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25 January 2016

Challenging but Good

Dear family and friends,

I think this might have been the most challenging but best weeks of the mission!

The three people that I have been talking about so much in my emails home were baptized and confirmed, Lucas, Maxima and Jaqueline! 

When Elder Texeira came to our mission he talked a lot about what it takes for someone to gain a testimony, and to be converted unto the gospel. He said it doesn't take time, it's a matter of the spirit working in their lives. That's exactly what I observed these last two weeks. We did all we could, saw and took care of the three as much as we could, and the Lord did the rest. They were converted before being baptized.

I feel a confidence I've never felt in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know that our prayers were answered and I realize that missionary work is not as hard as we sometimes make it out to be. If this is God's work, is there anything that can stop it?

I know I have been a successful missionary, but now that I understand how someone comes to be baptized, it's like I have no excuse not to baptize. I'm ready to start another transfer and find those that are ready to come unto the Lord!

My new companion is Elder Carroll from Lehi, Utah. He was the financial secretary while I was the mission secretary in the office, so we know each other well. We are both ready to go to work!

I love you guys. I miss everyone and I had a really good experience with prayer yesterday. I felt like I was about to start a new school year with all of the changes in the zone and all of the things I had to do to prepare. I thought of Elder Scott's talk from my first General Conference in the mission, he taught us to tell Heavenly Father everything that concerns us. That is what I did, and I finished knowing that God is with me and anything is possible!

Have an awesome week!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

19 January 2016

Otra semana buenisima

Dear family and friends,

This week was crazy and we saw a lot of changes in people!

In our weekly planning we thought of which of our investigators are progressing, and what we need to do help them continue to grow. For weeks we just were not seeing significant changes. Having daily contact with them this week is what started everything. 

Jaqueline is the daughter of the Ledesma family. She is awesome and we have been praying for her a lot. We know she wants to listen even though it may not seem like it at times. This week we saw changes in her posture in lessons, in the answers she gave us to questions, and in the questions she asked. Out biggest challenge is that she still hasn't prayed, but we are working with the family to get her excited about doing it!

Lucas and Maxima are the couple from Bolivia that have been in Cervantes (a small town close to Roca) for a few months now. I realized this week that for the longest time we were teaching with focusing on building a relationship first. We feel like we finally established one this week and it has improved the quality of the lessons. They have committed to live by the commandments we have shared with them, except for tithing (we are going to teach that today).

When we teach Lucas and Maxima, Maxima's sister Rosalia and brother-in-law Rocke are always there. Rosalia speaks a mixture of Quechua and Spanish, and it was difficult for me to understand what she was saying.  The Lord has helped me with that and this week when she asked questions, I don't know how, but I understand what she said. The spirit is real!

This is Elder Moser's last week in the mission. This has been one of my best transfers. There has been no time to stop and think about anything other than the work of the Lord. There's a talk I like that says from time to time we can rest and breath, but we have to be on our way again at some point. In these past weeks there hasn't been time to rest. It has been the best time of my mission. 

I don't recall how the hymn goes in English, but I read How Firm a Foundation this week, que firmes cimientos. It says in the last verse that Christ will pull out from darkness those that trust him. That is what he does for us, and that is what I want to be able to do for others.

Ya empieza otra semana mas!

I love everyone! 

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

11 January 2016

More Changes in the Mission

Dear family and friends,

This week went by quickly just like all of the others, I have a lot of stories but I can only tell so many! I went to Neuquén three times this week. Twice to do paperwork because my DNI expired last month, and on Wednesday we had leadership counsel. 

The missionary department made some big changes about the way we do exchanges, and we talked a lot about model areas. I am sure the elders in the ward can explain it better in person, it was a world wide change. 

Our investigators are doing well! We have had to leave some and find new ones, but the ones that can be baptized in the coming weeks are Jaqueline, Lucas, and Maxima. 

Jaqueline is the oldest daughter of the family that was just baptized. She came to church two weeks ago and we still haven't been able to talk to her since, she was out of town for a while but we are going today to see her. Lucas and Maxima are a couple from Bolivia that have been living close to Roca for a few months. They are great. Teaching in their house is like teaching in another country–everyone comes prepared to learn! We believe they can be baptized this Saturday.

I think our biggest need right now is finding new people, the members here are all involved in the work so we are going to be working with a lot of references this week. I think a lot about what I was taught by my parents about attitude. The attitude that I have determines everything, and we are seeing changes in everything. The attitude of the zone, the members, everything seems to be improving. We push ourselves to the limit and God does the rest. 

The weather here changes all of the time. Someday's we walk out and its really really hot, but then in the afternoon in turns brisk with rain. It reminds me of the weather in Imperial Beach. I like it here.

I love everyone and I love your emails!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

04 January 2016

Felices fiestas

Dear family and friends,

This was a great week. A lot of learning as always and seeing the Lord's hand in what we hope to accomplish. 

New Years day was fun. It was very humid but the sun didn't come out and that was nice because we played soccer all day. I think we played for more than six hours! Afterwards we we all went for ice cream. A really simple day but I loved it.

It was interesting to start a new year, and to think of everything that has happened in the one that passed. It's been one of the best years of my life. I think of all the changes that I have experienced, all of the people I have met and their lasting impressions. More than anything I think about all of the opportunities the Lord has given me to increase my faith and persevere. 

One of my goals for 2016 is to finish my mission strong and to be more dedicated than when I arrived. I want these last six months to be my best. I found a quote by C.S. Lewis that I want to be my theme. It's Lewis paraphrasing the Lord, he says he doesn't  just want so much of our time and talents, he wants us! Everyday I am going to consciously give him myself. 

It has been incredible being with Elder Moser these few weeks. He only has three left but it impresses me to see how well he wants to finish. We've obviously talked a little about what plans he has for after the mission. That's normal, but he's focused. I want to finish like that. Strong and focused. 

One of the coolest things we've been able to talk about is the difference between being on a mission and being a missionary. I'll always be a missionary and I want to keep being a good example. 

We had three investigators in church on Sunday! We said a lot of prayers and at one moment I felt the impression that God was going to take care of it. We can't do everything. In fact, as a missionary, I feel like I do very little. We invite, but when people choose to follow that is best.  Lucas and Maxima, a couple from Bolivia are getting baptized this week. Please pray that everything works out! 

We had a great gospel principles class yesterday. It was the first chapter of the manual, God is our loving Heavenly Father. We discussed how we show God we love him by keeping His commandments. I agree, but there is so much more to it. Doing it because we really, really love God. That's the right reason.

I love everyone! Make it a great week!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack