Happy Thanksgiving

Dear family and friends, 

We did celebrate thanksgiving in the mission home! President brought up the idea out of the blue and really wanted to do a dinner, so we did it! 

I am sending some photos this week from a service project we did, and one where my companion and I got to talk on the radio. There's a hermano here that has a radio station. 

Everything we do here is service but this week I got to do two moves. On Friday I went with Elder Espinosa and Elder Jensen to take everything out of a pension that was closed. On Saturday morning with Elder Tarone someone stopped us on the street (a member family from Rosario that had just moved in that day), and they asked if we could help them unload everything. Of course we did and there were six elders helping that made moving everything go by a lot faster.

Things are going well in the mission field. My companion and I are getting along very well and that's one of the most important things to serving. We just work and there are no questions. We both know what we need to do and do it.

We continue to work with two kids named Maxi and Lucas and another man named Alberto. He really likes talking to us but we still haven't been able to find him when his whole family is home and our goal is to teach everyone! We are also seeing a lot of success from contacts and working with the members. God puts people in our path!

I hope you all have an excellent week!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

Checking In

Dear family and friends,

I had a very busy week and it was great! Elder Tarone and I did work in immigrations and the police station every morning and everything went smoothly. We have also been able to "get our hands dirty!" I think the latest we left the office was at 6:00 p.m. so every day we had a good amount of time to be in the area serving the people. We are working with a few people that I met while here before, two kids named Maxi and Lucas and a couple named Javier and Teresa, but we have not seen a lot of progress.

Maxi and Lucas come to church every now and then, and Javier and Teresa travel a lot for work. One of our goals this week is to find new teaching opportunities. Through contacting, members and doing everything and anything we can in the streets, we want to find those that are ready to listen to what we believe about Jesus Christ.  

Yesterday was an particularly interesting Sunday. Argentina had national elections and we were told to stay inside the pension after lunch. I studied and listened to parts of two talks from this last general conference that really stood out to me. The first one was President Monson and I still have the words in my head "he is the light that shines in the darkness." The other one (I don't remember who gave it), but he talks about improving our lives and continually progressing. If we ask the spirit what we can improve upon he will tell us. 

I thought of the two talks at the same time and how they are related. What do I lack to be more like Christ? What can I do to have the light of Christ at all times?

I am enjoying myself and I continue to learn every day. Heavenly Father shows me that the best way to be happy is to forget about myself and focus on others. The key is doing it with real intent. I should be leaving the mission office again at the end of this transfer on December 15th and where I'm headed I have no idea!

I love everyone and hope you all have a great week!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

Loving Neuquén

Dear family and friends,

This was a great week, saw some cool things and I am enjoying everything about Neuquén. 'No se pierde ningun esfuerzo' is kind of like saying nothing that we do is done in vain, that's something I saw this week. 

I believe it was in May during the first time I served in the mission office that we had an open house in Neuquén, and Elder Thompson and I found a guy walking outside the church named Orlando. I wrote about what happened in one of my letters. It was a cool experience meeting him, but sad at the end because we never found where he lived and he had no phone. I thought we'd never find him again, but this week we did! A lady called us and asked for a visit because she had some questions about what we do as missionaries, and Orlando was with her! I later found out that the sisters in our ward are teaching him. He is slowly progressing. 

That experience this week showed me that you never know what will happen. I've also been able to talk to a new member named Pablo since I've been back. He was baptized in January and is progressing a lot! He's blessing the sacrament and everything. 

There was a message that I really liked in church yesterday, it was given by Hermana Marta who came back to church last year and has done a 180 since returning. She talked about her process in coming back. She tried everything spiritual. Chinese and classical music, spiritual programs, etc. In the end she said that nothing did for her what the gospel does, what the Savior does. I had that feeling this week, the overwhelming feeling to just try and be like Jesus Christ, to do what he did and follow him. That's more important that anything else I will do in my life. 

I am enjoying working with Elder Tarone. We get along along great! He is one cool guy and he reminds me of Coleton Paolacci so you can imagine how happy I am! He's picking up everything I am teaching him, and we are getting out everyday at 5:00 p.m. to teach! We actually have appointments today with a few families we found last week. Working in the office this second time has been better since I know what I'm doing. 

My Spanish is really good at this point in the mission. Now it's a matter of speaking it all the time which is hard when you have an English speaking companion. Spanish is something that I will always study after the mission because there is always room to improve your speaking and writing skills. Just like English! 

Have a great week!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

PS the photo is me with Elder Draught who finished his mission and came back to visit. He was companions with Elder Supelano, my second companion.

Training in the Mission Office

Dear family and friends,

This was another great week in the Neuquén Mission! Elder Tarone who is my new companion, and I am training for these next few weeks, arrived in the mission office on Thursday. He's quickly picking up on his responsibilities in the office, and the best part is that he wants to learn the job.

We have already been to immigrations and the police station which is a big part of his job when new missionaries arrive and when they need to renew their papers. We have also had a lot of time to be out doing normal missionary work. We are just getting everything in our area up and running because it was a "white wash" (when two new missionaries come into an area at the same time). So we don't know anyone, but we did have some great contacts this week. 

The Lord really does prepare us for the things we do. If we put our faith in Him, and take the right actions, He will help us. That's what we saw and felt this week every time we left the office or the apartment. We weren't sure what to do, but we took the first step with faith and everything worked out. The past few months since I left the office have been crazy, but I am learning a ton and I am very happy to be doing what is expected of me. 

I love everyone and hope you all have a successful week!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

Return to the Mission Office

Dear family and friends,

I am no longer in Esquel! I left Friday morning for a special assignment in the mission office in Neuquén. President Casariego had been talking to me about the possibility of coming back and Tuesday he called to confirm my return. I will be in the office for at least six weeks to train another elder as the new mission secretary. His name is Elder Tarone from Las Vegas. 

I'm excited to be here, but it was a little strange to come back, especially on Sunday and to see all of the members from the last time I was here. I do have a good feeling about returning and for the first few days that I've been back I've been organizing things and familiarizing myself again with all of the secretary responsibilities. Elder Tarone will be here on Thursday to begin training. 

One of my goals this time in the office is to be strict about being out in the area talking to people by 5:00 p.m. every day. Even if there are things we haven't finished in the office we're going to get out and talk to people about Jesus Christ. That is president's goal for the office missionaries and we are going to make it happen!

My time in Esquel was fantastic. I learned a lot (as always), and had a great companion in Elder Motzkus. We worked hard and he helped me to really enjoy what we do. We left the area well prepared for the next companionship. 

Other news in the office is that Elder Wessell is one of the new assistants to President Casariego, so we will be seeing each other quite often. Also, Elder Espinoza from the University of Arizona is one of the new office elders, and he'll be one of my many companions while I'm here. It's way cool to be here with him. It doesn't feel quite real that we came all of the way from Tucson to be in the same mission in Argentina, but we did! 

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic and successful week!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack