My first two baptisms!
Little Ilia getting baptized
At the bishop's house with his 3 kids
My district on Pday
It is so good to here from you and it sounds like you had another great week in Canada! I can´t believe it was Halloween this past week, I totally forgot about it until about 8 o clock in the night. The Peralta kids were running around the house with masks on, I think they went out and got a little candy. But Halloween definitely isn´t a big thing down here like it is in Canada. The difference in the cultures are incredible, but I love it here a lot. The people have such big hearts. In Lujan they definitely live a more tranquil lifestyle, they are all about spending time with their families. Its awesome. Sounds like volleyball is going to get intense this weekend! I hope all the best for the team and hope they can play their best! Be a leader Carter and I have no doubt you will do great :) When are provincials?? I can´t believe that the Canes are struggling that much, I feel terrible for Russ. What is happening with them? And that is crazy as well about Cross, I hope he enjoys Kootenay, definitely will be a big change but at least he will get to play closer to home more.
Transfers were great last weekend, I´ll explain a bit more this week. We took a taxi to the transfer meeting last week, and a bus and train back.. definitely made for a long day as we were traveling for about 4 hours. Yes I am with Elder Valdes for 6 more weeks, transfers are 6 weeks and usually you are with your trainer for 2 transfers.. then who knows I could be a trainer after that. haha. I definitely have seen a giant improvement in my Spanish over the past 3 weeks, but I still have so much to learn. We now have 240 missionaries here in our mission in Argentina! Its crazy, there is about 120 from USA, and only 3 from Canada.. haha sad day. And the rest are from all over the world. But I´m looking forward to another transfer with Elder Valdes he is great! There is either 2 or 4 missionaries in every apartment, it really just depends. So I´m sure I´ll have both throughout my mission. Elder Valdes has been out for 15 months now, he has 2 siblings, his brother leaves for his mission in Salt Lake in February! Pretty cool, and his sister is about 15 I believe.
I don´t know what is up with my bank card but I will try it again soon and let you know what is up, I don´t reallly need it for now but eventually I will probably need it. I´ll keep you updated.
This week in Argentina has been great. Definitely a hard week because after the baptisms we didn´t have much for investigators, so we spent a lot of time trying to find new families and people to teach. We meet a kid named F•••••••. He's 23 and he is living with a less active family and he is awesome. He came to church with us yesterday and really enjoyed it. His baptism date is for the 24th of this month! After church he was asking a lot about missionary work and how he could serve a mission one day! So sweet. He has some work to do before he is ready but he definitely has the desire to be baptized. We teach the lessons with the full family. Parents and 4 other kids, and he is the only one who prays and reads in between lessons! We are so frustrated about the family some days haha, but he definitely has a big heart and enjoys building his faith in Christ.
I don´t know if I have told you about our investigators S••••. But she definitely has a really rough past, stuff that I won't say on here. We have been teaching her for about the past month, and she lives with her friend J•••••. They definitely have the desire to be baptized but they can´t since they are living together. But just this past week they had a relapse and now they won´t talk to us. Because when we taught them the Law of Chastity they were quite angry they couldn´t be baptized.. So things are tough. But we taught them for the first time in about a week on Friday. S•••• was listening well, but J••••• was just laying on his bed not listening. I guess that S•••• likes us and J••••• doesn´t like it so he is mad at us... definitely an interesting situation. But after the lesson on Friday S•••• kissed me on the shoulder! I was like whattt??? haha The things that happen in Argentina sometimes make me laugh.
The other highlights this week were that I was able to give a priesthood blessing in Spanish, and although I was super nervous it was such a neat experience. I don´t know exactly what I said or if it made sense.. but I felt the Spirit so strong. It is amazing to think that the men of this church hold a power that Christ was able to heal the sick and raise the dead with. Although it requires a lot of faith, which usually us normal humans lack, it is the power to perform miracles. Also on Sunday Ilia bore her testimony! It was so awesome, just one week after her baptism, she and her dad have changed so much. They have been to church 4 weeks in a row and they enjoy it every time. The opportunity for Ilia's father to baptize Ilia and Omar definitely changed his heart and helped grow his faith so much. That´s why we decided for him to baptize them both. Missionary work is big about baptisms, but it is also so much about helping the less actives rebuild their faith in our Savior.
Oh one more thing, we had a family home evening at the church on Thursday and me and Elder Valdes played the piano. Haha it is a common song that everyone knows, but I don´t know how to explain it over the computer.. We recorded it though so you can see it in 2 years!
I have been thinking a lot about your baptism this week Mom, I was too rushed to write about it last week. But I can´t imagine how special of a day that must have been for you. I wish I would have been able to be there and feel the Spirit. There is no doubt in my mind that it was a special day for you, and I´m so proud of you for making that decision. There is also no doubt in my mind that is was the best decision you ever made it your life. In Matthew 6:33 there is a promise that if we seek first the kingdom of the Lord, we will receive blessings beyond our beliefs. We are so blessed and I am grateful that we have this knowledge. And I´m grateful for you Dad, for being a missionary in Japan, and after with Mom. What a special experience, one that we have all been blessed from.
I love this church and the ability it has to change hearts and build families. I have learnt so much about the importance of family unity. We have many family home evenings with members and our investigators here in Argentina, and the Spirit is incredibly strong in each one. I encourage you guys to cherish Mondays and the opportunity you have to spend time as a family and learn about this gospel. Because in reality, after this life all we have is our families and our knowledge. I know that if you spend time together you will be blessed, and that it will help Carter so much in his preparation to serve a mission.
I love you all so much, have a fantastic week!
Mucho amor! Elder Hansen.
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