URUGUAY!

email dated 12-17-07
Okay, so I'm in a different country with a different keyboard. It's hard for me to type cause it's a little different. Anyway, I will have to give up on capitalizing things because I keep messing it up and its slowing me down, as well as apostrophes. [capitalization and apostrophes corrected by family]

Montevideo was a pretty cool city. I was only there for a day before I got shipped out to Artigas, Uruguay, which is as far north as you can get before you're in Brazil. The mission map they sent us was wrong. My mission does include Montevideo, almost half of it. My companion spent more than half of his mission in the city of Montevideo.

Anyway, I'm kind of in culture shock now. First big issue, in Artigas they speak Portugnion, a mix of Portuguese and Spanish! Thanks a lot MTC! Itss alright. They understand me when I speak, I just don't understand them. Even the people that speak mostly pure Spanish, are still really hard to understand because they have a thick accent and they speak really fast. A lot of people have kind of a lisp-lithp thingy, and they also say a lot of (shhh) amidst their words. Sho me shamo, ashi, asha, etc... It's really hard to pick out words in the midst of so much shushing. I'm doing alright though. I'm starting to get it. At least I can speak. One thing I don't want to happen to me is be like these two Elders I met in the offices. They were there during transfers to get their bus. Anyway, they couldn't speak a lick of Spanish. One had been here 6 months and another 9 months. Not a lick!!! I spoke better Spanish. They sent me out the first night in Montevideo with one of the office Elders and he made me make some contacts and I taught a lesson with him too. I couldn't understand a lot, but I could speak just fine. He was amazed at my accent and how well I knew the language. He said I didn't make a single conjugation mistake the whole day that he noticed and that I sound really good, better than a lot of Elders who've been here for 6 months. That really encouraged me. I have still been frustrated because I can't understand when they speak, but I know I will get it. In a few weeks I am sure I'll feel at home and in routine, and in a few months I bet Spanish won't even be an issue. The real issue is Portuguese. The good Elders out here learn both languages, like my companion Elder Dennis, for example, can speak both. He's a really good companion and a really awesome missionary. He has helped me to feel encouraged too. He says he can't believe how clearly and correctly I speak. If only I could hear. I just can't understand the people!! But I'm encouraged to know that most missionaries, even the ones who can't speak well, learn how to listen while they're out here. I will be okay. I know it.

I had an amazing first week!!! My goal was to make 10 contacts a day, and my companion had the same goal. Together we talk to at least 20 people in the street every day, taking turns and after a few days I'm really doing my part, and we've met the goal everyday. From that goal we've found 4 really good investigators out here. 2 of them we committed yesterday to be baptized and they accepted. We find people every day. They're really nice and humble. They live in humble circumstances, as do we in our casa: families of 7 living with only 2 or 3 cement rooms, some worse. Not very cozy, kids sleep on the floor every night, but at least it's scorching hot so nobody is freezing. There are so many things I want to say!! I couldn't possibly have enough time to tell you everything I want to about Uruguay. But I will tell you a story:

My second day we went to teach the 1st lesson to one of our street contacts Wilma. We taught her about the Restoration, of course, and gave her a Book of Mormon. She started to cry and we couldn't figure out why. She eventually got out that she and her 3 kids hadn't eaten in 3 days. I looked at the 5 year old girl Laura who was so cute and funny the whole lesson and about cried myself. We promised that if they would read the Book of Mormon and pray, God would bless them. We immediately raced to a members house right after that and told them the predicament. The wonderful member family, the Diaz family, took food over a few hours later. To our wonderment, the next time we visited her she was crying again and hugged us. She said that her prayers were answered. Her husband finally got a job!! And he's been out of work for over a year. They were so happy to see us again. They're one of our progressing families. I've seen miracles out here. My favorite investigator, a woman named Anna, said that she hasn't felt so at peace and happy all her life that she can remember, since she's been talking to us this past week. She bore testimony last night that she believes the Book of Mormon is true. I think she'll get baptized.

But lastly, and all I have time for, is that I hate numbers. We got great numbers this week. Elder Dennis, who's been in the offices and an AP, said we might have some of the best numbers in the mission, but that means jack to me if our ward doesn´t get going. In our area, there are supposedly over 200 members!! Guess how many were in church¿ 25! I told him yesterday that I don't want to baptize people and have them just join a list of inactives who really don't know the gospel. I can baptize out here. Supposedly this area has been dead for a year and we've had nothing but success (in numbers only, in my opinion) since we got here. Nobody wanted to come to Artigas, but I'm certainly glad to be here. The ward members we do have that are active are really awesome, but they don't have any leaders. There are only 4 worthy priesthood holders. The bishop is unliked by most of the ward, and we're gonna see what we can do to change that, but he is indeed a difficult man. Anyway, what I've seen is that the ward doesn't get involved. We NEED their help. I could go around every day lighting gospel sparks in Artigas, but if there isn't a fire for them to join, they will die and join the list of menos activos. I can't accept that. My job as a missionary is to build up the kingdom, not to baptize. I want to do both. But before anything, I want this ward to be on fire. I want them to start reading their scriptures. So yesterday I told my comp that I really felt strongly that we won't have real success unless we get this ward going. After praying he agreed. It's a real chore, but I want to visit members every day as much as investigators. I want to get them going. If they would just read their scriptures and pray every day for themselves!! Everybody loves us. They love the missionaries. Everybody says they feel the spirit when we're with them and they're happy. But we can't be there for everyone. We need them to have their own light, their own fire. And that's why first and foremost, my calling in Artigas is to try and strengthen this ward. I have prayed and I know that is what I am called here to do. I will not light sparks around this city only to see them all flicker away because there's no fire. Our members need to learn that they have the gift of the Holy Ghost. They don't need us to feel the Spirit. They can feel it everyday for themselves. I will labor all day with all my might to teach the members they can do this and to teach the investigators that the church is true. My numbers may suffer but I could care less. We need a fire here. 20 more menos activos will not build up the kingdom of God in Artigas. I want to spend more time with the investigators than missionaries typically do. Because they're so humble and they feel that spirit and want to be baptized, I fear a lot of missionaries run them through the process and go and find more. I want to help them to hit the ground running. To be stronger members who actually know the name of the church they're joining. There is so much I want to do here and so little time to do it.

Anyway, I'm happy and healthy. My companion is absolutely amazing. His name is Elder Dennis from Taylorsville, Utah and we get along great. He says I'm the best companion he has had, and wishes he could see how good I will be in a year when I am more fully fluent. He is on his last change and will be going home in 5 weeks. It truly does break my heart. He is such a good worker and has the same vision as I do for the work. We're doing really good together. And he's really good about complimenting me and keeping me from feeling homesick, because I have that a bit this week. He reminds me every time I'm frustrated that I don't understand what they're saying that his last companion had been here 9 months and couldn't speak or listen as well as I can my first week. That helps me feel good, but hopefully not too prideful. I need to stay humble for sure, and my inability to understand will hopefully keep me humble for a good while, not too long I hope. I just want to devote myself completely to what I'm doing here. I didn't come out here to screw around like some Elders I've regrettably already met. I will speak this language. I love these people. When I have more time I'll write more about the cultural things that I think are funny. I'll just say now that the driving is no different than MarioKart. Dad, you couldn't handle it out here. It's scary in the cars. Luckily I walk everywhere cause were in the beautiful green and dirt country of Uruguay.

One last thing! Thank you mom for letting me take piano lessons when I was 7. My music has been more than a blessing in my mission. My patriarchal blessing said my music would uplift and strengthen many in my life. I'm really seeing that. I played in the MTC fireside and that was just fun. But even better was playing in church yesterday, for a ward that can't sing worth beans and hasn't had a piano player years. They LOVE me. After sacrament meeting everybody came up around the piano and just kept giving me requests of hymns. Church essentially was an extra hour yesterday as we sang hymns together around the piano. Some members have guitars that they can't play but are more than happy to let me play and sing them songs. They LOVE music down here and it has made me immediately popular among the people.

I'm happy and healthy. I have seen more miracles than I have time to recount in this email. I love my opportunity to serve so much!! I love you all!!!

Andy

P.S. My P-day is Monday, except next week it's on Christmas, and I can email every week. Also, the pouch just got a new rule that pouch letters can be no more than a page written on one side and then folded with a stamp on the outside. That makes it essentially worthless if you ask me. If people want to do that they can. Will you post on my blog that the pouch is faster, but the rules stink, and that mail to the mission office will get to me almost as fast and can be real mail. I hope that I am worth the extra 50 cents to send me a real letter.