Alright now that I'm done raging, I'm glad that you guys had a good week :) My week was... blah. It was a weird week. It's hard because I look back on the week, and I feel like we had ZERO progress. It was also hard because there were several times that I walked out of lessons, and just felt like my teaching skills have deteriorated a bit, like we just didn't teach well. I think the answer to all of this is to just humble myself, repent, and put my trust nuevamente in the Lord. Sometimes, as a missionary, you work, and work, and work, and it becomes routine. You just get used to doing the same thing dia tras dia (day after day).
It's worse down here in Argentina as well because the people in general not only don't really want anything, but they're also just kind of mean sometimes. It has a lot to do with the recent history I think. They've had a lot of governments that have taken advantage of them, and some of the older generations lived during the dictatorships, in which people often disappeared and never were found (the government kidnapped them). During that time, this culture of not trusting other people and keeping to yourself at all costs popularized, and now the growing use of technology has made it 10 times worse. A person can walk through centro for two hours without even looking another person in the eyes! There're also a ton of churches down here, and many of them shamelessly rob from the poor, which hardens the spiritual heart of these people even more. The list goes on and on, and you add that to the routine-ness that I mentioned before, and I think that the majority of missionaries down here just get used to getting the door slammed in their face all day every day. It's hard. It's hard to have faith. But that's the secret.
I know that Jesus Christ does exist, and I know that there are prepared people in the Patagonia. They're rare, but they're out there. It's like the escritura that I found before the mission, Jeremiah 16:16. Some guys are meant to be pescadores (fishermen), they throw their nets in and bring a lot of baptisms out. In this mission we're cazadores (hunters). We need to search in the mountains, valleys, and caves, and put in a lot of effort to baptize. However, even though it's difficult, with the Lord, nothing is impossible. That's why I need to repent. I continually need to repent, but especially now. I need to stop trying to teach the lessons in my way, and let the Spirit guide. I need to take the time, and put in the effort that is needed to have the guidance of the Spirit. So that will be my task in this coming week. I'm going to humble myself, and be an instrument in the Lord's hands. He always guides this work, but we're going to take more advantage of that guidance this week.
I appreciate your prayers and fasting on my behalf! I'm determined to have success, and all the glory goes to God.
FAMILIA: SELL THE DOG OR LEAVE IT IN THE WILDERNESS OR FEED IT TO A COUGAR! Just get rid of it...
I love you guys :)
MOM! I'm pumped that you got a sweet new ride :) It's gonna be weird to never see the Enclave again though... But it's okay :)
I LOVE YOU! - Elder Jimenez
DEAD ARMADILLO IN THE PATAGONIA! So sweet!
Our ghetto ice destroying oven that we built to defrost the freezer.
It was a solid block of ice XD.
I sent Alex the next picture and alleviated his concern that we got a dog... Daisy and Zeb are the crazy ones to add a puppy to their family. Sofia is thrilled to be able to love on her every Sunday. Anyway, here is Alex's response... OH THANK YOU! OH I AM SO HAPPY YOU GUYS DIDN'T BUY A DOG! Those animals are the worst!
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