Letter #57 Moroni 8:17

Children are the bomb!

We had 7 people in church this week and 6 of them were under the age of 15... haha So yes, children are more receptive to the spirit and are definitely more humble. We had an amazing week this week and we taught a lot of people. We ended up inviting 17 people to be baptized this week and all 17 said ok. October is going to be a month of miracles here in Rio Ceballos. And the ward here is really excited because of all the new people that have been coming to church. This week we have 2 people accompanying us each day to share their testimonies with their friends and such.

Can i just say how blessed we are? We are the only church in the whole wide world who has a prophet that literally can talk to God face to face. I think about that each day and it still amazes me. And we also know the true depth of the Atonement and what it actually means for each and everyone of us. I really do "Stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me."

The Flia Paolantonio is really excited to meet you guys. I am sending a couple of things with them so that you get a taste of what Argentina is like. I hope you like them!

If you want a Jersey from argentina, let me know your size... and from what team your want. There is the team of Belgrano, Talleres, Boca, River, and Insituto. Look them up online and tell me which jersey you want!

This week we also have a lot of FHEs to do with memebers and their friends. The ward is also taking a day to go and invite their friends to General Conference next week and inviting them to see a real prophet.

Denis is doing way good. She received a calling in the church and is way excited to be a member of the Restored Gospel. She says hi to the family.

The bishop also say hi and thank you for helping me get on my mission.

I love children. They are the best. We have had a lot of children in all of our lessons and a lot of them say that they feel the spirit when we talk. Then the parents ask them about what they meant and its fun to hear them explain what the spirit feels like to them.

I love you all. Love your children, nephews, cousins, and be a good neighbor. That is what really counts.

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Gray

Letter #56 Ether 4:11

So yeah, this week was amazing! We had a lot of success :D

1. Denise was baptized. We were having troubles with denise one day and she was having problems with her family saying that they didn´t want her to get baptized.... So we went over, had a realllllly spiritual lesson and then afterwards she told us that we convinced her and that she received her answer. She said shéd get baptized that weekend! :D and yeah, she did get baptized. It was one of the best baptisms i have ever been at. She asked Elder Goates to baptize her and so i got a front row view of the baptism. I always like to hear what are the first words of the peopel when they get baptized. When she came out of the water, her first words were, "I feel so good and clean." Just think.... your whole life full of sins... getting washed away in an instant. That would be an amazing feeling.

2. 5 people at church. We had 5 investigators at church. Natividad(12) who is getting baptized in two weeks with Florencia and Maria Pia. Rocio(15) and Belén(11) who are sisters that came to church for the first time and loved it. Ruth(18) who started reading and praying again and decided to start coming to church as well. Then we had some random guy show up.... his name is José.

3. Activity with the young mens and young women. We also had an activity with the Young men and women this week. They invited us to come play basketball against everyone to see if we could beat them.... and of course we did. :D we dominated. There were a lot of investigators there as well.. I think like 15. Afterwards they decided to have a waterfight so me and and Goates went inside to prepare for the baptism. Then we have to go outside and head to the pension to find some tape.... meanwhile.... they cornered us elderes and started drenching us in water.... It was awesome. haha. I might have some pictures of it to show you all.

4. Zone Conference. We had an awesome zone conference and president Salas talked a lot to us about the book of mormon. Hermana Salas told us that we need to be united as a pension, as a district, as a zone, and as a mision. It was a really good conference and I learned a lot. I also got to see elder Lindsley who was in my MTC group. He is doing way good. He is a stud.

5. José. So yeah, José came to church. The bishop came up to me after church and told me that José wanted to talk to me about getting baptized.... Uh.... ok!! So yeah, he said that he had received the lessons before and that he had been reading a lot of the book of mormon and that he received an answer. He wants to get baptized and married in the temple. So we should be baptizing him here pretty soon... As long as he gets married quick!

So after everything that has happened, i just want to say that miracles are real. Prayers are answered. And service is one of the most important things we can do in this life to help god in his purpose.

I hope you are all ok and that you are enjoying the pool... haha

 

 Elder Gray! :D

Letter #55 D&C 36:8

Here is some pictures of our ward.... the activity.... the trip to see the rededication... and Carlos, (who was baptized in Unquillo after I left). I hope you like them!

Temples. How awesome are they? We had the privilege to see the rededication of the Buenos Aires Temple. It was amazing. President Eyering gave a really good testimony that hit me like a brick. It was awesome because Elder Cristofferson was directing and telling us who was going to talk, then Eyering leaned over and whispered something to Christofferson. Christofferson then said that there was a change of plans and that eyring would give us his testimony.

Oh man, was it powerful. Its amazing what words you will speak when you listen to the Holy Ghost. What he said, summarizing of course, is that God will not be mocked. We cannot return to him if we are sinning. We cannot be doing the stuff we are doing right now and expect to enter in the kingdom of god. just like it says in Matt 7:23. A god, came down and suffered for us so that we can return to God the Father´s presence. I know that he loves us.

It was amazing.

The activity this week went pretty good! We had a lottttt of people show up to help us and it turned out really good. the bishop gave the welcoming. we had a tour of the church. We showed them the baptismal font. we had a video of mormon messages. we shared testimonies. the kids sang for us. and yeah. It was really good. The bishop afterwards told us that we should do something like taht more often.... booyeah.

We invited 15 people to be baptized this week.... and all of them accepted dates. We have Denise getting baptized this weekend. Her sister and her cousins the next weekend... and then a lot more people the day of General Conference and the week afterwards.

I learned that we need to have a goal in our life. If we dont. Its just like we are playing soccer without any goals.... or basketball without any hoops.... no one will win. we wont see our progress. we wont get better and we wont return to live with our father in heaven.

I hope everyone is doing fine. I love you all and I pray for you every day.

Suerte! Que estén muuuuuuyyy bien.

Our hard work pays off.

Con amor,

Elder Gray

Letter #54 Happy Hump Day to me!

Yes. I do expect hump day gifts from EVERYONE. :D

This week was pretty good. We had a lot of ups but a lot more downs.... But thats ok, just a part of life I guess. We didn´t have anyone in church this week because all of the people we invited went to Córdoba to visit some family. They did promise us this week though that they will go to the activity that we´re having on Sunday because there isn´t church. There isn´t church because the Temple of Buenos Aires is being rededicated. And all of the churches are becoming "extensions" of the event so instead of church, we´re having that. And only the worthy members of the church can go to it..... so that puts a damper on the mission work. but its ok. We made an activity on sunday where we´re basically going to have church but without the sacrament meeting. haha

So... How is everyone doing? It sounds like you are enjoying the pool without me.... :P has anyone done a cannonball for me yet? if so, I want picture proof.

Speaking of pool parties. There is a family here in Rio Ceballos that is going to go visit their daughter that lives in Highland. And i of course told them that they need to visit my family and that my dad would give them a American Asado AKA Barbeque with Burgers, Steaks, etc. :D So yeah, at the beginning of October, if some argentines come knocking on your door looking for a barbeque, just know that I sent them with all my love here in Argentina.

I´ll get more details for you. They really are a way cool family, so treat them well. :D I´m going to give them our address and the telefone number so that they can organize it with ya.

But yeah, here in Argentina its amazing. Im sure that every missionary here would agree. This mission has been such a blessing in my life and I can´t even think of where I´d be if I wasn´t here. (Probably be playing soccer for RSL or something. ;)  ) but yeah, the experiences that I have had here in Argentina are the best experiences I´ve ever had in my life. I have learned so much about the gospel that I had never known before and I´ve learned so much about myself. I am a better person now and I am trying to be a better person everyday. I hope that all of you will have this goal as well: to improve on something everyday. That is the whole reason why we are here.

This week we talked a lot with our investigators about baptism and a lot of them denied it, which is ok. We learned that we need to teach it a lot more deeply and a lot better as well so that they can end up understanding what it really means. We also had a lot of them accept baptism and are now really preparing to be baptized. (with the exception of going to church because they were on vacation)

I also found out that where Dad and Zane went hunting here is seriously 10 minutes from me. Its called Asochinga or something similar to that. The world is so small.

I have also learned in my first year on the mission how easy it is to share the gospel. http://www.lds.org/topics/missionary-work/seven-simple-suggestions-for-sharing-the-gospel?lang=eng#seven-simple-01 Please, if and when you have the opportunity to share the gospel, open your mouth and let the Spirit speak through you.

I know that God loves us. We are his children. He wants us all to be happy. And with that desire, he needs us to be instruments in sharing this happiness with all those that are around us. I hope that you are will have a spectacular week. Be safe. Pray.

Con muchísimo amor y cariño,

Elder Gray