email dated 5/27/08
Well, it happened again. My companion has been Dear Johnned. I feel for him. He has been a tough companion but we are really close. I consider him one of my best friends. He is an especially cool companion because he is 26 years old. He has a lot more life experience than all of my other companions have had and has a lot of good advice for me. I am sad he got Dear Johnned because he goes home to a very different life than most missionaries. His family lives in Indiana, and Texas, and Ohio, and he came from Florida, he thinks maybe he will go to Utah, etc... It is a different situation than it is for most of us Utah boys that go back home to mom and dad and college. He is a good guy. He goes home on my birthday. I wish him the best. I hope I have been a good comp for him. I am gonna miss him as I do with any comp when we have transfers. And yet again, I was only with him for one transfer. Now I am on number 5 and I have only been out here for 6 months in Uruguay. I never imagined the mission being like this before the mission. It seems I am always with someone new. Anyway, back to the point! Dear Johnning has got to stop. At least Elder Surtees doesn't seem to be taking it too hard. He kind of saw it coming for months.
My new companion is named Elder Oliphant. I think they said he was from CA. He is apparently my rival at the piano in the mission. So I am really excited. Our ward is going to love him. I don't know much about him, except that he has only been out a few months longer than me, and that he is said to be pretty shy. I have a good feeling about this one. I think we are going to have a really good transfer.
The work is going really well in Tacuarembó. I feel really comfortable with the area now. I know the people and we have some good investigators. I am really excited to have a new comp with a new way of looking at things and hopefully a new style to teach me. There isn't one right way to be a missionary. That is what I have learned. Preach My Gospel is a GUIDE to missionary service, and it is full of ideas for how to teach, how to find, etc... IDEAS!! One ought to try working a number of different ways. It is just a testimony to me that the Lord really does call US, for who we are. He knows we aren't all going to work the same way and that is exactly how He wants it. I may connect with somebody that another missionary wouldn't have, and he may find somebody that I never would have even looked for, etc... Anyway, I am excited to learn new things from a new comp.
I am sad now that my Artigas summer tan has worn off. I am a white-white boy again. The oncoming cold weather is hard on a good tan. But the upside is that while I may be losing the dark and handsome look in that aspect, it is being compensated for by my trench coat, which if I do say so myself, makes me look even MORE dark and handsome. If I throw my glasses on I am unstoppable.
I don't really know what else to say for today... sé que iba a decir algo pero no me acuerdo. No importa. Por lo menos tengo salúd y aun mas importante soy tan lindo. La vida es buena. Yo ando bien por ahora.
Andy
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Transfers next week
For all my faithful readers, don't be alarmed next Monday when the email doesn't come, because it is TRANFERS WEEK!! That means I will write on Tuesday. But the anxiety is gone because I know I am staying and my companion is leaving. President gave us a sneak peak and told us in interviews. So it looks like I will be staying in Tacuarembó. But I would have guessed that anyway. So I still get to enjoy the anxiety of wondering who my new companion will be. And I hope that you are all counting. That marks Transfer number 5!! I will be in 5 of 15 or 16. I am a third the way into the mission now. 8 months! What a good age! I am definitely not a kid anymore!
So we had a baptism this last week of my Ernestina, the cute old lady. I was sad because her daughter didn't come to the baptism and we were really hoping to start working with the rest of her family. We will still keep trying. The baptism went well. She asked me to do it. I was scared because she is old and I have never baptized somebody quite so old and I was scared of killing her. I truly was. The worst part is that the heater is broken and so the water was COLD! And with the cold weather and her being old, I was honestly concerned and considered saying we should delay until we could heat the water. But we went in anyway and she came out fine. But, as is often the case when you baptize older women, she just could not keep her feet planted for fear of the water and I had to push her down to make sure all of her got under water. I figure it is better to shove them down on the first one than have to do it again so I really got her down there. I just wish she had kept her feet planted and I could´ve done it a lot nicer. She was SO excited to get baptized. She showed up a half hour early to the baptism and just was so antsy. You would´ve thought she was an 8 year old girl. She was so excited to be baptized she just couldn't wait. The water was decently cold. It made me shiver. She was a trooper.
Oh man, I have to go to the bathroom! but we are in a Ciber and a Guayan public bathroom can be pretty gross. Any public bathroom can be pretty gross... I just dont know what to do.
I have no interesting stories from this week really... beyond the baptism it was a fairly dry week. I have been feeling nautious (I dont remember how to spell it, but it is nausea either way). I don't really know why. I was kind of nauseous all week. I think something did me bad. But my companion is fine so I don't know what. We eat all the same things. I think my stomach is just crying out in pain and pleading for no more oil! They DROWN everything in oil down here. And then they put mayo on it. It took me a few weeks to be able to digest down here if I remember correctly. I think maybe my stomach is just getting tired. It really is unhealthy the way they cook. You all think a happy meal is bad for you, but there is double the oil in a guiso of rice and eggs and vegetables down here. I think right now I would take the happy meal. But it is bad to be sick. You can't refuse food. But I had to yesterday. I figured it would be fine because they were really good members that always joked with us. She offered some pizza thingy she had made and I said "no thanks, I am not feeling too well." I knew we shouldn't have even worked if I was feeling sick. She told my companion she thinks I am racist. I am racist because I didn't want to eat? I don't get it either. I will have to go and suck up to them later this week and apologize. I wish people down here would stop getting offended so easily. Every less active in the church down here claims that they don't go because somebody offended them and that the Bishop knows and etc... It is all just an excuse. But they do get offended really easily. You have to be careful. I remember in my first transfer Elder Dennis offended a recent convert at Christmas. She offered us some Sweet Bread (which is gross down here), but it was in a weird awkward way. We were already on our way out the door basically and she said, "oh, you wouldn't happen to want this bread would you" and it was sitting on a table with some other old christmas stuff and looked like it had been there for months, and he said, "no thanks," or something along those lines. Anyway, she stopped going to church and her husband too. I spent the next 2 transfers reactivating her and I never did get the husband back to church. It is a VERY annoying problem the way they get offended so easily. I have learned to just say "si, como no" "Yeah, why not" whenever they offer something. Yesterday was the first time I couldn't do it because I felt like throwing up and look what happened to me... I am racist. I wish everyone would read Elder Bednar´s talk about taking offense from a few conferences ago! The irony of it all is that I was probably sick because I had managed to avoid offending somebody else by eating something that wasn't good for me.
Well, there is my cool story for the week. So if any of you find yourselves in Uruguay, just accept the sweet bread, just eat the pumpkin, just eat the chicken heart, just eat the cow stomach, don't complain, just do it. At least if you have the name of the church on your chest, you have to do it. You can't afford to offend people.
I hope that everyone is doing just peachy! I am doing well, I think I am starting to feel better from my nausea, but it is still kind of there. My companion says I have an apendicitis. I seriously doubt that. That would be so horrible. I can only imagine the scar the doctors would leave down here! Doctors is another topic. I have to go. I love you all! Take care!!
Andy
So we had a baptism this last week of my Ernestina, the cute old lady. I was sad because her daughter didn't come to the baptism and we were really hoping to start working with the rest of her family. We will still keep trying. The baptism went well. She asked me to do it. I was scared because she is old and I have never baptized somebody quite so old and I was scared of killing her. I truly was. The worst part is that the heater is broken and so the water was COLD! And with the cold weather and her being old, I was honestly concerned and considered saying we should delay until we could heat the water. But we went in anyway and she came out fine. But, as is often the case when you baptize older women, she just could not keep her feet planted for fear of the water and I had to push her down to make sure all of her got under water. I figure it is better to shove them down on the first one than have to do it again so I really got her down there. I just wish she had kept her feet planted and I could´ve done it a lot nicer. She was SO excited to get baptized. She showed up a half hour early to the baptism and just was so antsy. You would´ve thought she was an 8 year old girl. She was so excited to be baptized she just couldn't wait. The water was decently cold. It made me shiver. She was a trooper.
Oh man, I have to go to the bathroom! but we are in a Ciber and a Guayan public bathroom can be pretty gross. Any public bathroom can be pretty gross... I just dont know what to do.
I have no interesting stories from this week really... beyond the baptism it was a fairly dry week. I have been feeling nautious (I dont remember how to spell it, but it is nausea either way). I don't really know why. I was kind of nauseous all week. I think something did me bad. But my companion is fine so I don't know what. We eat all the same things. I think my stomach is just crying out in pain and pleading for no more oil! They DROWN everything in oil down here. And then they put mayo on it. It took me a few weeks to be able to digest down here if I remember correctly. I think maybe my stomach is just getting tired. It really is unhealthy the way they cook. You all think a happy meal is bad for you, but there is double the oil in a guiso of rice and eggs and vegetables down here. I think right now I would take the happy meal. But it is bad to be sick. You can't refuse food. But I had to yesterday. I figured it would be fine because they were really good members that always joked with us. She offered some pizza thingy she had made and I said "no thanks, I am not feeling too well." I knew we shouldn't have even worked if I was feeling sick. She told my companion she thinks I am racist. I am racist because I didn't want to eat? I don't get it either. I will have to go and suck up to them later this week and apologize. I wish people down here would stop getting offended so easily. Every less active in the church down here claims that they don't go because somebody offended them and that the Bishop knows and etc... It is all just an excuse. But they do get offended really easily. You have to be careful. I remember in my first transfer Elder Dennis offended a recent convert at Christmas. She offered us some Sweet Bread (which is gross down here), but it was in a weird awkward way. We were already on our way out the door basically and she said, "oh, you wouldn't happen to want this bread would you" and it was sitting on a table with some other old christmas stuff and looked like it had been there for months, and he said, "no thanks," or something along those lines. Anyway, she stopped going to church and her husband too. I spent the next 2 transfers reactivating her and I never did get the husband back to church. It is a VERY annoying problem the way they get offended so easily. I have learned to just say "si, como no" "Yeah, why not" whenever they offer something. Yesterday was the first time I couldn't do it because I felt like throwing up and look what happened to me... I am racist. I wish everyone would read Elder Bednar´s talk about taking offense from a few conferences ago! The irony of it all is that I was probably sick because I had managed to avoid offending somebody else by eating something that wasn't good for me.
Well, there is my cool story for the week. So if any of you find yourselves in Uruguay, just accept the sweet bread, just eat the pumpkin, just eat the chicken heart, just eat the cow stomach, don't complain, just do it. At least if you have the name of the church on your chest, you have to do it. You can't afford to offend people.
I hope that everyone is doing just peachy! I am doing well, I think I am starting to feel better from my nausea, but it is still kind of there. My companion says I have an apendicitis. I seriously doubt that. That would be so horrible. I can only imagine the scar the doctors would leave down here! Doctors is another topic. I have to go. I love you all! Take care!!
Andy
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The Story Continues
The story of our hero continues this week in the land of Tacuarembó. He faced many challenges. Such as: a sick and grumpy companion, being somewhat ill himself, the wicked cold, the even more wicked cold inside of his cement box of a house, the words he still doesn't know, the issue of the ever growing stomach from a ward that feeds him far too much, and his ridiculous good looks were an ever present burden. As his father taught him well, "It isnt easy to be so good looking." Our young hero learned that lesson well this week as all the women in the street continue to try and kiss him for a greeting as he continues to place a firm handshake in their path. It isn't easy when everybody wants to kiss you...
It really is kind of a challenge. I have been, for the most part, very successful at stopping people from kissing me. It is just the greeting they do down here. Very few have successfully laid one on me. The worst being an old lady in Artigas that didnt have any teeth and she got slobber on my cheek. That was SICK! And there was once a 13 year old girl in a house where I was teaching in which I had already established that I only shook hands and gave her my hand to shake and she shook it and 2 seconds later when I wasn't looking she still jumped in and laid one square on my cheek. I am just glad I have never been nailed on the lips. I know an Elder that got kissed by a guy who got him on the corner of his lips. I am glad that I haven't yet been kissed by a guy. Old women and little girls aren't nearly as awkward.
That brings up the issue of "Snakes" as they are called. It is a word that I am not fond of, but all the missionaries use it, including the latin missionaries. There are some "Snakes" as they call them in our ward. There is a girl who is always giving us the eye and has said she wants to marry a gringo and go and live in the United States. She won't get this gringo, but the sad thing is that some Elders are really dumb and do fall into bad situations like that, and even if they don't do anything they get themselves into trouble by allowing themselves to even be placed in bad situations. There are TOO many sad stories of missionaries getting into trouble. So to all my faithul readers, if you are a female DO NOT FLIRT WITH THE MISSIONARIES and if you are a future missionary BEWARE OF THE SNAKES, and if you are a future Sister Missionary DO NOT FLIRT WITH THE MISSIONARIES. Same advice from the Shepherd Corner this week. It is a tragedy to see Sister Missionaries trying to flirt with Elders. I haven't seen it since the MTC though, so it is okay now. But I do remember some pretty iffy stuff in the MTC. In an effort to make my emails more interesting, I will recount a VERY old story from the beginning of my mission because I have nothing interesting to tell from this last week. Well, there's really two stories.
So there was this Hermana (Sister) in my Zone in the MTC that was very aware of her female status and demanded the due respect to a degree that I felt was inappropriate of a mission atmosphere. One day, the innocent Elder Timothy McClellan (my dear friend who is now in Rivera) and I were walking up to the class building and this Hermana and her companion were at least 10 Meters in front of us. Without books or anything in her hands, or anyone else around, she turns around, and looks at us Elders who had just come from the bookstore and had FULL hands, waits the necessary 15 or more seconds for us to arrive at the said door and simply demanded, "open the door for me." Being polite, the Elder McClellan did as was commanded but grudgingly. Later the same sister missionary, who had managed to seat herself across from me, shoved her tray across the table at me when she was done eating and said "thanks." WHY I OUGHTA!! I took it without complaint, but I did find it ridiculous.
So are you ready for the worser of the two stories? Okay here we go: I was near leaving in the MTC when there was a blonde Hermana missionary come into our zone who seemed to think she could just flirt as she pleased. I don't know why on earth any 22 year old girl would want to flirt with us 19 year old boys, but it happened. Anyway, she was studying in the hallway once and asked me for help with her Spanish. I offered a few pointers and tried moving, but she insisted she needed more help. Feeling VERY uncomfortable I offered a little more advice and told what some more words meant and then said I had to go. She would continue to ask ONLY me for help. I avoided her like the plague. She would try to situate herself to sit by me at lunch. That was the worst. One time, and only one time, she succeeded. I was good at trying to sit in the middle of a bunch of Elders to avoid her. I will have you know I was never rude, nor disrespectful to her. That is not my way. Nor did I talk bad about her to the other Elders and tell them what I noticed was happening. I quietly tried avoiding this situation. I was kind and tried to ignore her. Anyway, she managed to sit by me one day and kept bumping elbows with me. I was SO frustrated. I scooted my chair a good 6 inches to the left to avoid the elbow bumping. To no avail. The elbow kept coming. I did not find it amusing. I switched to my left hand and she scooted her chair closer and tried talking to me. I was polite...and very uncomfortable. The same Hermana stood by me when we were singing the "Til We Meet Again" as a Zone as I was to depart for Uruguay and she kept bumping into me during the song. I must've moved 5 feet during the standing song and she came along. UGGHH!!! Things like that just should not happen, especially to a poor 19 year old boy who basically took a two year vow of complete and utter abstinence from even looking at or talking to girls for the gospel. I get uncomfortable if someone tries shaking my hand too long. Although, there was this really cute old lady in Artigas who was about 90 years old that would always hold my hand for like 2 minutes as I was saying goodbye. I still felt a tad uncomfortable, but I just thought she was so funny and nice that it didnt bother me.
The sad thing about this story about the Blonde Hermana is that it is so tiny and minimal and nothing. You all probably think I sounded mean or that I was over thinking things. But to a missionary, little tiny things like that are tough to deal with. I remember it really bothered me. I remember wanting to ask, "what are you thinking?" so many times. I am glad I was nice and left without ever being rude. So those are my stories of Hermanas from the MTC. I know, ¿¿arent they SO dramatic?? They really are stupid little stories...but I had nothing better to talk about this week because nothing really happened last week. And I am trying to tell more stories and less thoughts. I always say my thought process, but as a perfectionist-missionary as you know that I am, I tend to be a little hard on myself at times and I appear bipolar on paper and email. So I dont want to do that anymore. So I will tell you stories. I do have them. They may be some boring ones, some that I think are funny that arent funny at all, etc... But I am going to make a goal to start telling at least one story per email. I want you all to know that I am a happy missionary and having fun out here.
Oh yeah, we have a baptism coming up this week of a woman named Ernestina. She is around 60 years old I think. SHE IS SO CUTE! She told us that she wanted to be baptized. We didn't even challenge her. And she is so excited. She tells everyone that she is getting baptized this friday. I love cute old people. I hope that we will be able to start working through her to teach her kids that are grown up now. The first step is getting everybody to her baptism. Anyway, she is even more amazing in that she seems to be healing miraculously. She had a stroke and couldn't even move half of her face or the eye on that side of her face. But as she told us, the more we teach her the better she feels. And it is visible. Her eye has opened up a ton and her face has movement that it didn't have. I was promised when President Virgin set me apart that I would see miracles on the mission and I have. I was promised that I would be an instrument in healing the sick and the near dying, and watching them live. I still havent found someone near dying that I have given a blessing to, but I believe it will happen as everything else that was promised me when I was set apart and in my patriarchal blessing also are being fulfilled out here. I have given blessings to the sick and seen them get better. Angels are with me. I have faith that the Lord truly does bless us when we trust in him and do as he asks. We are a blessed people. He has so promised us.
Well, I am out of time. I hope that you all are doing just peachy!! Take care!! I love you!! Andy
It really is kind of a challenge. I have been, for the most part, very successful at stopping people from kissing me. It is just the greeting they do down here. Very few have successfully laid one on me. The worst being an old lady in Artigas that didnt have any teeth and she got slobber on my cheek. That was SICK! And there was once a 13 year old girl in a house where I was teaching in which I had already established that I only shook hands and gave her my hand to shake and she shook it and 2 seconds later when I wasn't looking she still jumped in and laid one square on my cheek. I am just glad I have never been nailed on the lips. I know an Elder that got kissed by a guy who got him on the corner of his lips. I am glad that I haven't yet been kissed by a guy. Old women and little girls aren't nearly as awkward.
That brings up the issue of "Snakes" as they are called. It is a word that I am not fond of, but all the missionaries use it, including the latin missionaries. There are some "Snakes" as they call them in our ward. There is a girl who is always giving us the eye and has said she wants to marry a gringo and go and live in the United States. She won't get this gringo, but the sad thing is that some Elders are really dumb and do fall into bad situations like that, and even if they don't do anything they get themselves into trouble by allowing themselves to even be placed in bad situations. There are TOO many sad stories of missionaries getting into trouble. So to all my faithul readers, if you are a female DO NOT FLIRT WITH THE MISSIONARIES and if you are a future missionary BEWARE OF THE SNAKES, and if you are a future Sister Missionary DO NOT FLIRT WITH THE MISSIONARIES. Same advice from the Shepherd Corner this week. It is a tragedy to see Sister Missionaries trying to flirt with Elders. I haven't seen it since the MTC though, so it is okay now. But I do remember some pretty iffy stuff in the MTC. In an effort to make my emails more interesting, I will recount a VERY old story from the beginning of my mission because I have nothing interesting to tell from this last week. Well, there's really two stories.
So there was this Hermana (Sister) in my Zone in the MTC that was very aware of her female status and demanded the due respect to a degree that I felt was inappropriate of a mission atmosphere. One day, the innocent Elder Timothy McClellan (my dear friend who is now in Rivera) and I were walking up to the class building and this Hermana and her companion were at least 10 Meters in front of us. Without books or anything in her hands, or anyone else around, she turns around, and looks at us Elders who had just come from the bookstore and had FULL hands, waits the necessary 15 or more seconds for us to arrive at the said door and simply demanded, "open the door for me." Being polite, the Elder McClellan did as was commanded but grudgingly. Later the same sister missionary, who had managed to seat herself across from me, shoved her tray across the table at me when she was done eating and said "thanks." WHY I OUGHTA!! I took it without complaint, but I did find it ridiculous.
So are you ready for the worser of the two stories? Okay here we go: I was near leaving in the MTC when there was a blonde Hermana missionary come into our zone who seemed to think she could just flirt as she pleased. I don't know why on earth any 22 year old girl would want to flirt with us 19 year old boys, but it happened. Anyway, she was studying in the hallway once and asked me for help with her Spanish. I offered a few pointers and tried moving, but she insisted she needed more help. Feeling VERY uncomfortable I offered a little more advice and told what some more words meant and then said I had to go. She would continue to ask ONLY me for help. I avoided her like the plague. She would try to situate herself to sit by me at lunch. That was the worst. One time, and only one time, she succeeded. I was good at trying to sit in the middle of a bunch of Elders to avoid her. I will have you know I was never rude, nor disrespectful to her. That is not my way. Nor did I talk bad about her to the other Elders and tell them what I noticed was happening. I quietly tried avoiding this situation. I was kind and tried to ignore her. Anyway, she managed to sit by me one day and kept bumping elbows with me. I was SO frustrated. I scooted my chair a good 6 inches to the left to avoid the elbow bumping. To no avail. The elbow kept coming. I did not find it amusing. I switched to my left hand and she scooted her chair closer and tried talking to me. I was polite...and very uncomfortable. The same Hermana stood by me when we were singing the "Til We Meet Again" as a Zone as I was to depart for Uruguay and she kept bumping into me during the song. I must've moved 5 feet during the standing song and she came along. UGGHH!!! Things like that just should not happen, especially to a poor 19 year old boy who basically took a two year vow of complete and utter abstinence from even looking at or talking to girls for the gospel. I get uncomfortable if someone tries shaking my hand too long. Although, there was this really cute old lady in Artigas who was about 90 years old that would always hold my hand for like 2 minutes as I was saying goodbye. I still felt a tad uncomfortable, but I just thought she was so funny and nice that it didnt bother me.
The sad thing about this story about the Blonde Hermana is that it is so tiny and minimal and nothing. You all probably think I sounded mean or that I was over thinking things. But to a missionary, little tiny things like that are tough to deal with. I remember it really bothered me. I remember wanting to ask, "what are you thinking?" so many times. I am glad I was nice and left without ever being rude. So those are my stories of Hermanas from the MTC. I know, ¿¿arent they SO dramatic?? They really are stupid little stories...but I had nothing better to talk about this week because nothing really happened last week. And I am trying to tell more stories and less thoughts. I always say my thought process, but as a perfectionist-missionary as you know that I am, I tend to be a little hard on myself at times and I appear bipolar on paper and email. So I dont want to do that anymore. So I will tell you stories. I do have them. They may be some boring ones, some that I think are funny that arent funny at all, etc... But I am going to make a goal to start telling at least one story per email. I want you all to know that I am a happy missionary and having fun out here.
Oh yeah, we have a baptism coming up this week of a woman named Ernestina. She is around 60 years old I think. SHE IS SO CUTE! She told us that she wanted to be baptized. We didn't even challenge her. And she is so excited. She tells everyone that she is getting baptized this friday. I love cute old people. I hope that we will be able to start working through her to teach her kids that are grown up now. The first step is getting everybody to her baptism. Anyway, she is even more amazing in that she seems to be healing miraculously. She had a stroke and couldn't even move half of her face or the eye on that side of her face. But as she told us, the more we teach her the better she feels. And it is visible. Her eye has opened up a ton and her face has movement that it didn't have. I was promised when President Virgin set me apart that I would see miracles on the mission and I have. I was promised that I would be an instrument in healing the sick and the near dying, and watching them live. I still havent found someone near dying that I have given a blessing to, but I believe it will happen as everything else that was promised me when I was set apart and in my patriarchal blessing also are being fulfilled out here. I have given blessings to the sick and seen them get better. Angels are with me. I have faith that the Lord truly does bless us when we trust in him and do as he asks. We are a blessed people. He has so promised us.
Well, I am out of time. I hope that you all are doing just peachy!! Take care!! I love you!! Andy
Monday, April 28, 2008
Ven oh señor
email dated 4-28-08
Well, another week gone by. I spent half of the last week in Montevideo, so I still don't know my area as well as I would hope. But that is alright, because I am here to stay for now. Actually we are going back the P-Day after Mothers Day, but I will only lose another P-day so no biggy. It is time to get down to work here. And I am very excited to work with an AMAZING ward that loves me. I played another musical number in church, my own rendition of Joseph Smith's First Prayer, and I have never seen so many people cry from one of my songs. The speaker after the song couldn't even talk, he cried into the microphone (which actually works in this ward!!!!) for a few minutes and bore a very sweet testimony of the Restoration, and sat down. This old lady, even though members know better than to hug missionaries, tried jumping me and got her tears all over me. Some members told me that they had never felt the spirit more strongly. Music is a marvelous thing if you use it right. And I am really grateful for an in-tune piano in our ward. I love being instantly popular in whatever area I go to. The music makes a difference and helps this missionary work. I am excited to say that our whole calendar for the month of May is already filled every last day for lunches! I am going to gain some weight here. This ward is incredible. I am so STOKED to work in a ward that is already offering me help and telling me to visit their friends and family that aren't members. I didn't even have to ask for the references. This is a good ward. I just have to help my companion to see how amazing it really is and we are going to have some success here.
This week I was pondering the Standard of Truth. You know, the statement of the prophet Joseph Smith about how the work will go forth nobly, boldly, and independent, till it has reached every ear and the great Jehovah will say the work is done. It is a powerful prophecy and promise. I as a missionary am always concerned for my status with the Lord. I want to be a successful missionary. I had an epiphany this week that so long as I am applying the atonement to myself and then inviting others to do the same to the best of my abilities, that is my whole purpose. I invite them to do the same: repent. Allow the Lord Jesus Christ to help them change their lives for the better. I am inviting them to do the very same thing that I myself need to do. I invite them to study and learn and apply the same things I myself am learning to study and learn and apply. We are all investigators of the same message. As a missionary, I am a few steps ahead of some of them and behind some others, but we are all heading in the same direction if we are facing our Saviour Jesus Christ, and his INFINITE atonement will reach all of us no matter where we are on the path, so long as we are ON the path heading the right direction. That is the beautiful doctrine of Eternal Progression. The Gospel is really no more than a plan to better the world one person at a time. Things will never be perfect, but if we are trying to give our hearts to Him that paid for us, we will be improving. Progression: It is a beautiful thing. These are things I always know, but it doesn't hurt to remind myself and enhance my own testimony of these truths. I think that is part of the reason the Lord sends 19-25 year old missionaries out. There are better members who could be better missionaries, but He wants US to grow. His atonement is infinite. He has nothing to lose by sending us out. But He gains future leaders of the church with stronger testimonies and better understanding of the doctrine when He sends us the youth of the church to serve. This work will go forth boldly, nobly, no matter what!! It cannot fail. I personally can fail, but this work cannot. So I don't have time to concern myself with all the imperfect details that I can't understand or change, I only have time to do my best effort and give my heart to the Lord, and everything else will fall into place. The Atonement and the Plan is applied at the PERSONAL level, with every single human soul. So we are in good hands. We have nothing to fear as long as we are trying.
I love Tacuarembo. I am excited to get to know it better and to finally have a full week ahead of me to work here. I am trying to remember to smile to everyone and show them that I am happy to be here. I am happy to be here.
Life is good. I am mostly healthy. It is raining and I love it. My story continues in the land of much sand and many stray dogs. Take care! I love you!!
Andy
Well, another week gone by. I spent half of the last week in Montevideo, so I still don't know my area as well as I would hope. But that is alright, because I am here to stay for now. Actually we are going back the P-Day after Mothers Day, but I will only lose another P-day so no biggy. It is time to get down to work here. And I am very excited to work with an AMAZING ward that loves me. I played another musical number in church, my own rendition of Joseph Smith's First Prayer, and I have never seen so many people cry from one of my songs. The speaker after the song couldn't even talk, he cried into the microphone (which actually works in this ward!!!!) for a few minutes and bore a very sweet testimony of the Restoration, and sat down. This old lady, even though members know better than to hug missionaries, tried jumping me and got her tears all over me. Some members told me that they had never felt the spirit more strongly. Music is a marvelous thing if you use it right. And I am really grateful for an in-tune piano in our ward. I love being instantly popular in whatever area I go to. The music makes a difference and helps this missionary work. I am excited to say that our whole calendar for the month of May is already filled every last day for lunches! I am going to gain some weight here. This ward is incredible. I am so STOKED to work in a ward that is already offering me help and telling me to visit their friends and family that aren't members. I didn't even have to ask for the references. This is a good ward. I just have to help my companion to see how amazing it really is and we are going to have some success here.
This week I was pondering the Standard of Truth. You know, the statement of the prophet Joseph Smith about how the work will go forth nobly, boldly, and independent, till it has reached every ear and the great Jehovah will say the work is done. It is a powerful prophecy and promise. I as a missionary am always concerned for my status with the Lord. I want to be a successful missionary. I had an epiphany this week that so long as I am applying the atonement to myself and then inviting others to do the same to the best of my abilities, that is my whole purpose. I invite them to do the same: repent. Allow the Lord Jesus Christ to help them change their lives for the better. I am inviting them to do the very same thing that I myself need to do. I invite them to study and learn and apply the same things I myself am learning to study and learn and apply. We are all investigators of the same message. As a missionary, I am a few steps ahead of some of them and behind some others, but we are all heading in the same direction if we are facing our Saviour Jesus Christ, and his INFINITE atonement will reach all of us no matter where we are on the path, so long as we are ON the path heading the right direction. That is the beautiful doctrine of Eternal Progression. The Gospel is really no more than a plan to better the world one person at a time. Things will never be perfect, but if we are trying to give our hearts to Him that paid for us, we will be improving. Progression: It is a beautiful thing. These are things I always know, but it doesn't hurt to remind myself and enhance my own testimony of these truths. I think that is part of the reason the Lord sends 19-25 year old missionaries out. There are better members who could be better missionaries, but He wants US to grow. His atonement is infinite. He has nothing to lose by sending us out. But He gains future leaders of the church with stronger testimonies and better understanding of the doctrine when He sends us the youth of the church to serve. This work will go forth boldly, nobly, no matter what!! It cannot fail. I personally can fail, but this work cannot. So I don't have time to concern myself with all the imperfect details that I can't understand or change, I only have time to do my best effort and give my heart to the Lord, and everything else will fall into place. The Atonement and the Plan is applied at the PERSONAL level, with every single human soul. So we are in good hands. We have nothing to fear as long as we are trying.
I love Tacuarembo. I am excited to get to know it better and to finally have a full week ahead of me to work here. I am trying to remember to smile to everyone and show them that I am happy to be here. I am happy to be here.
Life is good. I am mostly healthy. It is raining and I love it. My story continues in the land of much sand and many stray dogs. Take care! I love you!!
Andy
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tacuarembo to Montevideo
email dated 4-21-08
Well.... I am officially a missionary in Tacuarembo. But today I am in Montevideo again. My companion Elder Surtees has been having a lot of pain in his foot that has affected his mission for the past year. Today we went to the hospital in Montevideo found out that it is a nerve problem. We have to go see a Neurologist on Thursday, although I did suggest that we set up an appointment for next Pday on Monday instead. Oh well. I feel bad for the kid, as I know from Dad, Neurologists aren't any fun. They are going to do some Electrical Study on his nerves and shock him. If I can, I hope I get to watch.
So, part of the problem with being in Montevideo is that I feel homeless. I hadn't really acclimated yet to being in Tacuarembo. In just 4 days I still was feeling Artigas-sick and not quite at home yet and then I didn't get to sleep in my bed last night because we were on a bus to Montevideo and now I am sitting in the Mission Offices, etc... I feel homeless right now. It is a weird feeling. Tacuarembo, from what I can tell, is very similar to Artigas. I have a feeling I will learn to love it a lot, just as I did with Artigas. The ward is a lot stronger, but there are as always issues and rumors about the Bishop, and the classic Uruguayan less actives list of hundreds of members. I am really excited though, because the members in T-bow feed us like kings!! I am going to get fat here. Since I arrived, I haven't spent a single peso on anything. Everybody is always inviting us to eat and we always have food and leftovers that somebody gave us. So at least I got that going for me. We have a full calendar for the month of April and May of lunches already set up. At least the members here really feed us. But I got fed in Artigas too, I just had to make sure I set it up and they loved me. Here we get it anyway. Another fun thing is that our house is a really long and skinny house. I will take pictures and try and send some home next week. It is an interesting house. I am glad that I am here for the winter, or so it seems. The bathroom is only 3 foot by 3 foot, if that, and the shower actually gives good hot water. So it gets nice and steamy. My old bathroom in Artigas was kind of big and the freezing air was inescapable with the pathetic shower head trying to give hot water and then stopping because the electricity circuited out. There are definite ups to the new place...well really only the bathroom, but that is a big up!!
We don't really have any good investigators that I have seen in these 4 days, and the area book is a little less than organized. I have a feeling that my perfectionist organizing may be what the doctor ordered for Tacuarembo Ferro Carril because I am going to start using the book and doing real planning. My companion is a really cool guy. We get along. I think that we will be able to come together and start working here. I was so bored this week with the lessons and walking really slow because of his foot pain. I hope we can get this taken care of because I am too pro-active to walk slow and only have 2 lessons in an afternoon. I am optimistic.
More exciting news: I am no longer a kid in the mission. It is official. I am here in the offices, and on the missionary wall I am no longer on the bottom row. There are a whole bunch of fresher greenies in the mission than me now. I am actually past 4 months in the field which means I am young but no longer a kid. And since I am past 6 months in the mission, no longer will the incoming sister missionaries pass me up on the board. I will never get passed up again on the missionary wall!
Life is good. I hope that I am ready for the work of Tacuarembo, which I still am not too familiar with. But in an effort to make myself instantly popular I went straight to the Bishop Sunday morning and told him I wanted to play a musical number. They aren't used to music as much down here because not nearly as many people can play. Most wards don't have pianists. I did my own rendition of All Creatures of our God and King and I became instantly popular as all the members wanted to shake my hand before leaving church to come and say "felicitaciones" or congratulations. Here they say congratulations for being talented. It is kind of weird. Anyway, the piano lessons continue to pay off. Somebody tell Sister White. And thanks mom for making me practice in Elementary School even when I didn't want to. It is paying off in the mission field. Who would have thought?
I can't think of what else I might have wanted to say...hmmm...All is well. I am doing really well. I am really tan from the summer. I have gained 15 pounds!! But you can't really tell. I still look the same and my pants still feel like they fit the same, but I HAVE gained weight. I am scared of gaining more here in T-bow the way they feed us. We will see.
The mission continues to be a mental battle between my perfectionism and my feelings of insufficiency. Before the mission I was Andy Shepherd!!! Good student, stud, with direction in life, decently confident, etc... And out here I am just another missionary that no matter how hard he tries, it never seems he is enough. No matter how well he does, the Zone Leaders still hassle him for better numbers. And no matter how much he studies or teaches, he can never take away the peoples agency to reject the message. It is a hard battle. I truly have never felt so insufficient. Out here, if you don't pop right up out of bed at 6:30 you are a sinner, and if you don't get 70 contacts a week you are a sinner, if you don't get members at half or your lessons you are a sinner, etc... It is a mentality that is perpetuated by the Zone Leaders. It bothers me. I kid you not, I have been told that if we don't meet our goals than it is always our fault. For example, I had a baptismal goal for March of 3 and I only got 1. Because I had prayed about my goal, that meant that God told me that there were 3 people that I needed to baptize, and if I didn't baptize those 3, I failed. If I can quote my Zone Leaders, "God commanded you to baptize 3 people"...And I failed. I HATE THAT MINDSET!! Can we quit playing God and maybe accept the fact that maybe God wanted me to have that goal because it motivated ME to work harder. But no, according to mission leaders, I failed my Heavenly Father. It is a frustrating thing. I couldn't help it that my 2 other investigators with baptismal date skipped town or the fact that my other possible decided that he didn't want to listen anymore, etc... People have agency. I don't know. It is a frustrating thing to me. I worked as hard as I can!! I didn't sleep in, I did my studies, I walked fast in the street trying to make it to as many lessons as I could, etc... I really cant imagine what more I could have done. But I still failed. It is a good thing I am with Elder Surtees. He hates Zone Leaders with a passion. It isn't great for me in that sense, but he reminds me that it doesn't matter what they say, because their job is supposed to help us to get success and not measure our success. Only the Lord can measure my success as a missionary. That is the truth. But it is hard to remind yourself of that while you are constantly being hassled by your leaders as they drop the name of the Lord on you and tell you that "if you have faith ALL things are possible. Why, there was a missionary a few years back who made it a goal to baptize 25 people, etc..." Maybe I lack in faith. I hope not. Anyway, as you can see, my mind is now very messed with. Do I lack faith? I actually don't know. Back to square 1: I have never felt so insufficient in my whole life.
But in the end, I try to convince myself that I don't care what anyone says that I only answer to the Lord. But it is easier said than done. But despite all this mental battle, I am doing well. I gotta go!!!I love you all!! Take care!!!
Andy
Well.... I am officially a missionary in Tacuarembo. But today I am in Montevideo again. My companion Elder Surtees has been having a lot of pain in his foot that has affected his mission for the past year. Today we went to the hospital in Montevideo found out that it is a nerve problem. We have to go see a Neurologist on Thursday, although I did suggest that we set up an appointment for next Pday on Monday instead. Oh well. I feel bad for the kid, as I know from Dad, Neurologists aren't any fun. They are going to do some Electrical Study on his nerves and shock him. If I can, I hope I get to watch.
So, part of the problem with being in Montevideo is that I feel homeless. I hadn't really acclimated yet to being in Tacuarembo. In just 4 days I still was feeling Artigas-sick and not quite at home yet and then I didn't get to sleep in my bed last night because we were on a bus to Montevideo and now I am sitting in the Mission Offices, etc... I feel homeless right now. It is a weird feeling. Tacuarembo, from what I can tell, is very similar to Artigas. I have a feeling I will learn to love it a lot, just as I did with Artigas. The ward is a lot stronger, but there are as always issues and rumors about the Bishop, and the classic Uruguayan less actives list of hundreds of members. I am really excited though, because the members in T-bow feed us like kings!! I am going to get fat here. Since I arrived, I haven't spent a single peso on anything. Everybody is always inviting us to eat and we always have food and leftovers that somebody gave us. So at least I got that going for me. We have a full calendar for the month of April and May of lunches already set up. At least the members here really feed us. But I got fed in Artigas too, I just had to make sure I set it up and they loved me. Here we get it anyway. Another fun thing is that our house is a really long and skinny house. I will take pictures and try and send some home next week. It is an interesting house. I am glad that I am here for the winter, or so it seems. The bathroom is only 3 foot by 3 foot, if that, and the shower actually gives good hot water. So it gets nice and steamy. My old bathroom in Artigas was kind of big and the freezing air was inescapable with the pathetic shower head trying to give hot water and then stopping because the electricity circuited out. There are definite ups to the new place...well really only the bathroom, but that is a big up!!
We don't really have any good investigators that I have seen in these 4 days, and the area book is a little less than organized. I have a feeling that my perfectionist organizing may be what the doctor ordered for Tacuarembo Ferro Carril because I am going to start using the book and doing real planning. My companion is a really cool guy. We get along. I think that we will be able to come together and start working here. I was so bored this week with the lessons and walking really slow because of his foot pain. I hope we can get this taken care of because I am too pro-active to walk slow and only have 2 lessons in an afternoon. I am optimistic.
More exciting news: I am no longer a kid in the mission. It is official. I am here in the offices, and on the missionary wall I am no longer on the bottom row. There are a whole bunch of fresher greenies in the mission than me now. I am actually past 4 months in the field which means I am young but no longer a kid. And since I am past 6 months in the mission, no longer will the incoming sister missionaries pass me up on the board. I will never get passed up again on the missionary wall!
Life is good. I hope that I am ready for the work of Tacuarembo, which I still am not too familiar with. But in an effort to make myself instantly popular I went straight to the Bishop Sunday morning and told him I wanted to play a musical number. They aren't used to music as much down here because not nearly as many people can play. Most wards don't have pianists. I did my own rendition of All Creatures of our God and King and I became instantly popular as all the members wanted to shake my hand before leaving church to come and say "felicitaciones" or congratulations. Here they say congratulations for being talented. It is kind of weird. Anyway, the piano lessons continue to pay off. Somebody tell Sister White. And thanks mom for making me practice in Elementary School even when I didn't want to. It is paying off in the mission field. Who would have thought?
I can't think of what else I might have wanted to say...hmmm...All is well. I am doing really well. I am really tan from the summer. I have gained 15 pounds!! But you can't really tell. I still look the same and my pants still feel like they fit the same, but I HAVE gained weight. I am scared of gaining more here in T-bow the way they feed us. We will see.
The mission continues to be a mental battle between my perfectionism and my feelings of insufficiency. Before the mission I was Andy Shepherd!!! Good student, stud, with direction in life, decently confident, etc... And out here I am just another missionary that no matter how hard he tries, it never seems he is enough. No matter how well he does, the Zone Leaders still hassle him for better numbers. And no matter how much he studies or teaches, he can never take away the peoples agency to reject the message. It is a hard battle. I truly have never felt so insufficient. Out here, if you don't pop right up out of bed at 6:30 you are a sinner, and if you don't get 70 contacts a week you are a sinner, if you don't get members at half or your lessons you are a sinner, etc... It is a mentality that is perpetuated by the Zone Leaders. It bothers me. I kid you not, I have been told that if we don't meet our goals than it is always our fault. For example, I had a baptismal goal for March of 3 and I only got 1. Because I had prayed about my goal, that meant that God told me that there were 3 people that I needed to baptize, and if I didn't baptize those 3, I failed. If I can quote my Zone Leaders, "God commanded you to baptize 3 people"...And I failed. I HATE THAT MINDSET!! Can we quit playing God and maybe accept the fact that maybe God wanted me to have that goal because it motivated ME to work harder. But no, according to mission leaders, I failed my Heavenly Father. It is a frustrating thing. I couldn't help it that my 2 other investigators with baptismal date skipped town or the fact that my other possible decided that he didn't want to listen anymore, etc... People have agency. I don't know. It is a frustrating thing to me. I worked as hard as I can!! I didn't sleep in, I did my studies, I walked fast in the street trying to make it to as many lessons as I could, etc... I really cant imagine what more I could have done. But I still failed. It is a good thing I am with Elder Surtees. He hates Zone Leaders with a passion. It isn't great for me in that sense, but he reminds me that it doesn't matter what they say, because their job is supposed to help us to get success and not measure our success. Only the Lord can measure my success as a missionary. That is the truth. But it is hard to remind yourself of that while you are constantly being hassled by your leaders as they drop the name of the Lord on you and tell you that "if you have faith ALL things are possible. Why, there was a missionary a few years back who made it a goal to baptize 25 people, etc..." Maybe I lack in faith. I hope not. Anyway, as you can see, my mind is now very messed with. Do I lack faith? I actually don't know. Back to square 1: I have never felt so insufficient in my whole life.
But in the end, I try to convince myself that I don't care what anyone says that I only answer to the Lord. But it is easier said than done. But despite all this mental battle, I am doing well. I gotta go!!!I love you all!! Take care!!!
Andy
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Me Voy
email dated 4-15-08
My reign in Artigas has come to an end. They are moving me to Tacuarembo, more commonly known by the missionaries as "T-Bow". I cried. I really really didn't want to leave Artigas. I have to finish packing today and I am leaving tonight. I expected that I might be transferred, and so I was ready for this. But what hurts right now is that my companion Elder Fernandez is moving up to Zone Leader and so he is leaving too!!! We just barely got the ball really rolling here. We have been working SOO hard with the bishop to try and teach him his responsibility and help him to do it. Barrio 4 of Artigas had its first own mutual activity in years last Saturday!! There is no Young Mens President because there is nobody to do it. Therefore it is the responsibility of the Bishop, but he is incapable of doing such a socially demanding calling. So we have been helping him with it and trying to help him find a YM President because we believe that the youth are the future of this ward. Anyway, we were finally seeing progress, and BOTH of us are leaving. It is a serious problem to me. The new missionaries that are coming are a missionary who is about to go home who is training a new kid here. I just pray this guy isn't trunky and that he is really willing to go above and beyond the call of duty here for his last transfer in the mission. Elder Fernandez, my companion, was so concerned Sunday night when he received a special call from the President inviting him to be a new Zone Leader, that he said, "then my companion is staying here right?" When he heard I was leaving he requested to stay and said he would wait to be a Zone Leader for later. The President wouldn't go for it. We are both so sad to leave. I cried because this is my home. I have family and friends here. I have a pool of investigators, 5 with baptismal goals, that I have to leave behind. I just pray that the missionaries that come are willing to try and help with mutual and things like that, even though that isn't a missionary's calling. We have seen references and more success working deep inside the ward like this than we had before. I saw miracles this last transfer with Elder Fernandez and we became the best of friends, despite all the problems we had early on in the month with his dear john and his no money. We got over our differences and became best friends. Leaving him is as hard as leaving Artigas. He was great for my Spanish, being from Chile, and he was a great missionary. This transfer is really hard. It is supposedly rare that both missionaries leave an area. Usually one stays to capacitate the other missionary on the area. This is what they call a white-wash. I was originally very upset when I heard the transfers that we were both leaving, but I remembered that President is called to direct this work. God is fair. He knows what is going on and He will take care of His children. It is arrogance in me to think I am the only missionary who knows how to take care of Artigas 4. I have repented of my initial frustration and am excited for a change and a new ward that awaits me in Tacuarembo. The mission is like this. Vale la pena.
So as you all enjoy the beautiful Spring weather that is coming to Utah, I hope you all remember that I am on the opposite end of the world. It is getting really cold!! It is freezing. Only cold here is much worse than Utah, even though there is no snow. It is really humid, because we are so close to the ocean. There is no escape from the cold. It doesn't matter if I wear my coat to bed and sleep under 3 blankets. The humidity cuts straight through to your bones. Our houses aren't insulated here in Uruguay. It isn't quite like the United States. My cement house and thin windows don't do anything. I actually think it is colder inside than outside. And it will only get worse. For now, during the day it is very okay. It is chilly, but fine in the afternoon. But at night, whoo!! And it gets worse. During July, the temperatures are as low as they are in Utah, we are in a temperate climate too, only there is no snow and much more humidity. I hope as you are all getting ready to go swimming that you take a minute to stop and think of your dear Missionary in a little far away place called Uruguay.
I don't really know what else to say for now. Life is good. I am past the 6 month mark, and therefore past the hardest part of the mission I hear. I hope that's true. At least I speak Spanish a lot better now. I understand and speak all by myself if I have to. It is most gratifying. I still have a long way to go to speak like a Native, if that is ever truly possible, but I do speak this language and it makes me very happy.
I love you all SO much!! I hope that you are doing well and that life is treating your fairly. Take care!! Don't forget to enjoy the simple pleasures of normal daily life!
Andy
My reign in Artigas has come to an end. They are moving me to Tacuarembo, more commonly known by the missionaries as "T-Bow". I cried. I really really didn't want to leave Artigas. I have to finish packing today and I am leaving tonight. I expected that I might be transferred, and so I was ready for this. But what hurts right now is that my companion Elder Fernandez is moving up to Zone Leader and so he is leaving too!!! We just barely got the ball really rolling here. We have been working SOO hard with the bishop to try and teach him his responsibility and help him to do it. Barrio 4 of Artigas had its first own mutual activity in years last Saturday!! There is no Young Mens President because there is nobody to do it. Therefore it is the responsibility of the Bishop, but he is incapable of doing such a socially demanding calling. So we have been helping him with it and trying to help him find a YM President because we believe that the youth are the future of this ward. Anyway, we were finally seeing progress, and BOTH of us are leaving. It is a serious problem to me. The new missionaries that are coming are a missionary who is about to go home who is training a new kid here. I just pray this guy isn't trunky and that he is really willing to go above and beyond the call of duty here for his last transfer in the mission. Elder Fernandez, my companion, was so concerned Sunday night when he received a special call from the President inviting him to be a new Zone Leader, that he said, "then my companion is staying here right?" When he heard I was leaving he requested to stay and said he would wait to be a Zone Leader for later. The President wouldn't go for it. We are both so sad to leave. I cried because this is my home. I have family and friends here. I have a pool of investigators, 5 with baptismal goals, that I have to leave behind. I just pray that the missionaries that come are willing to try and help with mutual and things like that, even though that isn't a missionary's calling. We have seen references and more success working deep inside the ward like this than we had before. I saw miracles this last transfer with Elder Fernandez and we became the best of friends, despite all the problems we had early on in the month with his dear john and his no money. We got over our differences and became best friends. Leaving him is as hard as leaving Artigas. He was great for my Spanish, being from Chile, and he was a great missionary. This transfer is really hard. It is supposedly rare that both missionaries leave an area. Usually one stays to capacitate the other missionary on the area. This is what they call a white-wash. I was originally very upset when I heard the transfers that we were both leaving, but I remembered that President is called to direct this work. God is fair. He knows what is going on and He will take care of His children. It is arrogance in me to think I am the only missionary who knows how to take care of Artigas 4. I have repented of my initial frustration and am excited for a change and a new ward that awaits me in Tacuarembo. The mission is like this. Vale la pena.
So as you all enjoy the beautiful Spring weather that is coming to Utah, I hope you all remember that I am on the opposite end of the world. It is getting really cold!! It is freezing. Only cold here is much worse than Utah, even though there is no snow. It is really humid, because we are so close to the ocean. There is no escape from the cold. It doesn't matter if I wear my coat to bed and sleep under 3 blankets. The humidity cuts straight through to your bones. Our houses aren't insulated here in Uruguay. It isn't quite like the United States. My cement house and thin windows don't do anything. I actually think it is colder inside than outside. And it will only get worse. For now, during the day it is very okay. It is chilly, but fine in the afternoon. But at night, whoo!! And it gets worse. During July, the temperatures are as low as they are in Utah, we are in a temperate climate too, only there is no snow and much more humidity. I hope as you are all getting ready to go swimming that you take a minute to stop and think of your dear Missionary in a little far away place called Uruguay.
I don't really know what else to say for now. Life is good. I am past the 6 month mark, and therefore past the hardest part of the mission I hear. I hope that's true. At least I speak Spanish a lot better now. I understand and speak all by myself if I have to. It is most gratifying. I still have a long way to go to speak like a Native, if that is ever truly possible, but I do speak this language and it makes me very happy.
I love you all SO much!! I hope that you are doing well and that life is treating your fairly. Take care!! Don't forget to enjoy the simple pleasures of normal daily life!
Andy
A New Prophet
email dated 4-7-08
So Conference Weekend is very different in Uruguay. For starters, it doesn't start until 1 in the afternoon. It will be especially weird in October when it is a 5 hour difference again and it starts at 3! Also, I didn't get any ice cream after Priesthood Session. Also, I had to watch the Sunday Morning Session in Spanish, which isn't really that bad, because I understand Spanish now. But I still hated it. You could hear their real voices when they stood up to speak, as if to taunt you, and then a very intruding deep Spanish voice would come in and drown them out and fill your ears with the Spanish translation. It hurt my soul because I wanted to hear their real voices. My investigator fell asleep. It was kind of frustrating.
Either way, Conference was still very edifying and enjoyable. Something about being a missionary made those 10 hours of session go by ALOT faster. I think that it was because we were being taught the gospel instead of having to teach to somebody. So it was, in every sense of the word, a vacation for us. I enjoyed Conference immensely in that aspect. I think also what made those 10 hours go by faster was a more mature Andy Shepherd. When a session ended I couldn't believe that it was already over. I wasn't immature before, but Conference sessions always did feel like 2 hours to me before the mission. This time it went by so fast. Anyway, it was a good conference weekend.
My report is that Elder M. Russell Ballards address was my favorite one, or maybe second favorite next to Elder Bendars talk. Elder Ballard spoke of motherhood and families. It made me homesick. I longed for those feelings of home that he was reminding me of as he spoke. But what touched me about his talk was the respect he gave to the word Mother. I loved the advice he gave. If I can quote him, he said "families need unstructured time!" I loved that he said that. He is a wise man.
Elder Bednars talk about prayer changed me. And, I want to add, that I applauded when he said "Missionaries are called to be full time teachers, NOT full time finders." He asked the membership to stop praying for the missionaries to do their own jobs for them. But more impacting, was how carefully and clearly he tied prayer with action and that it is much more than saying the prayer. His reminder that saying "thy will be done" is not enough really impacted me. I always just pray, and then in the end say "and if you don't want any of this it is cool, I understand it is your will", more or less, but I don't say it in those words. But that isn't faith in me, nor am I using prayer the way I need to. I need to remember to seek His will, not just accept it.
So that is enough of that. You all saw the same conference I did. I don't need to tell you what happened. So I will tell you something cool that you don't know. A really nice man from Rama 5 here in Artigas gave me a guitar!!!! He is from Chile, and we had gone to visit him because we were preparing for a cultural activity that we were putting on in the stake center, and we wanted his help. He suggested some music and brought out a guitar. He began teaching us a song from Chile and I was singing along and he stopped and commented that he thought I had an hermosa voice. He asked if I played guitar. I said yes and he handed me the guitar and went to his room and grabbed another one. We began playing together and singing. After 45 minutes of what was supposed to be a quick 15 minute visit I began feeling guilty because I really enjoyed playing guitar and singing with this man. I politely told him that we needed to get going. We called a taxi and as we were waiting he talked to me about music a bit. I told him that I really missed music, and that playing guitar with him made me feel like I was home with my dad or my brothers playing music together. He then said, "take that guitar then. It's yours." I told him I couldn't. He told me he had 4 others. I still was hesitant. He said "Look, I know how it is. Music is like breathing for you. You need that guitar. Take it. If you feel like it, at the end of your mission mail it back to me before you fly home." .... So I took it. I have a guitar now. I told him he was saving me from la muerta musical, the musical death, and that I wouldn't forget it. He was SO nice. And now I have a guitar to play at the end of the day after I have written in my journal, or on Pdays, or whatever spare minute I may have. I have had it over a week and I can feel it making a difference, and not just that I have callouses on my fingertips again, but I really feel healthier. I use the guitar for good and not for evil. I am content.
Well, I must be going. It is that time again. I hope that everyone is doing well! Love yáll!!
Andy
So Conference Weekend is very different in Uruguay. For starters, it doesn't start until 1 in the afternoon. It will be especially weird in October when it is a 5 hour difference again and it starts at 3! Also, I didn't get any ice cream after Priesthood Session. Also, I had to watch the Sunday Morning Session in Spanish, which isn't really that bad, because I understand Spanish now. But I still hated it. You could hear their real voices when they stood up to speak, as if to taunt you, and then a very intruding deep Spanish voice would come in and drown them out and fill your ears with the Spanish translation. It hurt my soul because I wanted to hear their real voices. My investigator fell asleep. It was kind of frustrating.
Either way, Conference was still very edifying and enjoyable. Something about being a missionary made those 10 hours of session go by ALOT faster. I think that it was because we were being taught the gospel instead of having to teach to somebody. So it was, in every sense of the word, a vacation for us. I enjoyed Conference immensely in that aspect. I think also what made those 10 hours go by faster was a more mature Andy Shepherd. When a session ended I couldn't believe that it was already over. I wasn't immature before, but Conference sessions always did feel like 2 hours to me before the mission. This time it went by so fast. Anyway, it was a good conference weekend.
My report is that Elder M. Russell Ballards address was my favorite one, or maybe second favorite next to Elder Bendars talk. Elder Ballard spoke of motherhood and families. It made me homesick. I longed for those feelings of home that he was reminding me of as he spoke. But what touched me about his talk was the respect he gave to the word Mother. I loved the advice he gave. If I can quote him, he said "families need unstructured time!" I loved that he said that. He is a wise man.
Elder Bednars talk about prayer changed me. And, I want to add, that I applauded when he said "Missionaries are called to be full time teachers, NOT full time finders." He asked the membership to stop praying for the missionaries to do their own jobs for them. But more impacting, was how carefully and clearly he tied prayer with action and that it is much more than saying the prayer. His reminder that saying "thy will be done" is not enough really impacted me. I always just pray, and then in the end say "and if you don't want any of this it is cool, I understand it is your will", more or less, but I don't say it in those words. But that isn't faith in me, nor am I using prayer the way I need to. I need to remember to seek His will, not just accept it.
So that is enough of that. You all saw the same conference I did. I don't need to tell you what happened. So I will tell you something cool that you don't know. A really nice man from Rama 5 here in Artigas gave me a guitar!!!! He is from Chile, and we had gone to visit him because we were preparing for a cultural activity that we were putting on in the stake center, and we wanted his help. He suggested some music and brought out a guitar. He began teaching us a song from Chile and I was singing along and he stopped and commented that he thought I had an hermosa voice. He asked if I played guitar. I said yes and he handed me the guitar and went to his room and grabbed another one. We began playing together and singing. After 45 minutes of what was supposed to be a quick 15 minute visit I began feeling guilty because I really enjoyed playing guitar and singing with this man. I politely told him that we needed to get going. We called a taxi and as we were waiting he talked to me about music a bit. I told him that I really missed music, and that playing guitar with him made me feel like I was home with my dad or my brothers playing music together. He then said, "take that guitar then. It's yours." I told him I couldn't. He told me he had 4 others. I still was hesitant. He said "Look, I know how it is. Music is like breathing for you. You need that guitar. Take it. If you feel like it, at the end of your mission mail it back to me before you fly home." .... So I took it. I have a guitar now. I told him he was saving me from la muerta musical, the musical death, and that I wouldn't forget it. He was SO nice. And now I have a guitar to play at the end of the day after I have written in my journal, or on Pdays, or whatever spare minute I may have. I have had it over a week and I can feel it making a difference, and not just that I have callouses on my fingertips again, but I really feel healthier. I use the guitar for good and not for evil. I am content.
Well, I must be going. It is that time again. I hope that everyone is doing well! Love yáll!!
Andy
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