I
hope that everyone is doing awesome this week! I am missing the Arizona
weather, but am finally adjusting to the cold. It’s spring here now, but it is
snowing more than ever. Wednesday all the missionaries in Bariloche worked in one
neighborhood, and it snowed all day! More than
anything it makes for beautiful scenery. The neighborhoods in which we serve
are pretty poor, but all you have to do is look up and see the huge mountains
covered in snow to feel blessed.
This
week we continued to work with a family that stopped receiving the missionaries
about a year ago. Elder Candia randomly found their teaching record a few weeks
back, and we stopped by the day after. They live in a really dangerous
neighborhood in our area; we can only go there during the day because at night it
is just not safe. This week we didn’t plan much in terms of what we would talk
about, but rather decided to ask them what they needed. Sometimes it can be hard to find out, but in this lesson the mother of the family
told us that she wants to change her life. It was a powerful moment and then we
talked about the Savior and that through Him everything can change for us. I
know that is true. We now have agreed to pass by every Friday and
talk to them.
One
of my favorite things to do here is work with less active members. We do it a
lot, and twice this week we talked with a brother in the ward who can’t come to
church because it is hard for him to walk. He is a guy that always makes me
feel like I am doing my job as a missionary. Tuesday we shared a scripture from 3rd
Nephi and talked about how we can be healed in all ways if we have faith. Sunday we
administered the Sacrament to him and afterwards just visited. He has a lot of
history, and we learned last night he was at one time a well-known singer in
Chile!
Last
night we met with someone that we worked with a lot when I first arrived,
but haven’t seen for more than four weeks. It was a sad visit because he told
us he doesn’t want to learn anymore. (He was progressing a lot and had set a date
to be baptized.) We hope to start the lessons again and find out what happened
soon, but what I learned from this experience is that we can only invite, we
cannot force. I knew that before, but last night proved it to me.
I
grew a lot this week. More than anything I am learning to be more humble on my
mission. The Lord wants everything that I have to offer, and I’m slowly
but surely learning how to do that.
Finally, please thank all of the youth in the
ward for their letters. I felt so much encouragement from them. I almost cried
reading the one from Will Wulff. He asked if I had brought anyone closer to the
church, it felt good to honestly tell myself that I have. I almost died of
laughter from what Coleton wrote. A continent away and he still kills me!
I
love you all and hope that this coming week is a great one.
Elder Kauffman aka Jack
Elder Kauffman aka Jack