Monday, March 24, 2014

This week we went to the Area Offices in Capital to see Doctor Smith about Elder Chriss's ingrown toenail. He took out a fourth of his toenail. There will probably be pictures on his blog, tchrissstormsargentina.blogspot.com. The cockroaches have left, and we've been enjoying heating water in our little electric tank rather than the microwave to shower.

Things are still a bit slow. We're not finding very many people, and so it's a bit depressing when you have few people to teach. A sister in the ward fell and broke her arm. We went to see her yesterday. She has a cast. An investigator we were teaching is no longer living with her partner and is not preparing to be baptized.

We had a two Zone Conference with President this week. It was very good. He went over a number of things that Elder Evans had said in that conference, as well as many things that he received from Elder Ballard and other General Authorities in a Conference for Mission Presidents in Chile. After the Conference we did companion exchanges and I went with Elder Olsen to his area.

-Elder Damitz




Monday, March 17, 2014

This really is the end of the first week. We're going to play fútbol in another area.

The work is bit slow right now because we're having difficulty finding. We did, however, find a family through a recent convert. Sacrament Meeting attendance has been a bit small. We ate at the Bishop's house this Sunday.

We had a Zone Meeting, and halfway through it began to rain. A bit later one of the Zone Leaders gets a call saying that all of the buses in all of Buenos Aires have shut down until midnight because a bus driver in Captial was killed. So we walked in pouring rain all day. It was good though, I like the rain.

There are times when people assume that I'm from South America because I almost don't have an accent. Sometimes I even say I'm from Chile, and they don't blink an eye. It's then fun when someone doesn't believe me and then we're all discussing whether or not I'm from Chile and they start asking me deep searching questions.

We're battling cockroaches again in the apartment, but they seem to be dying. Elder Chriss had bought a gel that comes in a syringe that is very effective.

-Elder Damitz



Tuesday, March 11, 2014

I missed a week, and I'm in José C. Paz so I don't have my adapter to add photos.

That week there was a conference held in Buenos Aires West with two Zones from each of the three Buenos Aires Missions. Elder Evans, the Head of the Missionary Department spoke to us for a number of hours. We had to take two breaks. He had discussions with missionaries in front of everyone, and that fueled the conversation. He said that this generation has the entire Gospel of Jesus Christ to work in, namely Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End.

His wife introduced the last hour of his talk focused on the Family. He said that there is a lot revealed concerning the Family, and a great deal is found in "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." He said that now more than ever we need to know the Doctrine of the Family. He said that some people think that the Church's stance that marriage is between a man and a woman is just policy. He then proceeded to define the Resurrection, Immortality, and Eternal Life. He said that we will not just be resurrected, but it will be a "glorious resurrection. The Prophet Joseph Smith said that even a telestial resurrection is a glory beyond our comprehension. The glories that we receive will reflect our specific and individual actions in our life. Even those who inherit a place in the Celestial Kingdom will not implicitly receive Eternal Life. Eternal Life, as we know is life like our Heavenly Father, or in other words, we will live like Him with our spouses and posterity. If Satan can destroy the family by getting people to believe that marriage can be whatever you want, he can effectively destroy the possibility of Eternal Life. As the Proclamation states, "All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." He said, "I am a son of heavenly parents, and it brings me such joy." He said that living as a family after this life will be the most comfortable and natural thing we could experience.

This week we had interviews with President. He told me that this transfer or the next I would be senior companion. He then called me in a few minutes later and said that from that moment on I would be a senior companion, and that Elder Berrío and I would remain senior companions together in Floresta.

Alexander, one of our investigators left for Perú this Sunday, but has plans to be baptized when he comes back in two months.

I've been moved to Pablo Nogues 1 in the Zone Islas Malvinas. My companion is Elder Chriss from Utah and is a District Leader. It's outside of Capital in Provincia. It looks like it will be hot this week.