Really quick Bike update: I got a new chain, but now the seat comes off entirely. Pfffft! At least I can get around. And the kids get a good laugh when I make it look like it´s talking by moving the seat up and down. Note to self: you can use anything around you to make a good contact- including rusty, muddy, broken down mission bikes.
I don´t know what it is about this area, but there´s a bad reputation for people not getting confirmed after they get baptized, even if they still come to Church. There´s a ton of ´em in Derqui 1, and we´ve asked President Ayre for direction in what actions we should take. Most of the problems come from poor coordination and inexperienced leaders. But this Sunday three were confirmed, and we´re working on the others. I wish every member could understand the importance of the confirmation. That Priesthood Ordinance is not just a formality; as I learned in my Personal Study, every other Gospel principle or ordinance is in preparation for, maitenance of, or has the purpose of increasing the power of the Gift of the Holy Ghost. There is absolutely no way to have a personal relationship with God without the active involvement of our incredible Spirit Brother, the Holy Ghost- who voluntairily gave up, atleast for now, the oportunity to obtain a body so that we could get to know our Heavenly Father even when not in His phyiscal presence. His constant companionship is essential to our salvation, and one of the first steps we make towards our Exhaltation. Elders, I like to baptize too, but stop drawing baptism signs all over the apartment furniture, and confirm your investigators. (Sorry for the indirect ¨dropping of the cane¨. I don´t really talk like that, I just had to rant for a sec.) :)
This Monday, we had an awesome mission activity for the 25th of May (a major Argentine Holiday). We played a mission-wide soccer tournament, zone against zone. (15 zones, but a particularly big zone split in two to make it work.) Our zone has some great soccer players, but due to a lucky shot and short amount of time, we lost in the first round. Dang it. So we played Ultimate the rest of the time. Thank you Mom for sending me those frisbees!!! Elder Ortega´s zone ended up taking first. I taught him everything he knows. :P Then we saw Meet The Mormons in Spanish. Lemme just say that the Candy Bomber is my hero. But my favorite part of the whole activity was when we as a whole mission stood up and sang the cheezy Mission Hymn together. President Ayre came up and put his arm around me, and I got a really sentimental feeling. The mission means everything to me. How dare time go by so fast. I´m going to put so much more effort into my Missionary Work, and instead of getting annoyed everytime someone makes a joke about how close I am to finishing, I´ll just smile, brush it off, and talk to the guy standing next to me about the Restored Gospel. 
La Gran Misión Buenos Aires Norte, te extrañaréeee-eee.
Hasta la próxima semana. Los amo a todos ustedes. ¡Hurra por Israel!
-Élder Goff
P.S. Camera´s still dead. I´m trying to find time to fix it. :P
No comments:
Post a Comment