This Week in the Mission Field

Buen día!

This week was pretty calm in the mission office because Monday and Tuesday were "feriado" or holiday here in Argentina. I couldn't go to immigrations or the police station in the mornings, and it was nice to sleep a little longer. We also played soccer as a district three days in a row which I loved! 

My Desk...

Because of the holiday I had to go to the bus station to buy tickets for all of the zone leaders and sister training leaders. I usually do the order online but the business that I send the order to was closed so I had to do it in person. I went to the bus station with 11 thousand pesos which is a lot of money! We purchased the tickets and I left with 100 pesos. Traveling is expensive here, especially for those coming from the south, Esquel and Bariloche!

Wednesday I went to the police station which is always an adventure. Fabian is a guy that helps us out a lot and he showed me how to make the "mate." I'm going to share our beliefs about the gospel with him because I can tell that he sees something different in us when we are transacting business.

I think the most important thing that happened this week took place yesterday. I felt down so I went off for a little bit and said the most sincere prayer of my life. I told God that if circumstances aren't going to change He had to help me get through the tough times. I said a lot of other things too, and I got off of my knees feeling a lot better. 

Another thing I remembered this week is that the most important relationship in my life is the one I have with God. I think of Chris when I say that because I feel like he emulates that truth. When we strive to please God first, and more than anyone else, everything else will always work out. 

I love everyone!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

Time is Flying

¡Buenas de Argentina!

This week a hermano that comes to cut the grass at the mission home told us, “paso volando esta semana,” and that was so true for me. This week absolutely flew by! We had a lot of work in the office, and had some great proselyting opportunities too.

I have been thinking about limits, and the fact that we put them on ourselves. If we have a goal, work at it, and ask God for His help we can accomplish anything. We can have more baptisms in our mission. I know it’s possible. So we are working on enlarging our teaching pool. 

I love talking with people, seeing what makes them interested in listening to us, and how we can help them. In a meeting we had the other week Elder Woodbury and Elder Yañez (assistants to the mission president) gave an awesome presentation. They reminded me that the gospel is the solution to all problems, and I’ve been trying to apply that perspective in all contacts and lessons. 

On a personal note, I really miss Amanda, and I thought about her last Sunday when I went to our ward choir practice. There is a little girl in my ward that doesn’t speak and needs help walking. I helped her walk around the sacrament room while her mom practiced. I loved every minute being with her and helping.

I really am enjoying the mission. It’s a lot of fun and it is quite an adventure! I know that Jesus Christ lives. He believes in every single one of us. 

I hope everyone has a great week!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

Checking In

Dear family and friends,

It was another busy week in the Neuquén Mission office. We legalized three missionaries and one of them was Elder Espinoza who is my friend from UofA. It was cool to see him and we had a lot of time while waiting in immigrations to catch up. He gave up a lot when he was baptized, and even more when he entered the MTC. His family didn't want him to leave, but he came anyway and is doing great things here. I hope we can be companions in the future. We've got to be in the same mission for a reason!

The weather will be cooling off here in a few weeks, something I am looking forward to. I still get confused with the opposite seasons here. I say to members, "fa y ya viene la primavera" (spring), when I should say otoño (autumn). 

I had an interview yesterday with President Lovell and he said exactly what I needed to hear to take away the stress and worries I have working in the office. He asked me what I had learned about myself so far on my mission. I told him that I have learned that I am a good decision maker, that I can trust myself more than I have in the past and that I am willing to ask for help from those around me. I feel that I have learned so much in a very short amount of time. 

I love everyone and wish you all the best!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

Something Special

Dear family and friends,

The mission office is still very busy! This week I finished buying plane tickets for those missionaries that will return home the 7th of April, the same day I turn 20, which I cannot believe! I’ve really been thinking about how to do things more efficiently here. A few transfers ago we sent a letter to every missionary going home asking them to give us the name of their airport and parents email, information we need to buy the their tickets. Unfortunately we had to wait three weeks to receive all of the information. This week I’ve been praying for a way to complete that process better, and I am confident that the Lord is showing me how.

I’m excited that we had a lot of time to work in our area this week. Every day we had at least two hours to talk to people and look for some old investigators I found with Elder Da Silva. The church has given us cards, or tarjetas, that have preguntas del alma, or “questions of the soul.” I’m amazed at how much people open up to us when we talk about how to be a better person, or about how we can be with our loved ones again after we die. It’s nice to know that people are wondering about these things and that I am trying to find them. 

This week I believe our mission experienced something very special. The assistants told us that there were no baptisms set for this Saturday. So we had a fast as a mission and all zone leaders made a ton of calls asking everyone if there were any possible baptisms. In one day 55 dates were set! Today we will see if they all happen, I believe that they will! As a mission we are focusing on faith and how we can trust more in the fact that God will do his work. We just have to believe and change our perspectives. 

Elder Wessel from Arizona is now in my zone. Yesterday he had to come to immigrations to renew his papers so it was great to see him. He’s one of my best friends in the mission, and I don’t know why, but we always say that. We are thinking we will be companions in the future. 

I’ve thought a lot about faith this last week and the perspective I have of the mission. When I arrived here everyone told me it was hard to teach and baptize in this mission. I want to change that initial perspective. I want to help more people come unto Christ.

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

Elder Kauffman aka Jack 

A Fresh Start in the Mission

Dear family and friends,

This week with all of the departing missionaries leaving, and the new ones arriving, there was a lot of work to do. We had to prepare the return itineraries for those leaving, and do work at the police station with the new ones. When new missionaries arrive the mission home is BUSY! Even though we have our normal work to do in the office President and Hermana Lovell ask us to help with different events. We also give our office training and I did it for the first time this time as the official secretary. I feel the weight of the position and I am praying a lot about the specific things that I need help with from the Lord.

The Neuquén District

I was able to translate for the senior couple from Buenos Aires again and that is always a cool experience to see how much Spanish has become normal to me now. The Lord really has given me a gift and I've got to be sure I never lose it. I love the Arnaudins, the couple from Buenos Aires and they want me to visit them after the mission. 

This week I learned with the help of Jesus Christ anything can be done. I was in a jam on Wednesday night when I had to take 10 Latin missionaries to take passport photos, something necessary for what we were going to do at the police station the following day, and at the same time we had to make a payment for something important at the bank. I asked for all of the help in the office and we prepared the documents we needed to make payment. A few minutes before finishing we called four taxis. Elder Moser and my companion went to the bank and arrived 5 minuted before it closed. I sent the missionaries in taxis to the Kodak store and I followed in another. We barely accomplished what needed to be done. It may sounds like a trivial story, but I was so grateful when everything was finished. It was a success for the office and I learned that anything can be done. 

I have also been praying that people in the police station and immigrations will help us out more. With all of the missionaries that went to the police station this week I saw the Lords hand in it all as I was inspired to start making small talk with the people that work there. They really opened up and started asking a bunch of questions about what the mission is like. I also gave them a good laugh when I tried to prepare their mate, a famous drink they have here that I had tried with Sister Packard at home, and I absolutely failed. One of the workers said "tengo una hija de cinco anos y ella sabe preparar el mate mejor que vos!" "I have a five year old daughter and she makes mate better than you do!" When we finished our work there I was grateful for the help they gave us, and that the Lord helped me to establish a stronger relationship with these people so we can do more work in less time. 

All in all I feel like I am starting over in the mission. There are new faces in the office and I am just more comfortable being in the country now. I feel great and I little more willing to give all of my efforts to the Lord. I continue to feel good about my Spanish even though it always can improve. I love talking to people and hearing their stories, especially taxi drivers!

Another cool experience I had this week was when I took the time to say a prayer of complete gratitude for everything God has done for me. Not just during my time in the mission, but for all the blessings I have been given. I am so in debt to him and I love him. I forget that sometimes how grateful I am. It doesn't matter how bad things are for us, there is something to be grateful for. 

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

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

Office Changes

¡Hola familia y amigos!

It is good to finally sit down and write. It was a great week with all the work we did with the recent transfers. We are also attending to all of the elders and sisters finishing their missions. Today one of my good friends in the mission, Elder Furlanich goes home, and he was the secretary for seven months. I just took his place and when he got here this morning he told me to "just keep moving." 

My current companion leaves for a different assignment today and my new one arrives in a few hours. His name is Elder Thompson and he's from Utah and arrived with me from the MTC. He speaks great Spanish. Roles have changed here in the office and I am the secretary, and Elder Thompson will be the new recorder. In two or three transfers another elder will come in and I"ll train him to be the secretary and Elder Thompson will stay in as the recorder. It will make training easier for new elders. President Lovell is really cool, and one of the blessings of being in the office is working with him. He gets things done and has a lot of patience. 

My Spanish continues to improve and I have the accent down. I love raising the tone of my voice and using the shh sound for the double L and Y letters, and I can always say what I want in conversation. I have learned a lot of different Spanish here in the office, especially by working in immigrations and with the police. I also talk on the phone with church executives in Buenos Aires that help me with legalization issues. I wish I could have everyone here for a day and show them what I do.

I'm excited for these coming transfers because President Lovell wants us out of the office everyday at 4:00 p.m. to study for an hour and then to work our area the rest of the evening. The past two transfers we haven't had much time to preach, but now it will be a matter of just leaving the office at a set time knowing that the work will be there when we arrive the next day. 

I miss teaching and I'm not doing what I did daily in Bariloche. There I would walk all day thinking of how I could help someone, and its been hard to let opportunity go, but my testimony of the Savior is still growing. I know that he feels what I feel more than ever now. I'm thinking that when I leave the office I will have a little more than a year left preach full time. When I get back out in the field I am going to absolutely kill it. 

I have the goal to baptize someone in these upcoming six weeks. There's someone waiting in my area, I know it. 

Have a great week everyone!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

Checking In

Dear family and friends,

This was a great week with a lot of adventures. A great deal of planning goes into everything we do in the office, and I continue to learn and do love it. This week we did another round of immigrations. We brought in three new missionaries, all from Peru, and all living in different cities in the mission. We had them legalized in a day and it was a big success. We also had an asado or BBQ last night with the office elders, President and Hermana Lovell and all of the church leadership from a nearby town. Everything was delicious! I feel really lucky to be in the office because there are times when we are spoiled!

Elder da Silva is leaving next week. Transfers were finalized yesterday and we will know on Monday where he is going next, and who is coming to the office to help me. Elder da Silva is my best friend right now and I will miss him.

I love what I am doing even though I’m not teaching full time. I know I’m serving the Lord. I have no doubt. When I do leave the office, I’m going to dedicate every minute I'm awake to people who need help. I look back on the last few months and I say “look how much the Lord has changed me.” I feel like a different person even though I’m still myself. Its something I can’t explain more than that. 

Have a great week everyone. I love you all!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack