Hello family :) It sounds like you guys are really having a great time back home! That triathlon summer weather foto que me mandaron, re lindo (how beautiful the summer weather photo you sent me)! I could use some of that sun haha!
This week was another bruiser, but this time I didn't let it get me down. Once again, we had rain storms to finish off the week, and we're still living in a cold winter cloud, but I just kept calm and kept on working.
Before I get into the spiritual mood, I just wanted to let Mom know that I accidentally found out that I'm not allergic to Hazelnuts.... like a while ago... and I really like Nutella XD
Okay, now that that's out of the way, what should I tell you guys... It's funny because various interesting things happened this week, but I would prefer to wait until I'm home to tell you guys so it makes it a bit difficult to write...
Alright, well one downer, I'm not sure I'm going to be around for the baptism of Matthew. Traslados (transfers) are this week, and I'm pretty sure I'm going. Elder Farabee finishes in the next transfer, so either he's going to bajar and entrenar (get transferred and train) (not likely, very rare) or I'm going. We had put a fecha (baptismal date) for July 1st with Matthew, with the condition that he had to assist (attend) church all 3 weeks. He already has assisted (attended) sufficient times to be able to get baptized, but we haven't seen the commitment to come regularly to church, and we are not about to baptize a menos activo (less active). He has stopped smoking, and he broke up with his girlfriend, and it seems like the skies are really clearing for him. However, this Sunday, he didn't come to church. I'm pretty sure that he just slept in. It kills me because I think the only way to help him understand the importance of coming to church is to postpone the baptism, and miss the opportunity of having me there. The sad thing is that, as of right now, I'm the closest friend that the guy's got, and it's a hard call for me as well. But I'd rather let someone else baptize him on another day and see him one day in the Celestial Kingdom than baptize him and never see him again. We'll have to see what the Lord wants us to do. It's going to be a hard call, but maybe I'm not seeing it from the Lord's angle. Please, pray for us!
Anyways, this week we noticed, that slowly and subtly, we've lost investigators, and now we have very few. I'm going to ask President to leave me here, because I feel like I have unfinished business. We'll just have to see what the Lord has in store.
The plus of this week is like I mentioned earlier, even though the weather was horrible, we kept our heads up and our eyes on the prize. I have a feeling that this Semana 6 (Week 6 - last week of the transfer) is gonna be one to remember because we're going to work our behinds off (I'm not sure if a representative of Jesus Christ should say that, but ya fue, I think He's got a decent sense of humor). Trials help me keep myself on my toes and keep building my testimony, but only if I respond well to them. So I don't think I'm going to ask the Lord for trials like I have before, because I think I've got enough on my plate. But I'm going to put my trust in the Lord, and conquer the trials that I already have.
I've been praying for many of you!
BTW, let me know how Madi is doing. Are there news?
I LOVE YOU GUYS! MOM! I LOVE YOU!
- Elder Jimenez
And to Jose...
Maybe I'll put the food suggestion in practice. Well just have to see :)
Great job with the monster tri, it would be sweet to win your age group next year! AND YES! I beat the beast (meaning Kevin) baby, let the trash talk begin! That's also pretty sweet that I would have won my age group :) (Alex did the Daybreak Tri in 2014 and was 7 minutes faster than Kevin's time this year. It also would have put him in first place in his age-group this year as opposed to 2nd when he ran.)
If Gordon Heyward goes to the Celtics he's going from one of my teams to the other, so it doesn't mean much to me haha.
I think it's an interesting idea to pray to Heavenly Father and ask Him how I can use this trash weather to my advantage. I'm definitely going to do that. I think these months are key in my mission because the temptation to say "Ya fue, no necesito aprender mas porque solo me faltan 9 meces y ya estoy trabajando bien" (Yep, I don't need to learn anything else because I've only got 9 months left and I am working well!) is great, and I need to avoid it. No matter how good or bad my mission has been previously, there are still lessons to learn and improvements to be made.
As far as traslados (transfers), I think I'm going, but we'll just have to see.
Dad, thanks for giving me a solid model in my life to mold my behavior after. You're a great man!
I LOVE YOU!
- Elder Jimenez
Monday, June 26, 2017
President Salerno's Advice for Missionaries during the COLD WINTER MONTHS...
Sorry - I don't have the energy to translate this right now, so if you don't speak Spanish, you're out of luck. But, I thought that this letter from Alex's mission president with ideas of how to survive the cold, snowy, winter weather as a missionary was full of AWESOME ideas. I also thought that his correlation with the Pioneers was appropriate as Pioneer Day is coming soon! :)
Queridos todos, (POR FAVOR LEER HASTA EL FINAL)
Tormenta de nieve y frío. Temporales de agua, hielo en las calles, cielos grises, pocas horas de luz. Todo esto parece invitar a no hacer. A no trabajar. A quedarme adentro porque… pongan ustedes las razones que quieran. Sin embargo, nadie nos dijo que iba a ser fácil. Nadie nos dijo que iba a ser sin sacrificio. Nadie nos dijo que no íbamos a tener que golpear hasta la última puerta del último piso justo antes de la hora de volver a la pensión. Al contrario. La misión es un tiempo desafiante.
Hubo un joven que recibió un enorme desafío: nada menos que reemplazar a Moisés para llevar al pueblo hebreo a la Tierra Prometida. Él era Josué. Jehová le dijo:
“Mira que te mando que te esfuerces y seas valiente, no temas ni desmayes, porque Jehová tu Dios estará contigo dondequiera que vayas”
Esa promesa vale para nosotros hoy. Para seguir con fe a pesar de las dificultades. Las promesas se cumplirán, con o sin nosotros. Yo prefiero que sea con nosotros.
Algunas sugerencias de cosas para hacer en este tiempo (con la meta de ENSEÑAR como consecuencia de estas acciones):
· Noches de Hogar: aun con miembros para compartir cómo enseñar el Evangelio a sus hijos, especialmente los que tienen hijos en edades de Hombres y Mujeres Jóvenes y JAS
· Actividades deportivas: con permiso del presidente, un día a la semana, se pueden hacer trayendo investigadores a participar
· Cursos de idioma: los miembros pueden ayudar, haciendo propaganda de los cursos en las redes sociales; también hacer tarjetas, fotocopiarlas, y ponerlas en los negocios, y que digan día, hora y lugar de las clases
o Usen como guía de enseñanza los manuales de estudio de inglés que les dan en el CCM
o En la propaganda digan que son clases de conversación, no de gramática
· Buscar referencias por medio del “reloj de arena” aprovechando por ejemplo los almuerzos y las noches de hogar
· Enseñar cómo usar la tecnología para compartir el Evangelio, a jóvenes y a los demás miembros
· Enseñar cómo regalar un Libro de Mormón con el testimonio de los miembros y unas marcas de escrituras
· Choco-charlas:
o Usted llama a un investigador o a un miembro, le pide pasar a cierta hora por su casa
o Le propone que él le ofrezca una chocolatada caliente (esa es la parte CHOCO)
o Usted a cambio le ofrecerá una charla (lección, esa es la parte de CHARLA)
o Si es un investigador, será una lección de Predicad Mi Evangelio
o Si es un miembro, lección 1 de Predicad Mi Evangelio, y enseñar cómo entregar un Libro de Mormón, o que escriba su testimonio en un libro
· Cine: una vez al mes, SÓLO EN LA CAPILLA, una película con miembros e investigadores. Películas tipo 17 Milagros, El Rescate de Efraín, Los Testamentos, El Misionero retornado, Hijos de Provo, Los Mejores 2 Años, la que tengan de ese tipo
o Pongan pochoclo, y quizás leche chocolatada o mate cocido caliente
o Si es un miembro, tiene que llevar un investigador o menos activo
· Orar todo el tiempo: ORAR ESPECÍFICAMENTE PARA ENCONTRAR FAMILIAS Y JÓVENES DE 15 A 30 AÑOS PARA ENSEÑARLES
· Citas fijas
· Trabajar con Historia Familiar, un día en la semana: “Te ayudamos a encontrar a tus antepasados”, y hacemos papelitos y en las redes sociales, para invitar a no miembros a que vengan a la capilla a hacerlo
· Trabajar con la carpeta de área:
o Contactar a antiguos investigadores
o Hacer limpieza de contactos o investigadores que se sabe que no viven más ahí
· Preparar Libros de Mormón con sus testimonios/enseñar a los miembros a hacerlo
· Escribir cartas a investigadores, menos activos y miembros, con mensajes de aliento
· Cocinar pan o tortas o brownies para llevar a investigadores o a menos activos o a algún miembro donde necesitemos mejorar la relación
· Llamar a viejos investigadores y menos activos que encuentren en la agenda de sus celulares
· Si un día no se puede salir, hacer una limpieza profunda de la pensión
Tienen todos los recursos para poder trabajar a pesar del frío. Si necesitan tener mantas extra, botas, camperas, bufandas, guantes, podemos ayudarles. Nadie debe pasar frío para predicar. Pero vinimos para predicar a las personas con sol, lluvia, nieve, calor o frío. No importan las condiciones. Sean creativos, usen sus ideas, usen al Espíritu… COMO LOS PIONEROS, TENEMOS QUE VENCER LAS DIFICULTADES…
Para terminar, me gustaría compartir con ustedes esta historia para que veamos un ejemplo que debemos seguir…
Me fascinan las historias de los pioneros. Deseo tener también la fe, el coraje, la persistencia, el amor y tantos otros atributos que ellos tuvieron. Creo que sus ejemplos nos deben servir de inspiración a todos nosotros.
Piensen en la disposición necesaria para caminar una distancia de más de 2000 km. Pero la distancia no es todo. Imaginen hacer el trayecto con poca comida, con frío inferior a los 10° bajo cero, mucha nieve, barrio y vientos cortantes.
Respeto a los pioneros que tuvieron tal fe y coraje para atravesar las planicies en esas condiciones y así se aseguraron que el evangelio restaurado no fuese retirado nuevamente de la tierra. Espero poder ser merecedor de vivir con esas personas tan buenas un día. Entre los grupos que atravesaron las planicies, las compañías de carros de manos de Willie y Martin, parecen haber sufrido más que las otras. Eran conocidas como compañías de carros de mano porque no había carretas entre ellos y las personas cargaban sus escasas pertenencias en carros de manos empujados por ellos mismos, sin el auxilio de animales, durante todo el trayecto.
Estas dos compañías partieron muy avanzado el año y el crudo invierno llegó mucho antes de lo esperado. Durante el viaje hubo muchas muertes. Cuando Brigham Young supo de sus dificultades, hizo un pedido enérgico a los miembros de la iglesia durante la conferencia de octubre de 1856 para que los hombres aptos prepararan carretas abastecidas con alimento y partiesen inmediatamente para rescatar a los que estaban presos por la nieve, en una situación desesperada, camino a Lago Salado.
Uno de los buenos hombres que inmediatamente respondieron el pedido del profeta se llamaba Reddick Newton Allred. Él preparó su carreta y salió inmediatamente. En el camino al rescate una fuerte tormenta de nieve cayó sobre el equipo de rescate. El hermano Grant, capitán del equipo de socorro, ordenó a algunos hombres que permanecieran acampados en el lugar donde se encontraban y esperaran mientras un grupo menor seguiría adelante al encuentro de los que estaban en dificultades. El capitán Grant siguió al frente a pesar de las terribles condiciones del tiempo y el hermano Allred permaneció cuidando los víveres.
La situación empeoraba tremendamente a medida que el temporal se agravaba y el frío se volvía más intenso. Las condiciones se tornaron tan desesperantes que alguno de los propios miembros del equipo de rescate, que habían permanecido acampados con el hermano Allred, temiendo que sus propias vidas estuvieran en peligro, tomaron la triste decisión de dar la media vuelta y regresar a Lago Salado. Entretanto, el Hermano Reddick Allred, uno de los que había sido ordenado permanecer acampado, se rehusó a desistir. Su argumento era que el profeta Brigham Young les había llamado para realizar el rescate, y que su líder inmediato, el Capitán Grant les había ordenado que permanecieran en el lugar. Él no se iría sin cumplir con su misión.
Respecto a esto, los otros hermanos que volvieron a Lago Salado llevaron consigo carretas llenas de víveres. Lo más trágico fue que a medida que regresaban a Lago Salado, encontraron a otros que iban camino al rescate y los convencieron a que regresaran también, sugiriendo que ya no valía la pena seguir. La influencia de estos hermanos hizo que otras 77 carretas dieran la media vuelta y regresaran.
Cuando Brigham Young supo lo que había pasado, les ordenó nuevamente que regresaran al rescate, y así lo hicieron. Pero esta pérdida de tiempo costó la vida de muchos. Cuando la compañía de Willie finalmente llegó al lugar del campamento del grupo de rescate, fue el hermano Reddick Allred quien los estaba esperando con las carretas que había conseguido retener y guardar diligentemente. Su persistencia y lealtad a sus líderes fueron fundamentales para la salvación de una muerte segura para muchos.
Quiero tener una fe semejante a la de Reddick Allred. No quiero abandonar jamás lo que se espera que yo haga. Deseo que todos seamos como él y que jamás abandonemos el rescate de nuestros hermanos, aunque parezca que nuestra persistencia no haga una diferencia. No abandonemos a nuestros hermanos que buscan socorro, aunque sea necesario que renunciemos a nuestra propia comodidad.
Si hacemos esto, alcanzaremos los milagros que buscamos en nuestra área, distrito, zona, y en nuestras vidas personales. Realizaremos el trabajo misional con gran vigor en nuestras áreas, y duplicaremos la cantidad de bautismos de conversos, a medida que practiquemos los principios enseñados en Predicad Mi Evangelio, estableciendo el Reino de Dios con gran pujanza en nuestra misión. A medida que seamos como el hermano Reddick Allred, seremos completamente obedientes, y no daremos media vuelta jamás, hasta que alcancemos nuestros objetivos. Haremos la diferencia al final.
Precisamos ser todos como este gran pionero. No importa nuestra condición personal. Nuestro amor por nuestros hermanos es más fuerte que las conveniencias de la vida, y no descansaremos hasta que el último sea rescatado.
No parece la gran tormenta, la que nos sucedió esta semana? Pero, las condiciones difíciles no parecen las dificultades que encontramos para encontrar y enseñar personas? Y los compañeros del Reddick Allred que se fueron, no parecen aquellos misioneros que abandonan, que bajan los brazos, que dicen que “en esta misión no se bautiza”, que “es muy difícil”, que dicen “no seas obediente” porque es más fácil ser desobediente… pero los milagros así no vienen. Reddick Allred podría haberse vuelto a su casa, más caliente, más segura… y sin embargo, se quedó a pesar de lo terrible de la situación, del frío, para salvar personas. No es la misma tarea que como misioneros tenemos nosotros? No somos los que debemos salvar almas? No tenemos que salvar a nuestros hermanos que necesitan socorro? No son los que están esperando que les llevemos el mensaje? Hemos desarrollado el atributo semejante a Cristo del amor fraternal y la caridad, que nos llevarán a no abandonar el esfuerzo, hasta la última puerta, hasta el último minuto?
Creo que podemos realizar este milagro, porque está es la obra de Dios, y Él está de nuestro lado. En el nombre de Jesucristo. Amén.
Los quiero mucho,
Claudio D. Salerno
Presidente
Misión Argentina Comodoro Rivadavia
La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días
Queridos todos, (POR FAVOR LEER HASTA EL FINAL)
Tormenta de nieve y frío. Temporales de agua, hielo en las calles, cielos grises, pocas horas de luz. Todo esto parece invitar a no hacer. A no trabajar. A quedarme adentro porque… pongan ustedes las razones que quieran. Sin embargo, nadie nos dijo que iba a ser fácil. Nadie nos dijo que iba a ser sin sacrificio. Nadie nos dijo que no íbamos a tener que golpear hasta la última puerta del último piso justo antes de la hora de volver a la pensión. Al contrario. La misión es un tiempo desafiante.
Hubo un joven que recibió un enorme desafío: nada menos que reemplazar a Moisés para llevar al pueblo hebreo a la Tierra Prometida. Él era Josué. Jehová le dijo:
“Mira que te mando que te esfuerces y seas valiente, no temas ni desmayes, porque Jehová tu Dios estará contigo dondequiera que vayas”
Esa promesa vale para nosotros hoy. Para seguir con fe a pesar de las dificultades. Las promesas se cumplirán, con o sin nosotros. Yo prefiero que sea con nosotros.
Algunas sugerencias de cosas para hacer en este tiempo (con la meta de ENSEÑAR como consecuencia de estas acciones):
· Noches de Hogar: aun con miembros para compartir cómo enseñar el Evangelio a sus hijos, especialmente los que tienen hijos en edades de Hombres y Mujeres Jóvenes y JAS
· Actividades deportivas: con permiso del presidente, un día a la semana, se pueden hacer trayendo investigadores a participar
· Cursos de idioma: los miembros pueden ayudar, haciendo propaganda de los cursos en las redes sociales; también hacer tarjetas, fotocopiarlas, y ponerlas en los negocios, y que digan día, hora y lugar de las clases
o Usen como guía de enseñanza los manuales de estudio de inglés que les dan en el CCM
o En la propaganda digan que son clases de conversación, no de gramática
· Buscar referencias por medio del “reloj de arena” aprovechando por ejemplo los almuerzos y las noches de hogar
· Enseñar cómo usar la tecnología para compartir el Evangelio, a jóvenes y a los demás miembros
· Enseñar cómo regalar un Libro de Mormón con el testimonio de los miembros y unas marcas de escrituras
· Choco-charlas:
o Usted llama a un investigador o a un miembro, le pide pasar a cierta hora por su casa
o Le propone que él le ofrezca una chocolatada caliente (esa es la parte CHOCO)
o Usted a cambio le ofrecerá una charla (lección, esa es la parte de CHARLA)
o Si es un investigador, será una lección de Predicad Mi Evangelio
o Si es un miembro, lección 1 de Predicad Mi Evangelio, y enseñar cómo entregar un Libro de Mormón, o que escriba su testimonio en un libro
· Cine: una vez al mes, SÓLO EN LA CAPILLA, una película con miembros e investigadores. Películas tipo 17 Milagros, El Rescate de Efraín, Los Testamentos, El Misionero retornado, Hijos de Provo, Los Mejores 2 Años, la que tengan de ese tipo
o Pongan pochoclo, y quizás leche chocolatada o mate cocido caliente
o Si es un miembro, tiene que llevar un investigador o menos activo
· Orar todo el tiempo: ORAR ESPECÍFICAMENTE PARA ENCONTRAR FAMILIAS Y JÓVENES DE 15 A 30 AÑOS PARA ENSEÑARLES
· Citas fijas
· Trabajar con Historia Familiar, un día en la semana: “Te ayudamos a encontrar a tus antepasados”, y hacemos papelitos y en las redes sociales, para invitar a no miembros a que vengan a la capilla a hacerlo
· Trabajar con la carpeta de área:
o Contactar a antiguos investigadores
o Hacer limpieza de contactos o investigadores que se sabe que no viven más ahí
· Preparar Libros de Mormón con sus testimonios/enseñar a los miembros a hacerlo
· Escribir cartas a investigadores, menos activos y miembros, con mensajes de aliento
· Cocinar pan o tortas o brownies para llevar a investigadores o a menos activos o a algún miembro donde necesitemos mejorar la relación
· Llamar a viejos investigadores y menos activos que encuentren en la agenda de sus celulares
· Si un día no se puede salir, hacer una limpieza profunda de la pensión
Tienen todos los recursos para poder trabajar a pesar del frío. Si necesitan tener mantas extra, botas, camperas, bufandas, guantes, podemos ayudarles. Nadie debe pasar frío para predicar. Pero vinimos para predicar a las personas con sol, lluvia, nieve, calor o frío. No importan las condiciones. Sean creativos, usen sus ideas, usen al Espíritu… COMO LOS PIONEROS, TENEMOS QUE VENCER LAS DIFICULTADES…
Para terminar, me gustaría compartir con ustedes esta historia para que veamos un ejemplo que debemos seguir…
Me fascinan las historias de los pioneros. Deseo tener también la fe, el coraje, la persistencia, el amor y tantos otros atributos que ellos tuvieron. Creo que sus ejemplos nos deben servir de inspiración a todos nosotros.
Piensen en la disposición necesaria para caminar una distancia de más de 2000 km. Pero la distancia no es todo. Imaginen hacer el trayecto con poca comida, con frío inferior a los 10° bajo cero, mucha nieve, barrio y vientos cortantes.
Respeto a los pioneros que tuvieron tal fe y coraje para atravesar las planicies en esas condiciones y así se aseguraron que el evangelio restaurado no fuese retirado nuevamente de la tierra. Espero poder ser merecedor de vivir con esas personas tan buenas un día. Entre los grupos que atravesaron las planicies, las compañías de carros de manos de Willie y Martin, parecen haber sufrido más que las otras. Eran conocidas como compañías de carros de mano porque no había carretas entre ellos y las personas cargaban sus escasas pertenencias en carros de manos empujados por ellos mismos, sin el auxilio de animales, durante todo el trayecto.
Estas dos compañías partieron muy avanzado el año y el crudo invierno llegó mucho antes de lo esperado. Durante el viaje hubo muchas muertes. Cuando Brigham Young supo de sus dificultades, hizo un pedido enérgico a los miembros de la iglesia durante la conferencia de octubre de 1856 para que los hombres aptos prepararan carretas abastecidas con alimento y partiesen inmediatamente para rescatar a los que estaban presos por la nieve, en una situación desesperada, camino a Lago Salado.
Uno de los buenos hombres que inmediatamente respondieron el pedido del profeta se llamaba Reddick Newton Allred. Él preparó su carreta y salió inmediatamente. En el camino al rescate una fuerte tormenta de nieve cayó sobre el equipo de rescate. El hermano Grant, capitán del equipo de socorro, ordenó a algunos hombres que permanecieran acampados en el lugar donde se encontraban y esperaran mientras un grupo menor seguiría adelante al encuentro de los que estaban en dificultades. El capitán Grant siguió al frente a pesar de las terribles condiciones del tiempo y el hermano Allred permaneció cuidando los víveres.
La situación empeoraba tremendamente a medida que el temporal se agravaba y el frío se volvía más intenso. Las condiciones se tornaron tan desesperantes que alguno de los propios miembros del equipo de rescate, que habían permanecido acampados con el hermano Allred, temiendo que sus propias vidas estuvieran en peligro, tomaron la triste decisión de dar la media vuelta y regresar a Lago Salado. Entretanto, el Hermano Reddick Allred, uno de los que había sido ordenado permanecer acampado, se rehusó a desistir. Su argumento era que el profeta Brigham Young les había llamado para realizar el rescate, y que su líder inmediato, el Capitán Grant les había ordenado que permanecieran en el lugar. Él no se iría sin cumplir con su misión.
Respecto a esto, los otros hermanos que volvieron a Lago Salado llevaron consigo carretas llenas de víveres. Lo más trágico fue que a medida que regresaban a Lago Salado, encontraron a otros que iban camino al rescate y los convencieron a que regresaran también, sugiriendo que ya no valía la pena seguir. La influencia de estos hermanos hizo que otras 77 carretas dieran la media vuelta y regresaran.
Cuando Brigham Young supo lo que había pasado, les ordenó nuevamente que regresaran al rescate, y así lo hicieron. Pero esta pérdida de tiempo costó la vida de muchos. Cuando la compañía de Willie finalmente llegó al lugar del campamento del grupo de rescate, fue el hermano Reddick Allred quien los estaba esperando con las carretas que había conseguido retener y guardar diligentemente. Su persistencia y lealtad a sus líderes fueron fundamentales para la salvación de una muerte segura para muchos.
Quiero tener una fe semejante a la de Reddick Allred. No quiero abandonar jamás lo que se espera que yo haga. Deseo que todos seamos como él y que jamás abandonemos el rescate de nuestros hermanos, aunque parezca que nuestra persistencia no haga una diferencia. No abandonemos a nuestros hermanos que buscan socorro, aunque sea necesario que renunciemos a nuestra propia comodidad.
Si hacemos esto, alcanzaremos los milagros que buscamos en nuestra área, distrito, zona, y en nuestras vidas personales. Realizaremos el trabajo misional con gran vigor en nuestras áreas, y duplicaremos la cantidad de bautismos de conversos, a medida que practiquemos los principios enseñados en Predicad Mi Evangelio, estableciendo el Reino de Dios con gran pujanza en nuestra misión. A medida que seamos como el hermano Reddick Allred, seremos completamente obedientes, y no daremos media vuelta jamás, hasta que alcancemos nuestros objetivos. Haremos la diferencia al final.
Precisamos ser todos como este gran pionero. No importa nuestra condición personal. Nuestro amor por nuestros hermanos es más fuerte que las conveniencias de la vida, y no descansaremos hasta que el último sea rescatado.
No parece la gran tormenta, la que nos sucedió esta semana? Pero, las condiciones difíciles no parecen las dificultades que encontramos para encontrar y enseñar personas? Y los compañeros del Reddick Allred que se fueron, no parecen aquellos misioneros que abandonan, que bajan los brazos, que dicen que “en esta misión no se bautiza”, que “es muy difícil”, que dicen “no seas obediente” porque es más fácil ser desobediente… pero los milagros así no vienen. Reddick Allred podría haberse vuelto a su casa, más caliente, más segura… y sin embargo, se quedó a pesar de lo terrible de la situación, del frío, para salvar personas. No es la misma tarea que como misioneros tenemos nosotros? No somos los que debemos salvar almas? No tenemos que salvar a nuestros hermanos que necesitan socorro? No son los que están esperando que les llevemos el mensaje? Hemos desarrollado el atributo semejante a Cristo del amor fraternal y la caridad, que nos llevarán a no abandonar el esfuerzo, hasta la última puerta, hasta el último minuto?
Creo que podemos realizar este milagro, porque está es la obra de Dios, y Él está de nuestro lado. En el nombre de Jesucristo. Amén.
Los quiero mucho,
Claudio D. Salerno
Presidente
Misión Argentina Comodoro Rivadavia
La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Union 1, Zona Trelew Sur - Week 16... COLD in Patagonia
Those fotos look awesome! I'm really happy that you guys were able to find the keys, that would have been really bad. (The wind was so strong that it ripped the bag with my keys out of Sofia's hand, and went flying across the prairie dropping things along the way... losing our car keys on the Tallgrass Prairie in Nowhere Kansas... but after some very sincere prayers, she found them - HOORAY!) Now just think about that wind you felt. Rio Gallegos. Every day. LOL!
Tell Ellie that she's awesome and that were gonna watch Star Wars together when I get home. Tell her that I'm serving a mission on Hoth, because that's how I feel haha!
This week was rough. Like, really rough. Bad. Monday night, we got a call from the assistants telling us that they changed the fecha of the conferencia con Presidente (date of the Conference with President Salerno), and that we were going to have it on Thursday. THANKS FOR LETTING US KNOW! So that was crazy, getting things all worked out.
We finally got the whole situation of disobedience worked out as well, so that was a chore, but it's finally over.
Thursday, during the conference, the weather outside started deteriorating. It started getting cold, colder, then really cold, then it started to sprinkle. When we got to the pension, we were getting ready to go to bed, when there was a mini emergency, and we had to go save some elders. So we leave the pension and IT'S SNOWING! Thursday night was the first time it has snowed in Trelew for 5 YEARS. I think Satan made a deal with the Patagonia this week... Luckily, the snow stopped, but all of Friday and Saturday, it poured freezing rain.
The pic I sent was the gear I used to attempt to keep warm. 2 sets of thermals, my shirt, a sweater, my jacket, and my Mr. Mac overcoat and it DIDN'T DO A DANG THING!
He said he suffered, but doesn't he look happy in this pic...
This must have been before they went out into the cold :)
As far as weather goes, those two days were some of the worst of my mission. But we gutted 'em out like good missionaries should. We didn't have much success. The craziest part was that one night, we passed by a members house to give him something, and he lives in one of the sketchier areas of the area, and the sun went down, and all of the sudden: power outage. When we left his house, the barrio was completely black. There was water everywhere, and I wasn't sure if I was more fearful of getting mugged or getting ran over by a car! We hightailed it out of there, and went to Mathew's house, where we had a candlelight lesson in his tiny room because even the capilla (chapel) didn't have light.
Yesterday was also really cold, and even though I held out like a champ on Friday and Saturday, Domingo (Sunday) got to me. It was freezing and dark, and we were contacting, and the people still didn't give us the time of day. It always happens, but yesterday, it just got to me. I got really frustrated. Igual, I'm a bit embarrassed that I let myself get down. A missionary with my experience shouldn't let stuff like that get to him, but it just did this time around. It's alright though, I'm gonna put it in the past, and try and have an extra high faith level and extra good attitude for the rest of the winter. BRING IT ON PATAGONIA!
I might need to buy some new winter gear though, because everything I've got is really beat up. My boots have got holes, and all my jackets are really old. One of them has a patch made of tape on the arm XD So ghetto! My backpack also has a huge hole in the bottom, but I kinda love that thing, and don't want to give it up, so I'll try to jerryrig algo haha!
As for the miracle of the week, there was a really important one. On Sunday, the first hour of church (Priesthood), Matthew didn't show up. I said a prayer, asking Heavenly Father to please wake him up. This attendance was really important to me because, although he already has his 3 asistencias, we want to see him come 3 weeks straight before baptizing him, and if he didn't come yesterday, his fecha of July 1st would fall. So we got into the 2nd hour, and he still didn't come. I said another prayer, asking the same thing. Then I got a bit frustrated. I love that guy to death, he's probably the best friend I've made here in the mission, but he's just so lazy sometimes. So I got disanimated (discouraged), because it was obvious that he wasn't going to come, and I wasn't going to be able to see his baptism. But then, 5 minutes after Sacrament Meeting started, in walks MATHEW! I almost started crying. I love that guy so much, and the thought of not being able to be there for his special day was killing me, but Heavenly Father woke him up, and he came. So we're going to be working extra hard this week, and I think well have a baptism on the 1st of July!
That's all for this week. Especially during these hard times, I would really appreciate your prayers. Please pray for me, that I may have the same strength, endurance, and faith as the pioneers had so many years ago.
FAMILY: I love you guys!
DAD! Feliz Dia del Padre! Te amo!
SOFIA! Happy birthday yesterday!
MOM! LOVE YOU!
- Elder Jimenez
Awesome lunch we had this week!
And to Jose...
HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!
It's been an honor to be your son and to have a father as incredible as you. You've done and are doing a great job. I LOVE YOU! I never knew Abuelo, but I've felt him many times in my life. He would be proud of the father you've been.
As far as home goes, it sounds like a pretty good Presidency to report to. That's cool that Kevin is doing that triathlon. Warriors, blah.
This week was brutal. We had a surprise conference with President, and then the Patagonia got angry. Rain poured on us for 2 straight days, and we couldn't get into any doors. It was a trial, and I did mas o menos. My attitude could have been way better. But it's just like contacting, the first one is always bad, but that helps you have good ones after. I got disanimated this week (even though I kept working) but I still got disanimated. I'm going to consecrate the rest of this winter to the Lord to make up for it. NOTHING WILL STOP ME! Just know when your job gets rough that I'm right there with yah, let's put these months in together.
LOVE YOU! - Elder Jimenez
Friday, June 16, 2017
Union 1, Zona Trelew Sur - Week 15... Led by the Spirit
Anyways, I hope eveyone is going good, this week was a bit more tranqy than last week. I'm just gonna give highlights, out of chronological order (the Argentinos are rubbing off on me lol).
Aaaaaaaanyways, Mathew finally came to church again. We didn't even have to wake him up, he just came, which was awesome! He's got a lot more pilas than he did before, and we've got a fecha down for the 1st, so if all goes well, we'll have a baptism my last Sunday in the area (I think...) Familia Sandoval also came to church, and this time, they made it for all 3 hours. It was awesome!!! If we can work things out with the parents, we might be having a baptism on the 24th as well, so that is gonna be great.
As far as the zone goes... We're going to be seeing some changes in the district leadership in our zone, and in all the talking we had to do with Presidente, we were able to get one of our districts split into two (which really needed to happen) Carrying out all these changes is going to be a pain, but the skies are clearing a bit down the road. It's looking like were going to be better off after them, so I'm excited.
We had several interesting experiences this week. Yesterday, we were contacting (because all of our citas fell) and nothing was working. I had the impression to go and try to contact one of the references we have, and he once again, didn't answer.
So we're on the far side of town, and an idea came to my mind. Instead of contacting mas o menos randomly as we had been doing, the idea came to my mind to take out my map, and say a prayer with Elder Farabee. We took the map out, and asked Heavenly Father to help us choose a barrio and a cuadra. We both felt the same barrio, and he mentioned a street that bordered a block I was looking at, so we set out for that part of town. We walked a good 20 minutes to get there, only to find that the block we chose was a grass field. The Holy Ghost never tires to play sick jokes on me! After that discovery, we prayed again, to see which of the neighboring blocks we should contact, and we chose to contact the other side of the street. The first 6 or so contacts were typical Argentinos... we offended them by knocking their door. Then we get to this one house. We clap, and nobody comes out, when a car pulls up on the block in front. AWKWARD! After a minute or so, an older woman and her daughter got out, and started unloading things from the store. We offered to help, but they declined. After 2 minutes of standing there awkwardly, I said to to the woman, "Hey, we said a prayer, and felt like we should come to this part of town. Can we come in?" She let us in :) We ended up having a great lesson, and we've got a return cita next week! It was really cool to see how by pondering and focusing on the work, the Lord, through prayer and revelation, guided us to more fertile ground. It was really cool, I was very grateful!
The other experience was a bit of a downer, but it changed my life a little bit. We have an investigator named Ruben. He"s a double amputee, without his legs, but he uses two prosthetics to walk, which is pretty cool. The guy was super rich before, but for several reasons, he now lives very poorly. Sometimes its hard to set citas, because he doesn't commit himself much, so we usually end up passing by no mas. A couple nights ago, we decided to pass by and see how he was doing. When we knocked the door, we heard a shout from inside. We knocked a couple times, and finally, he answered the door, walking on his stubs. He let us in, and what I saw changed me. Half empty bottles and burnt out cigarettes, everywhere. The house was a mess. He was laid out on a dirty blanket, on the floor, watching ESPN. Elder Farabee was a bit shocked, and tried to start talking to him, when I said "Ruben, are you drunk?" "Yeah, a little" he said, and started to cry (for being drunk nada mas though) "Ruben" I said "Wheres a broom?" He told me that there was one in the kitchen. The house was horrible. I entered the kitchen, and there was rotting food and alcohol everywhere. I grabbed the grubby broom, returned to the front room, and started to sweep. Nobody said anything. I kept sweeping, moving chairs and other random obstacles, trying to make a more decent ambient. Elder Farabee was confused, but I had learned from Elder Bobadilla that sometimes, words just don't get there, but actions do. After sweeping up the cigarette butts, I started finding open bottles, and pouring what they had left of the lawn. Then I started grabbing the mostly empty boxes of cigarettes, and throwing them into a bag. However, when I got to one that was mostly full, Ruben said "No, I'm keeping this one" "Ruben!" I said, "This is what's destroying your life! This is what is inviting the devil into your home!" But he wouldn't budge. It was so sad to see how hopelessly lost he is. Leaving the house, I had a huge mix of emotions. Shock, sadness, frustration, etc.
However, after thinking it all over, one emotion prevailed. Gratitude. Experiences like that make me so grateful that, like Nephi of old, I was born of goodly parents. However, unlike Nephi, I didn't even need to travel to the promised land. I was born in it. The gospel has given me a moral code that has protected me and my family during my life, and for that I will be eternally grateful. I don't know what I did right in the life before this, but what I do know is that God is great.
Those were the highlights that happened this week. I hope each of you can take a moment this week and really think about how good you've got it. FAMILY! I love you guys!
SOFIA! Happy birthday this Sunday! (legit this time though)
MOM! I LOVE YOU!!! Get well soon!
- Elder Jimenez
Aaaaaaaanyways, Mathew finally came to church again. We didn't even have to wake him up, he just came, which was awesome! He's got a lot more pilas than he did before, and we've got a fecha down for the 1st, so if all goes well, we'll have a baptism my last Sunday in the area (I think...) Familia Sandoval also came to church, and this time, they made it for all 3 hours. It was awesome!!! If we can work things out with the parents, we might be having a baptism on the 24th as well, so that is gonna be great.
As far as the zone goes... We're going to be seeing some changes in the district leadership in our zone, and in all the talking we had to do with Presidente, we were able to get one of our districts split into two (which really needed to happen) Carrying out all these changes is going to be a pain, but the skies are clearing a bit down the road. It's looking like were going to be better off after them, so I'm excited.
We had several interesting experiences this week. Yesterday, we were contacting (because all of our citas fell) and nothing was working. I had the impression to go and try to contact one of the references we have, and he once again, didn't answer.
So we're on the far side of town, and an idea came to my mind. Instead of contacting mas o menos randomly as we had been doing, the idea came to my mind to take out my map, and say a prayer with Elder Farabee. We took the map out, and asked Heavenly Father to help us choose a barrio and a cuadra. We both felt the same barrio, and he mentioned a street that bordered a block I was looking at, so we set out for that part of town. We walked a good 20 minutes to get there, only to find that the block we chose was a grass field. The Holy Ghost never tires to play sick jokes on me! After that discovery, we prayed again, to see which of the neighboring blocks we should contact, and we chose to contact the other side of the street. The first 6 or so contacts were typical Argentinos... we offended them by knocking their door. Then we get to this one house. We clap, and nobody comes out, when a car pulls up on the block in front. AWKWARD! After a minute or so, an older woman and her daughter got out, and started unloading things from the store. We offered to help, but they declined. After 2 minutes of standing there awkwardly, I said to to the woman, "Hey, we said a prayer, and felt like we should come to this part of town. Can we come in?" She let us in :) We ended up having a great lesson, and we've got a return cita next week! It was really cool to see how by pondering and focusing on the work, the Lord, through prayer and revelation, guided us to more fertile ground. It was really cool, I was very grateful!
The other experience was a bit of a downer, but it changed my life a little bit. We have an investigator named Ruben. He"s a double amputee, without his legs, but he uses two prosthetics to walk, which is pretty cool. The guy was super rich before, but for several reasons, he now lives very poorly. Sometimes its hard to set citas, because he doesn't commit himself much, so we usually end up passing by no mas. A couple nights ago, we decided to pass by and see how he was doing. When we knocked the door, we heard a shout from inside. We knocked a couple times, and finally, he answered the door, walking on his stubs. He let us in, and what I saw changed me. Half empty bottles and burnt out cigarettes, everywhere. The house was a mess. He was laid out on a dirty blanket, on the floor, watching ESPN. Elder Farabee was a bit shocked, and tried to start talking to him, when I said "Ruben, are you drunk?" "Yeah, a little" he said, and started to cry (for being drunk nada mas though) "Ruben" I said "Wheres a broom?" He told me that there was one in the kitchen. The house was horrible. I entered the kitchen, and there was rotting food and alcohol everywhere. I grabbed the grubby broom, returned to the front room, and started to sweep. Nobody said anything. I kept sweeping, moving chairs and other random obstacles, trying to make a more decent ambient. Elder Farabee was confused, but I had learned from Elder Bobadilla that sometimes, words just don't get there, but actions do. After sweeping up the cigarette butts, I started finding open bottles, and pouring what they had left of the lawn. Then I started grabbing the mostly empty boxes of cigarettes, and throwing them into a bag. However, when I got to one that was mostly full, Ruben said "No, I'm keeping this one" "Ruben!" I said, "This is what's destroying your life! This is what is inviting the devil into your home!" But he wouldn't budge. It was so sad to see how hopelessly lost he is. Leaving the house, I had a huge mix of emotions. Shock, sadness, frustration, etc.
However, after thinking it all over, one emotion prevailed. Gratitude. Experiences like that make me so grateful that, like Nephi of old, I was born of goodly parents. However, unlike Nephi, I didn't even need to travel to the promised land. I was born in it. The gospel has given me a moral code that has protected me and my family during my life, and for that I will be eternally grateful. I don't know what I did right in the life before this, but what I do know is that God is great.
Those were the highlights that happened this week. I hope each of you can take a moment this week and really think about how good you've got it. FAMILY! I love you guys!
SOFIA! Happy birthday this Sunday! (legit this time though)
MOM! I LOVE YOU!!! Get well soon!
- Elder Jimenez
Special Lunch with Luisa
Monday, June 5, 2017
Union 1, Zona Trelew Sur - Week 14... El Libro de Mormon
Hola! This week was a week... we had Consejo (Leadership Meeting), so I was in Comodoro for half the week. We had one day completely al pepe (wasted) because the oficinistas didn't buy us tickets to leave until 4pm, the day after the meeting. So that was a bit ineffective, but it's okay.
Other interesting things that happened this week... I finished reading El Libro de Mormon (Español) for the first time. I like reading it in Spanish a lot more than in English, I might even keep reading it in Spanish afterwards. It was a great experience!
Speaking of reading the Book of Mormon, we visited Luisa this week. We asked her how her lectura (reading) of the Book of Mormon was going, and she said "Well, I started here in the beginning, and now I'm here" She opened the book to the letter "B" in La Guia del Estudio de las Escrituras (Topical Guide)! In a single month she had read the whole Book of Mormon! Then she told us of how she noticed many things that she needed to change. she told us that she doesn't say any bad words anymore. She also told us that when her neighbor wants to gossip out on the sidewalk, she says "NO! I will not listen!" and turns around and goes into her house! That made me laugh. She even said that her friend begged her to go to the casino, and after she rejected, her friend said "En serio!?!?! (Really?!?!?!)" and she was like "Yep, you can go, but I won't". She's a re capa (super boss)! It was really cool to see how the promise that the reading of the BoM will strengthen us against temptation, that the Prophet gave us this last conference, came true with Luisa. So that was awesome.
One of the part member families that we are teaching (Familia Sandoval) finally came to church as well, so that was awesome! Thy have 3 little kids, one of whom is progressing towards baptism, that are super funny! I hope my kids turn out like them :)
Anyways, the week was really blah, but at least some cool things happened. Sometimes, it's hard to have motivation, but those are the most important moments to do a double check on the obedience, and grind through to the good times. I'm really hoping that this week will be better.
Anyways, that's pretty much it!
FAMILY! I love you guys! HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY TO SOFIA! You're a capa, great job with the 4.0!
MOM! I've been praying for you!
I love you! - Elder Jimenez
And to Jose...
If you like the Luisa story, read my email this week, it gets better haha!
I really hope Madi can pull it out...
Squaw Peak sounds like it sucked haha! I don't see how you enjoy things like that, but I definitely admire you're physical and mental strength! It takes a lot of the two to do what you did.
I promised one of my missionaries that I would buy a camista del equipo que ganara el Champions, entonces me parece que hoy comprare uno de Real Madrid, pero esta bien, por que no termine comprando la de Atletico. Igual, todavia no estoy convencido por ningun equipo... no voy a elegir hasta despues de la mision nada mas :)
It sounds like the Warriors are destroying the Cavs. Honestly, they've essentially got the Celestial Kingdoms basketball selection, so there's no beating them this time around.
I've been missing you guys too! But, as always, no hay que desperdiciar estos dos años! En serio, Dad, te quiero mucho y te admiro. Que tengas una buena semana! Vamos a pasar estos tiempos dificiles juntos!
- Elder Jimenez
Pics of the Zone Leader's Conference
Other interesting things that happened this week... I finished reading El Libro de Mormon (Español) for the first time. I like reading it in Spanish a lot more than in English, I might even keep reading it in Spanish afterwards. It was a great experience!
Speaking of reading the Book of Mormon, we visited Luisa this week. We asked her how her lectura (reading) of the Book of Mormon was going, and she said "Well, I started here in the beginning, and now I'm here" She opened the book to the letter "B" in La Guia del Estudio de las Escrituras (Topical Guide)! In a single month she had read the whole Book of Mormon! Then she told us of how she noticed many things that she needed to change. she told us that she doesn't say any bad words anymore. She also told us that when her neighbor wants to gossip out on the sidewalk, she says "NO! I will not listen!" and turns around and goes into her house! That made me laugh. She even said that her friend begged her to go to the casino, and after she rejected, her friend said "En serio!?!?! (Really?!?!?!)" and she was like "Yep, you can go, but I won't". She's a re capa (super boss)! It was really cool to see how the promise that the reading of the BoM will strengthen us against temptation, that the Prophet gave us this last conference, came true with Luisa. So that was awesome.
One of the part member families that we are teaching (Familia Sandoval) finally came to church as well, so that was awesome! Thy have 3 little kids, one of whom is progressing towards baptism, that are super funny! I hope my kids turn out like them :)
Anyways, the week was really blah, but at least some cool things happened. Sometimes, it's hard to have motivation, but those are the most important moments to do a double check on the obedience, and grind through to the good times. I'm really hoping that this week will be better.
Anyways, that's pretty much it!
FAMILY! I love you guys! HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY TO SOFIA! You're a capa, great job with the 4.0!
MOM! I've been praying for you!
I love you! - Elder Jimenez
Picture of the Beach in Comodoro
And to Jose...
If you like the Luisa story, read my email this week, it gets better haha!
I really hope Madi can pull it out...
Squaw Peak sounds like it sucked haha! I don't see how you enjoy things like that, but I definitely admire you're physical and mental strength! It takes a lot of the two to do what you did.
I promised one of my missionaries that I would buy a camista del equipo que ganara el Champions, entonces me parece que hoy comprare uno de Real Madrid, pero esta bien, por que no termine comprando la de Atletico. Igual, todavia no estoy convencido por ningun equipo... no voy a elegir hasta despues de la mision nada mas :)
It sounds like the Warriors are destroying the Cavs. Honestly, they've essentially got the Celestial Kingdoms basketball selection, so there's no beating them this time around.
I've been missing you guys too! But, as always, no hay que desperdiciar estos dos años! En serio, Dad, te quiero mucho y te admiro. Que tengas una buena semana! Vamos a pasar estos tiempos dificiles juntos!
- Elder Jimenez
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