Monday, July 25, 2016

I love being a dad.

Hi.

This week I was called a Spaniard again and Paraguayan. So that's cool.

I love being a missionary! Do you all remember the other week how I said that I was trying to have more charity? Well, I have a testimony now that charity makes all the difference. I feel so full and happy and I see lot's of results in the way I think and act and what I say. We are seeing so many great things happening right now in Soldati, Elder Boccazzi and I. Here is the lowdown:

Felicia.
Felicia is a lady that I have been teaching since I got to Soldati, and she is our recent convert (yikes I almost put convert recent, silly castellano) that we always work with. She was baptized my second transfer here and I have been able to watch her conversion to the gospel. She is a peach. I have dubbed her my unofficial aunt. Felicia has a really strong testimony and a great baptismal story as well! The night before her baptism, her house flooded! and she spent hours trying to  solve the problem and almost didn't make it to her baptism, but she knew it was important so went anyways. Satan is real, but our faith in Christ is more powerful than his attempts to stop us.The other day she took us to a friend's house who was telling us about 'all the stuff that is going to happen before Christ comes again' and Felicia with all her sass cracked a joke about everyone burning up and I burst out laughing during the contact. Oops.  =)

Also a fun cool spiritual story. So Felicia has a friend, let's call her 'Maria'. Maria has a sort of ('ex') husband, that we shall call 'Juan'. So the other day we were walking down the street and we ran into Maria and her daughter. I asked her where she was headed and she said to her daughter's dad's house. I then asked if he would be the type of man that needs a gospel message, and she said yes! So we went with her to Juan's house, and then he came to church with us Sunday! Yay! I LOVE WHEN PEOPLE GO TO CHURCH. Later that afternoon we went over to his house to teach him, and he told us about how we had come in the right moment, that he was an alcoholic but wanted to change and be a better example for his daughter. He also said that before he probably would have just told  us to leave, but right now he is ready for a change. He is humble and ready to be taught. I have gained such a testimony these last days that there are people ready to receive the gospel.

So this last week my companion and I were doing visits with a sister in our area and one of her neighbors was outside and this hermana goes right up to her and is like ''Hi. What's your name? Oh. I want you to talk to the missionaries.'' Haha, we talked with the lady and arranged to do another visit with her. Well fast forward to the second meeting and we knock on the door, and another person that lives in the house told us that she was 'in the bathroom.' Hmm, like we've never heard that before. We were kind of feeling like just giving up on her, but we decided to give her one more chance, por la duda. So we went by a little later aaaaand she was there! And we taught her lesson 1! And she committed to come to church the next day! And then she came! And then after sacrament meeting she accepted a baptismal date! and then she stayed to watch a baptism! Needless to say, we were pretty happy. BUT THEN. When we were walking back to the villa, and after trying to arrange another day visit her, she tells us that she is going to Bolivia for a month. WHAAAAT. So yeah. plans shattered. But you better believe it that we will be passing by in like a month!

Elder Boccazzi and I are doing great together. He is so great and has such big desires to be the best he can be. We are seeing LOADS of changes here in Soldati, and I and kind of in shock because all of a sudden we are seeing so many fruits. THE BLESSINGS OF BEING A TRAINER ARE REAL!!! hahaha. But in all seriousness, it has been one of the greatest weeks in my mission. Maybe even the greatest. I'm trusting in God, being guided by love, and it is amazing to see the differences, I wish I could it explain it all to you guys! I KNOW that this is not my work.

I hope you all have a grand week, AND PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART.

See you all soon enough!

Monday, July 18, 2016

The Start of Something New

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Two funerals and a baby

Monday, July 4, 2016

EE.UU. te quiero a vos


Happy 4th of July my amigos! 

I just want to say that I am so glad to have been born in such a great country. I really didn't understand how well we had it until I left! I am so grateful for those who through the history of the nation have sacrificed so much for our freedom. And because of this freedom, we can enjoy the blessings of the restored gospel, and how much of a blessing that is!

Today has been a pretty dang good day. During our companion study we sang the national anthem, well most of us. Elder Lucas couldn't really read the English words so fast, but he did participate! and then we went shopping at our local Jumbo because I was in need of some new shoes. I treated myself to what I am calling my Hush Airs, because they are Hush Puppies but with these weird air bubbles in them, like the Nike Airs. I'm not going to say I am going to be walking down the street with the facha pura, but they are pretty comfy. =) I will send you all a picture later on. And then to celebrate a little bit more, we went to a meaty semi-fast food place and ate some quality hamburgers. It was also a  nice little moment to share the Gospel with the man at the register, because he asked me where we were from and I was able to give him a pass along card! It says in the mission manual to always be ready to share the gospel on pday!

So guess what. So you know that I told you that I killed my companion last week and would be getting a new one? Well I did. AND I WILL B KILLING HIM TOO next Tuesday. Yep. Six months are officially official here in Soldati. And I am so HAPPY. I love this place. But I am also Super sad because my new companion, Elder Lawyer, I super great. We get a long so well and I am learning so much from him, more than any other of my companions. He is pretty much the most loving person I have ever met. I'm so sad I will have to kill him in another week. =(

This week was kind of a weird week, and it rained a lot. We are going to have to get rid of basically all of our investigators because none of them are going to church. So that was kind of sad. But yesterday we had a small miracle. After church we went over to a less active family's house but they weren't home. I was like ''okay cool, let's go and try and talk with some of their neighbors.'' And then we did, and I met this really cool guy! He told me a lot of his family has died and I was able to testify of eternal families. We are going to meet with him again tomorrow, so pray for him! 

This week we also got to meet our new mission president and his family. They are really a great bunch, Pte and Hna Smith with their two youngest kids. You can tell that they are really excited to be here, and the whole family is already starting to work on their Castellano! I think once they get settled in a little more they will be a super great asset for us. Pte Smith has a lot of desire which could be seen when he talked. I'm really excited to get to start to work with him!

I want a little bit of help from you guys. ALL OF YOU GUYS. I really want to work on my charity. I would like to know: What do YOU do to have charity in your day-to-day doings? Any tips or scriptures that you like would be great. I will look forward to you responses next week. 

Also today I was reading in Enos, and I just want to tell you all how much I love that book. I just love the part when he gets forgiven of his sins and asks, ''Señor, ¿cómo se lleva esto a efecto?'' ''Lord, how is it done?'' From his faith in things neither heard nor seen, he was able to be touched by the hand of the Lord. What a great example for us! I want to have the faith he had to experience even more the goodness of our God. I love this Gospel. I love being a missionary. I am pretty sure I have almost never felt so far from being perfect as I do here, but I also feel such comfort in knowing that as I move forward, one step at a time, I can make big changes. 

I love you all and hope you have a great week. My challenge for you all this week is to KEEP THE SABBATH DAY HOLY. How do you sanctify your Sabbath?

Envío mucho amor de Argentina. Cuídense mucho. See you all soon enough!

Elder Hardcastle

My Hush Airs

Hamburguesas y Libertad


Elder Lawyer striking a pose