Really Clever Title

So I am running out of ideas for really clever titles. At least today I can't think of anything and I don’t want to waste 2 minutes thinking about it.

Our hero continues preaching the gospel and suffering from Gastritis. He needs a transfer because this ward feeds him too much and doesn’t understand that he doesn’t want a Thanksgiving Feast with dessert every day for lunch, rather he just needs to strengthen and nourish his body. But our hero cannot offend anyone. It is a rule in Latin America that if you refuse a second plate it is because you hated the first and missionaries can’t afford to send that message to anyone. This is the first time in my mission I have openly stated a preference of what I want to happen with transfers. I need out of here. And for only one reason: my health. I feel sick! Everyday I dread eating. What makes it harder is that we have to return to the house after lunch for our studies. Here in Uruguay there is Siesta and so what would be morning studies in a normal mission are in the afternoon here. The problem is after eating lunch I want to die and studying is an impossibility as my intestines are turned upside down. And then I still have to work the rest of the afternoon. I am convinced that if I am transferred somewhere where I can choose what and when I eat I will be a lot better off. My studies are slacking and my health is slipping. One more week in Tacuarembo! Let us cross our fingers.

Having said that, I do love this area. The members are great and a missionary with a stronger stomach would do well here. I am still doing well despite the health. We are still finding and teaching, and we have a few people with baptismal dates, etc... The work continues. I try to avoid writing too many details about all the people because if I did my emails would be pretty dull for y'all. We currently do have some really nice investigators. If you want to hear about them, ask me in 2 years and we will read my handwritten journal which has a more full account of the people we are teaching.

Lately I have been really recognizing the importance of the family in society. It is no joke. The Proclamation to the World that the First Presidency sent out in 1995 is a very powerful document that I am coming to appreciate. They warn us that if we do not protect the family institution that all the calamities and disasters foretold by the prophets will come upon us. I believe that. Let me explain.

Uruguay is not the strongest country in the world, economically or politically. My heart aches for a people who I see in desperate need. This last week, there was a night we were walking home and we saw a guy crash on his bike. His 5-7 year old son was following on a smaller bike. We ran up to help and discovered the man to be the definition of inebriated, absolutely plastered, drunk! We helped him to his feet and he started spouting off some stuff about "Good Old Joseph Smith" and stumbling all around. The cute little boy went and put the chain on his dad’s bike back on track and said, "I put the chain on for you. Let’s go home." And then the little kid eagerly remounted his own little bicycle and awaited his father. The man was still spouting off random stuff about Joe Smith and the Gold Bible and I really wanted to take that kid and adopt him that minute. The drunk fell back down because he couldn’t even stand up straight! I couldn’t help but cry a little. My companion whispered some encouraging words to the kid while I told the drunk he needed to get his act together and helped him to his bike. I think that was the saddest thing I have ever seen in my life: That poor little kid following his stumbling father in the dark.

The tragedy of a story like that, and many other experiences I have had here, is that it is not just one time. But as literally as that little boy was falling his "stumbling father in the dark" it is as spiritually applicable. I tire of seeing the kids here follow the examples of their parents. But it is a psychological reality. Children very often become like their parents. We studied it in psychology and it is more than a good correlation. Take me for example. What do I want to do? I want to get my doctorate someday and teach in the meanwhile until I can someday be a professor. Who is my father? A teacher who got his doctorate who currently does work as a professor. Look at my brothers! There isn’t a single one that doesn’t talk about the possibility of wanting to be a teacher! College grads raise kids who want to be college grads. We learn from our parents. We often follow their example, because it is something with which we are familiar. Ahora, let’s try to count how many families I know in this ward and my last that have both mother and father. I can count them on 2 hands!!! Now let’s count how many pregnant 14-20 year old girls with no boy in sight I know of EVEN inside the church. In just 2 mission areas the number is in the 20´s.

One thing that breaks my heart about this country is seeing the youth not live up to its potential. In a country with education completely free, including university studies, how many students even graduate from their high school education? The last statistic I heard was around 1 in 5!! And I see it too. I am with these people every day. And then these drop outs live off of their socialist government welfare and pass the tradition on to their children, who in most cases are following in a pattern of a low standard of living, dropping out of school as well because everyone else is doing it and their parents are no example, and the cycle goes on and on. What is the remedy? What is the only solution? And now we arrive at the point of all of this, including the reason I am here as a missionary. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer.

People that live the gospel, understand the principles, do what the church teaches us to do, are the people that will finish their studies, that try to have a good job so that they can provide for a family, a family with father and mother who serve as equal partners in raising children that will hopefully set similar goals for their futures. Of course it isn’t easy or perfect. And I am not so naive as to think that everybody who keeps the commandments and tries living the gospel has an enchanted life with a perfect family. I know that it isn’t easy or perfect, that there are casualties on all sides, even in families that are trying to be centered in the gospel, but I would guess that those that are living gospel standards are seeing better results. I am beginning to recognize the importance of having a family based on Gospel Principles. Or at least even a family based on any principles.

I love the people here SO much!!! I want so badly for them to make their lives better. Whenever I teach a young person the lessons, I always apply it to their young lives and tell them they need to graduate from school. Sometimes I care as much that they graduate from school as I care if they get baptized. I testify that the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families. That the Gospel is the answer. If a society neglects the importance of the family, the economy is worsened, the education is worsened, the politics get dirty and full of empty promises, and the people suffer. I have always heard these things my whole life, but never experienced them for myself because I lived a sheltered life in West Jordan Utah and these problems didn’t exist to me. Now that I see them every day I understand. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer for our spiritual salvation, but, even on a temporal level, we need to live gospel standards or our societies will struggle. I am not suggesting forcing people to do anything--on a political level I state no opinion right now--but as a missionary I say very boldly that I will teach this message until I die if it means I can help some families change their lives and find, if only in their own homes, heaven.

I love you all. Sorry about preaching to you all. You know I am opinionated and a man of many words. I hope you take special notice of the word "man," because this month I turn 20 and I have decided I am officially a man. Someone needs to watch the Man From Snowy River for me and tell me all the requirements of manhood so that I can ensure I have arrived. Take care! I love you!!

Andy