in Palpalá (1 and 2) and then elders in Alberdi, Alto Comedero.
Everything is going good. The companion switch took me off guard but that’s what I’m supposed to be doing so I am all for it. We had zone conference last week and I talked with president and he congratulated me on it and apologized for me not knowing, he said he asked the assistants to tell me but didn´t know what happened there. It is way good though. A new experience but I like it a lot. Thanks for writing.
Well, I am off for now. I love you guys a ton and thanks for all you do for me, especially for your prayers. Love you all.
Take Care
Elder Jeffrey Rose
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