Week Sixty-Seven: Salta

So first things first, Rodrigo was able to get baptized on Saturday! My comp baptized him and I spoke about the Holy Ghost during the baptism. In our ward there are 4 missionaries and the area is split in two, so the other elders baptized too. Everything went really well and Rodrigo is super happy. He was able to feel the Spirit super strong during the baptism and during the confirmation. He is going to be a very faithful member of the church. We have another baptism planned for this week as well. Her name is Nilda and she is about 65 years old, but she isn't like all the other old people here. A lot of old people here, for lack of better term, just seem to have a fried brain. Why? I'm not really too sure... but I am always surprised when we talk with her, cause she actually understands what we teach and has normal responses lol. So we are working with her for right now. All of her family are recent converts so they are helping too. 

The conference was good. I was chosen by the president to talk about the importance of working with members. He told us our assignments the day before so we didn't have much time to prepare. When we were preparing I was trying to think of a story in the Book of Mormon that I could relate to working with members. Then the story of Alma and Amulek came to mind, and in the same thought, the talk from President Uchtdorf from this recent priesthood session came to mind as well. He talked all about Alma and Amulek and how we have to find our Amuleks. Alma was a very successful missionary that needed a little help when he entered into an area that was pretty hard. He found Amulek, a less active member, helped him, then they worked together and made of of the most bittersweet stories in scripture. I talked about how we can be very effective missionaries if we follow the example of Alma. We can use the help of the members and help less active members come back to church at the same time. They don't have to be two separate things. I didn't get any feedback from the president, he was pretty busy. But sister Chaparro, his wife, said she loved the analogy of Alma and Amulek. 

Our comp studies are good. We really spend most of the time planning and talking about our investigators, who we are going to visit, and what we are going to teach. Oh and President Chaparro announced the new president of our mission. Our new president will be Presidente Juan L.Orquera and his wife Silvina Michalek. They start the first of July. They are from Buenos Aries, Argentina and he has been a stake president for the last 10 years.  We don't have too much info, but I'm sure we will get more with time. 

I hope you guys have a great week! I'll talk to you soon! Kiss the puppies for me! Love you!

Week Sixty-Six: Salta

So we had another good week and a lot more people went to church since there were no more New Year parties. We are able to teach so much because really, everyone is just home all the time. So when we pass by, they are just there. It's actually pretty weird, I don't really understand it lol. I don't know if it's because the people don't do anything or if we have just gotten good at setting appointments. The fact is that there are a lot of people to teach here and its a small area, so we don't have to travel very far to the next appointment. We always have a member to accompany us in our lessons. There is also an elder that came back from his mission early for six months for health problems and he doesn't want to fall out of the mission routine, so he accompanies us a lot. The ward is really big and young so there are a lot of priests and single adults that come with us. We try to do splits 2 or 3 times a week if we can. So the key is in the members. 
Today my comp, two other companionships from our zone, and I went to Cerro San Bernardo. It's a big and pretty popular hill here in Salta. You can walk up or take a trolley thing. We took the trolley to go up and we walked down. It was really cool. You could see all of Salta when you are at the top so the pics are pretty cool, and the trail to walk down was really cool too. After that, my comp and I went to La Union, my first area. My comp served there too. He actually is the elder that replaced me there. We went and visited some members and converts. It was pretty interesting to be in my old area. Everything was so familiar! It felt like it had been like two weeks since I was last there, definitely not more than a year. But we were out in the sun walking all day and I forgot that the sun here is super strong, so I did get a little burnt lol. But nothing too bad. 
Oh, we fixed the bikes and now we have working bikes!!! They are awesome and we can go from one appointment to the other super fast. With bikes, I feel like a missionary in the states lol. I made that thingy on the back of the bike with some wood and metal wire that we had in the apartment. I don't know why it was there either, but I took out my tools and went to town. It is actually surprisingly sturdy. It's not really too pretty, but it works great! 
This week we have our zone conference, but President changed a few rules and now he will be present in all zone conferences. So we will see how it goes. 
Oh, we have a baptism planned for Rodrigo. He is super awesome and ready to get baptized! For the last two weeks, I have been able to teach and help him. He hasn't told us who he wants to baptize him or anything yet. But we are pretty excited for him! 
Sounds like you guys had a great week and had lots of fun! Now is it back to the normal routine? I hope you guys have a great week! Take pics! Love you! I'll talk to you soon! Kiss the puppies for me!

Week Sixty-Five: Salta

Hey guys!

Man, it sounds like you guys had an awesome New Years!! For the New Year our president gave us permission to have dinner with a family and stay out longer. Then when 12am came around, it seemed like World War 3 started! We didn't even try to sleep because it was impossible. We watched the fireworks for a little bit and when it started to die down we went to bed. But it was a good night. 

So my area is small but there is a lot to do here! The area is small because it was split in two recently. The church and ward here is really big, the biggest that I have had so far. The bishop says we have about 150 people come every week! That's huge! And there are a lot of really strong members and youth! This was the first time I saw only young men pass the sacrament!! We have a lot of help from the members and we always have a member with us. We are working like crazy!! My companion and I get along really well and are kicking some major butt. There was never that awkward first week as you are trying to get to know your comp, we were already friends by the first day. As a zone leader I haven't had to do anything too special yet. We had to help a mini missionary find her bus to go to her area and we had to help some elders that came early from the MTC, but that's about it.

 The air conditioning is incredible!! It makes a huge difference! I love it! Everything is going really well and I can't complain about anything. Being in Salta is also pretty nice because everything you need is really close and you don't have to go to far. Oh and we acutally have bikes in the area because it's so large. One is broken right now but it just needs a new chain and it's really cheap to fix so we just need a little time and we will have bikes! So that's another plus!! Oh and Elder Dobson is in my zone. He is my comp from the MTC so that's pretty cool! But really, I am pretty happy with everything. The members are good, we have lots of food, lots of work to do, and lots to teach. Oh and this week, even though it was my first week here, we went on splits like three times with members to visit and teach more people. I just had to study the map a bit and write the directions down and it worked out great! We were able to teach 45 lessons with a member present this week. Sorry I didn't take any pics this week. But I did take this one lol. I love you guys and hope you have a great week! Kiss the puppies for me!

Week Sixty-Four: Monterrico

Hey fam!

Congrats HAM!! The first to graduate college! Hai Estamos!! 

We had the Christmas conference and it went really well. First, a few missionaries gave some talks, then we heard from the president and his wife, then we heard the testimonies of the missionaries that are finishing their missions this transfer. So I got to see Elder Lemus give his testimony, which was cool. 

I have some good news and bad news. The first is that as I was talking with Elder Lemus he said that I have a package in the offices. He said it's a big bag. I asked if there was also a box (I imagine the first you guys sent was a box) and he said he wasn't sure. But there is one! The bad news is that I don't have it lol. The assistants thought the zone leaders were going to bring the packages and the zone leaders thought the assistants were going to bring them so no one brought them lol. But it's all good. I'll get it in a little bit! We had the gift exchange and this time everyone left with a gift lol. I got a cup for mate so it was a success. The song went well. I was nervous as crap though, even though there was only one other zone there. I have never done anything close to a duo before so I was nervous. But I got a few compliments afterwards. That stuff is nerve racking! I don't know how you do it Katie! 

Jorge understands the importance of not chewing coca. Coca is still in the form of a leaf so it isn't as strong and pure as cocaine. It doesn't have the same affects but none the less it's a problem. The many years of drinking nonstop has had an affect on his mind and we have to explain things very simply so he understands. So we are waiting until he really understands everything before he gets baptized. 

This Sunday there wasn't any bread for the sacrament so we used cookies! We broke and blessed them like normal and it seemed like the members enjoyed them lol. It was pretty interesting to use cookies instead of bread so that is going the history books. 

I'm keeping the letter a little short because we are going to talk this week! I love you guys! Kiss the puppies for me! I'll see you soon! 

When Elder Moore started his mission and when he will end.

Week Sixty-Three: Monterrico

Hey fam!

Man it sounds like ED was a job and a half! But thankfully you guys don't have to worry about that stress of setting everything up anymore! But I bet everyone is freaking out because without the Moores everything is going to be a lot different. Man, Cam and Hails are graduating?! That's nuts! What are their plans now? When do the kids come? Lol. 

This week Jorge was not able to be baptized because he was still chewing coca. So we have to push it back another week and see how it goes. But the lesson we had when we found out he was chewing coca still was actually really spiritual. He was actually chewing it when we showed up and I really didn't know what I should say. So as my comp was saying the prayer to start the lesson I was saying another one to have the help of the Spirit. And long story short... GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS! It was another experience where I can't tell you what I said because they weren't my words. I can only tell you that the Spirit in that lesson was hard to miss. As we were teaching I felt the impression to give him a blessing to help him with this problem. We gave him a blessing after the closing prayer and we left. We came back for our next appointment and I never saw him so excited and happy before. He was talking more than before and you could tell that the Spirit had touched his heart. He has another date for this Saturday, the 17th. The interview is planned, we just need to make sure he stays busy and doesn't fall into temptation. 

We also had a good Sunday. There were a lot of people, more than I have seen before. We prepared the sacrament like we always do and it turns out that we ran out of water. We had to prepare more and bless it. It was awesome! The branch president leaned over to us and said, "There are a lot of people here, good work elders!" That thought never even entered my mind that we were the cause of the amount of people that were there. I looked around the room and realized everyone that was there were people and families that we were teaching and helping come back to the church. But there is no way I can take the credit, everyone has their time whether it's to accept the gospel for the first time or to come back to it. We as missionaries are not the turning point for these people. Rather we are the mouth piece of the Spirit. It's the Spirit that turns lives around, never us. I just do what I can do to have the Spirit with me and then He takes the reigns. 

Also I gave a talk in sacrament meeting about being the light of the world and how we can and should always share this great message we have with everyone we know. With the experiences and stories I shared, it was hard not to get a little emotional through the Spirit. 

This week we have the Christmas conference with the president so I will let you guys know how the song went lol. I think that's about it for my week but I hope you guys have a great week! I'll talk to you guys soon! Kiss the puppies for me!!

Week Sixty-Two: Monterrico

Hey fam!

Man it sounds like everyone has been crazy busy! But the Christmas season is always super busy right? But it sounds like you guys are kicking some major butt setting everything up and just doing everything! That's one of the problems being a Moore, we are just so awesome so everyone needs and wants our help lol. I got the video of Grace and Katie singing! WOW!! They sound incredible!! Seriously!! I am very impressed! I have no idea what is going on with the mailing system here. But please don't worry about anything! You already sent two packages and I don't know if they are lost or not. I don't want you guys to have to spend so much money. I think it will be best to wait a little bit to see if i get the packages and if more rules change. Please don't worry about me, I am and will be fine. I know you guys are bending over backwards to do everything at home and make sure I have a good Christmas too. The fact that you guys have already sent two packages means a lot to me! 

So now I'll tell you about my week. The weather is getting pretty warm but we are entering the rainy season, so it's hot for a few days then it rains a lot and repeats that process. Jorge is still going good. He actually has a baptism date for this Saturday. There are just a few things we have to check for before he can be baptized. But there is a possibility that he will be able to be baptized this week, unless he isn't too ready. I would much rather have him understand everything and be sure that the drinking isn't a problem before he is baptized. Yesterday in church his wife, who is a member, bore her testimony. She is really shy so everyone was pretty surprised. She started out normal then she started to talk about her husband, Jorge. She said that for years and years he has been an alcoholic and has never been able to quit, and basically how bad of a man and husband he has been over the years. But then she said every since he has been talking with the missionaries everything has changed. He hasn't drank in over a month and now he is changing completely and trying to repent. Then she looked at us and thanked us for helping her husband to change. Honestly it felt nice to be thanked like that and know that we are making a difference in his life, but I really didn't feel worthy of such high praise. I don't think of myself as anything special or able to make such a big difference in someone's life. I feel that this is really his time and we have been blessed to help him find the faith and hope to change. 

Also this week we started to practice singing a few Christmas songs as a zone for when we have the Christmas conference with the president and other zones in the mission. We were singing a song when they decided they wanted to do something a little different. They wanted to add a solo and well, they picked me to do it. It's not a solo of an entire song but just the first few lines and then we sing the chorus together. But I kind of chickened out and now its a duo. I was just a little too nervous to do a solo! I don't remember what the song is called but it's the one where you sing "gloria" for the majority of the chorus. I don't know how you do it Katie, but that is some nerve racking stuff lol. I think that's about it for my week! I love you guys! Kiss the puppies for me! I'll talk to you soon!

Week Sixty-One: Monterrico

Hey fam!

I'm glad to hear that you guys were able to have some fun this week! Hollywood sign is always a lot of fun! Sounds like Thanksgiving dinner was a success! Our Thanksgiving was a lot simpler. I sent a video but because it was longer it had to be sent a different way, so tell me if it works. But actually I had completely forgotten that it was Thanksgiving until one of the sisters in my district sent a message to the whole district wishing them a happy Thanksgiving lol. So my comp and I made some last minute plans. We bought some sandwiches, apple flavored soda, and candles lol. So we were able to enjoy Thanksgiving here in Argentina too! It was actually really fun, I really enjoyed it. I felt like we were really celebrating Thanksgiving. 

This week our district meeting was a little different. The assistants came to be a part of my district meeting. Why? I'm not really sure but it was nice to see Elder Lemus and because I know him pretty well I wasn't nervous or stressed so that was nice. After the meeting Elder Lemus and one of the zone leaders came to our area to do exchanges. I was with Elder Lemus for the afternoon so that was pretty fun teaching and working with him. He also served in Monterrico so he already knows the area and the members. Really the only difference was that now I am able to talk a little more in the lesson compared to when I was with him about a year ago lol. We are able to teach a good amount of people each week but I think one of our main difficulties is finding new investigators. Yes, we are finding each week but not that much. The fact that I feel like I have talked with just about everyone here doesn't help either so I am letting my comp guide us to which house we should knock. 

About the new video, we just got it in Spanish on Friday. We have cards to hand out, we talk with people, and also we are giving some to members so they can share them with friends and family. I just saw it like 10 minutes ago and it's awesome!! Man, the church knows how to make great videos! 

Things are going good with my comp and the district. The sisters are hard workers so my job is a lot easier, but there are still a few small things that we can improve on. Tomorrow we have interviews with the president so I'll try to see if he has some info about the packages. I think that's about it for my week! I love you guys! Have a great week! Kiss my puppies for me!!