Week Ninety-Seven: Almirante Brown

Hey fam!
So this week sounds like it was pretty busy!! You guys aren't the only ones that are talking about how much time I have left. All the members and missionaries do the same lol. Well, all but my comp which is pretty nice lol. We are working pretty well together. We have a good amount of people we are teaching so that helps. Everyone has been asking me how I feel about having only two weeks left, I imagine you guys also want to know, and I always say the same thing. I feel the same, I know mathematically speaking I have only a small amount of time but on the inside I feel the same. I am still a missionary and I will work to the end. I don't get how missionaries get trunky?! The more I learn, which is everyday, the more I feel how important this work truly is and the more I come to love it!! I have learned so much in these last 2 years, more than I thought I ever could, and really I don't want it to end, so I have to take advantage of every second i have left!! I really believe I have developed a hunger to learn more about this gospel. I just want to know more and more!
My comp and I on P-days have been downloading talks and stuff given at BYU and they are incredible!! We are learning so much! It's awesome!! This week we were able to have some fun and have some good lessons. On Friday I had to do some baptism interviews for the sisters and they were coming pretty late. We were in the middle of a park, that's where we were going to meet, and we saw two guys playing basketball. We thought we had some time to kill so we played with them. Now I'm not the best basketball player in the world, but we were ballin' it up!! I was like Steph Curry or Chris Paul! It was way fun!!
Last night we were contacting some houses and a lady of about 30 years came out. We introduced ourselves and we quickly learned she had little to no  knowledge of really who God is and had no interest to know either. So we shared our short sincere testimonies and she let us in. (Don't worry, a male was present lol.) We asked her a few questions and quickly introduced the Restoration then she started crying. She had just lost her mom and was angry at God for taking her. We gave her time to express her feelings and then we shared a more sincere testimony of the Plan of Salvation. She agreed to hear us again and we knew that after our visit she felt better and felt something she hadn't felt before.
Also on a little funny note, as my comp and I were walking in the streets we started free style rapping and it was way funny!! We aren't the best rappers but we can spit fire!!
I love you guys!! Have a great week! I'll talk to you soon!! Give lots of love to Chloe for me!!!

Week Ninety-Six: Almirante Brown

Hey fam!
I have some wanted news that I know you guys have been dying to know so I'll start with that... I just got an email (did you get it too?) with my updated flight info. So it's official, I will be coming home the 28th! Well, I leave here the 28th and will be getting home at 10:03 am the 29th. You guys got the last one so I imagine you got this one, but if not tell me and I'll send it to you. This flight route is a lot faster and easier! Just one layover of 3 hours or so. So that's awesome!! And I'll be in Dallas. HAM are there right?! Now you guys don't have to stress anymore and can start all the planning lol.
The beach sounds like it was lit! (My comp told me thats new slang) (I feel like an old person not keeping up with times lol.) Chloe looks so cute with her vest and hat lol!!
Time here is going by fast and things are going great! This week we were able to find 15 new investigators and 12 of them are two families of 6!! Teaching families is awesome! My comp and I are working hard and we are getting a lot done!! We are really seeing the fruits of our labors! We have a great relationship with the members! They have had some not so good missionaries pass through this ward and to have two studs like us helps a lot lol.
This week we had our zone conference and all the missionaries that are finishing their missions this transfer get to share their testimony. So finally it was my turn. It was a very strange feeling. Every transfer for my whole mission I've seen elders and sisters give their testimonies and I always thought, man I'm soo far from that, I wonder what that must feel like, now I know!! I still have a few weeks so I won't start talking about the end yet, it's still go time!! I love this gospel and this work!! So you gotta enjoy it to the end!! There is nothing like missionary work!! Just to be able to teach this gospel and learn more about it, I know my life has been changed!!
I hope you guys have a great week! I love you!! Give lots of love to Chloe for me!!!

Week Ninety-Five: Almirante Brown

Hey fam!
Man it's so awesome to hear that everyone is having a great time on vacation!! Dad, that sucks that your truck got broken into!! How much did they take? Was it a lot or not too much? Buying the vest for Chloe was so funny!! Haha that's a really smart idea! Who thought of that? I don't think I would be able to think of that! Has chloe gotten in the water?
This week for us was pretty good. My comp is a hard worker so that makes things a lot easier! I forgot what it's like to have ping pong in a lesson, or when I talk then my comp talks then I talk and we do that kind of thing. My last comp didn't do too much talking. We were able to find a good amount of new investigators this week, so our teaching pool is getting a little bigger! We did some service for a member this week and it was pretty fun and tiring. We basically had to reorganize a warehouse of food and stuff. We got there and they told us where things needed to go and then gave us their instructions, but as we thought about it my comp and I came up with another way to make things a little faster and easier and we then went to work! It took a bit of time but it was pretty fun! The member took a video of my comp and I and I'm trying to talk with him right now so he can send it to me then I can send it to you guys.
We talked with one of our progressing investigators this week. He needs to get married to get baptized. We had planed to talk with him and try to motivate him to start the papers. We talked with him and he told us that he had already started and will be done about next week. We were like oh... okay awesome! So we are pretty excited about that! His name is Javier, and he is super ready for baptism. He is basically a dry member for now lol.
We have a conference with President tomorrow and I will talk with him to get as much detail about my date as I can!
I think that's about it for my week, Don't worry my comp and I are working pretty hard together and we are getting some stuff done!! I love you guys and hope you have a great week!! I'll talk to you soon! Give lots of love to Chloe for me!!

Week Ninety-Four: Almirante Brown

Hey fam!

There are a lot of questions and things to say and I'm not too sure where to start lol.... So let's start with my comp. 

My comp, Elder Rojas got transferred and I'm now with Elder Baker. And yes, you guessed it, he's a gringo. He is from Wisconsin. (I don't think I've met someone from Wisconsin before.) He has almost 10 months in the mission, so he has experience and speaks well. The 20 minutes I've had with him so far it seems like we are going to get along. I was kind of thinking a gringo would come and kill me lol, and I was right. I'll send you a pic. Oh and he is 6'5'' so he's a bit taller than me. I'm pretty happy for this new comp and change. I feel it's going to help me stay focused until the very end. I don't want to get trunky, there isn't time for that, so I'm glad my comp is ready to work. 

I had my interview with president and I forgot to ask about the homecoming date ooppss.... No I'm just kidding lol. He said he will take care of it. I'm not the only one thats finishing a bit early so he has to do it for others. But as for my mission, I'm the only one finishing one week early. The others are cutting 2 and 3 weeks. I asked president if he knew of anyone else that would travel with me he said from our mission there won't be anyone. But he said that every time he has traveled to the states (and he's done it quite a bit) he has always traveled with an elder. Especially in Georgia. It's almost certain there will be more elders there. I'm not worried about traveling solo, I just worry about the fact it will be pretty boring lol. 

I got my plan today!! Man is that crazy!! I haven't started it yet but i will soon. I've already done it three times lol so I know what it's like. And it's pretty awesome! 

As for a first meal, I have not given it any thought but I imagine after 20 hours of travel we might have to pass by In-N-Out to refill the tanks lol.

To answer the question about the phone and computer. It definitely has to be Apple, no doubt there. But here in Argentina there is zero Apple. No iPhones, iPads and less Macbooks. So I have no idea what is new. I can imagine that in the last two years some new things have come out but I know nothing about it lol. So I don't know if it's possible but I would like to wait till I get back to decide, to do some research and all that good stuff. Actually the first iphone and macbook i saw in almost 2 years was the iPhone and Macbook of my new president lol. But if there isn't time send me a few pics, info, and opinions and I'll do what I can. Lol I think I answered most of the questions, I'll reread the letter but I'll let you know about my week. 

It was pretty good. Yesterday we had the primary program and a lot of people came!! A lot of less actives and family members came, it was awesome!! The primary is actually a lot bigger than I thought! It was a really good program! 

A pretty cool experience we had was when we were looking for a less active's house and we knocked on the door. We saw and heard the neighbors talking about us between themselves. I could tell it was not good things, and they were telling some rumors that aren't true. So we went to talk to them to resolve and clarify their doubts. We started talking to them and they shut us down before I could finish saying my name. We listened to what they had to say and I started to talk very calmly and ask a few questions to get to know them a bit better. Well long story short, they ended up letting us teach them, and they gave us cake and soda. I really feel that it was a miracle. Someone with their heart so closed and hard ended up opening up and gave us cake lol. Goes to show what a good attitude and a Moore smile can do lol. 

Oh also BIG NEWS! The Martinez family got baptized this week! Remember the family that we found in my last area and were super chosen. Well they were baptized!! I talked with my old comp and he said they always talk and want to know how their "gringo" is. I was super happy to know they were baptized and to know that they are still progressing!! 

I hope you guys have a great week and have lots of fun in Leo Carillo!! Take lots of pics! I hope I could answer the most of your questions! I love you guys!! Give lots of love to Chloe for me! 

Oh and just a fun fact, my new comp has a golden too! She's a little old and reminds me of Stella and Luna!

Week Ninety-Three: Almirante Brown

Hey fam!
So I know you guys want to know what the president says about coming home and well... so do I lol. I have the interview Thursday. And I will for sure have some info for you guys! I promise. As of right now, I know of no one else that will be traveling with me. Elder Curtis, one of my comps, also is going to finish early except he'll be two weeks early. So we won't be together. But I honestly have no idea if someone else will finish early too. But you make a good point, there are others missions and some elders that might finish the same time as me. Looks like we are going to have to pray and see what happens. Lol. I'll ask president if anyone will be finishing with me and I'll let you guys know what he says.
This week was pretty good. We were able to have some nice experiences in the week. One that I thought was pretty funny was that we have been teaching a sister, Maria, for some time now. She told us this week that "the father of my baby" (they say that when they aren't married)(dang it!!) doesn't want her talking to us. She gave a few reasons and I just smiled and said, "That's because he doesn't know us and more importantly he doesn't know what we teach." We invited her to invite him to talk with us. (We don't meet in her house, but in the store she has.) She doubted that he would come but said she would do it anyways. We passed by for the next appointment and he was there. We started talking to him and he warmed up to us. He accepted the Book of Mormon, a return appointment, and it seemed like he was pretty interested. So that was a fun experience.
Also we found a new investigator this week that has some potential. She has investigated a lot of different churches trying to find the "right one for her." She let us in without hesitation. We taught her and left her 3 Nephi 11 to read as homework. She read it when we left and said that it was an answer to her prayers and feels that it's true. We were obviously super surprised, and invited her to be baptized and she accepted. But it's hard for her to come to church for a few reasons, so we are working on that but I know she will come. Her name is Raquel by the way.
This is the last week of this transfer!! Man has that gone by so  fast!! I might get a new comp next week or we might stay the same. We really have no idea. So we will see. It's so weird to think that I have so little time left, it's crazy!! But its not over yet, there is still A LOT to do! So let's get it done!!
I love you guys! I hope you all have a great week! Talk to you soon! Give lots of love to Chloe for me!

Week Ninety-Two: Almirante Brown

Hey fam!
Man, it sounds like everyone had a great week! Sailing on a boat is way fun! Chloe is looking way good too! Funny to hear that you saw only the half of the fireworks but you made the best of it!!
This week on the work side was a little hard for us. I think the Lord was testing our diligence and patience. We were able to teach but just not as many as we had hoped or planned. But I know that we are going to have a better week.  Luckily this computer reads my camera so I have some pics for you guys. The last conference we had with President Chaparro was pretty much like every other conference, it didn't really seem like he was going anywhere. But we got to know President Orquera this week. He also is from Argentina and it seems like he is really excited to be working as a mission president. He and his wife are super happy and nice. He is gong to be a good president for sure. During the conference they told us we won't be having interviews today, but in week 6, which is next week. I knew that I needed some info, so during lunch I talked to him quickly and he said there won't be a problem. He just said he needs to confirm it with my stake president, I didn't know that. Does President Nelson know? I am going to talk to him about it more next week during the interview to confirm everything.
I gave a talk yesterday in sacrament meeting about service. I had prepared a few things to say beforehand, like a few quotes and scriptures, but I mostly relied on the Spirit to guide me. I talked a bit longer than I thought I would. I guess the Spirit wanted me to say a few more things lol. But I thought it went alright. Everyone was talking about it. A lot of people were telling me how much they liked it. They even quoted me in ward conference. It all made me realize something. Receiving so many compliments makes me feel a little uncomfortable. I think before the mission I would have welcomed all the compliments with pleasure but I'm not exactly too sure what changed. I just want to do what I'm supposed to do and if I do it well, I know I was getting some help from above. The spiritual lessons, the good feelings, everything.. I know it isn't me but the Holy Ghost. I think I've really come to understand what Ammon said to his brothers when he said he is nothing but it's God that is so great. (That's obviously not exactly what he said I just can't remember exactly how it goes lol.) But I'm super grateful for the little bit of humility that I've been able to learn here on the mission.
Our area compared to others I've had is a little bit better off. It's pretty close to the city so I think that's why. Everything is going great here! Enjoying the time I have left!
I hope you guys have another great week! Give Chloe lots of love for me! I'll talk to you soon!

Week Ninety-One: Almirante Brown

Hey fam!
So this Saturday, President Chaparro finished his mission and now we have our new president, President Orqueda. we have a conference and interviews with him this Wednesday so I will talk to him then about my release date. For now he hasn't made any changes or anything and I still know nothing about him. So we will see what he's like this week.
Today we went to Pumamaca, or the hill or seven colors. We went as a district. It was pretty fun and I took some sweet pics and bought a few souvenirs. I haven't really bought anything during my mission so I figured now is the time.
This week Sofia and Guillermina weren't able to get baptized. Their mom had to go to work and obviously they didn't want to get baptized without their mom. We are talking with her to know when she is going to have a day off. They can get baptized any time it just depends on the mom's work. So I'll let you know how it goes.
My comp does good work and we get along. He's had some bad comps before so I think that also had a big effect on his confidence. But I am seeing a good progress in him. He is talking a lot more now than before. President Chapparo had a conference with us last week and he invited us all to read the Book of Mormon before the next general conference. I saw that as a good opportunity to help my comp, so we read the Book of Mormon every night before we go to bed together. There are some points of doctrine that he doesn't understand so reading out loud helps him learn and I explain a few things to help. I also made a personal goal to get the most out of reading everyday. I'm trying to really ponder everything that it says to get the most out of it and I've noticed a huge difference. Reading to read is one thing but when we really think and ponder the scriptures we can get so much more out of it. "Feast upon the words of Christ." As for now it's the best feast I've had. I too am learning new things. Personal revelation is awesome!! I look forward to reading like never before! I also would like to extend the same invitation to you guys. Can you think of a better preparation for listening to the words of the living prophets than reading the whole Book of Mormon?!
All in all things are going really good here. The only thing we need to improve is finding new investigators. We are finding a few but we need more! I'm so happy to hear that all is going good back at home and that Chloe is helping Katie get better! I hope you all have a great week! Love you and talk to you soon! Give lots of love to Chloe for me!! I'm trying to send some pics but it's not reading my camera. Looks like only a few computers read my camera. But I'll see what I can do.