New Mission President Arrives

Dear family and friends,

I believe the Lord is really blessing me for the time I spent in the office, because my area is a goldmine for teaching people about Jesus Christ. This week we found a young boy who is nine years old and wants to be baptized. He attended a friends baptism who's family are members and felt the spirit tell him to be baptized too. 

The Casariego's and The Lovell's

We were pretty nervous to teach him because he is so young and we need his mom's support to move forward. Luckily she said she is totally fine if that's what he wants to do. He came to church yesterday and is reading the Book of Mormon. We set a baptismal date for July 11th and I have the faith that it can happen! There are a lot of partial member families in our zone. Parents that have been baptized with kids that never were. The Sanchez family is one that we are working with and the mom is very nice and we are going to do service with her this week. 

Being a zone leader is interesting. We get to do exchanges with the elders in the zone which is fun and breaks up the routine. The purpose is to train and supervise, but I learn a lot by doing them since everyone has special talents here. This week we are traveling to a town called Chos Malal, way up north in the mission to do exchanges with the elders there. Should be interesting. More than anything I am trying to be a good example for everyone, and not let serving in a leadership position go to my head. The point of leading is to serve even more, to give to yourself to the Lord even more.

President Lovell leaves this Wednesday and I won't see him before he heads out. We have our first counsel with President Casariego next week. We are excited to know what his specific plans are for the mission and I am pumped to work with him.

I found a lot of comfort in the bible this week. John 14:18. Whenever I feel like I'm alone I remember that I am not. Jesus Christ lives and he manifests himself to us if we seek him. We just have to seek him. My goal is to read Matthew in the new testament this week.

Have a great week and pray that I will continue to lose myself in the work!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

Getting Settled in the New Area

Dear family and friends,

It’s good to be in Zapala. It’s a small town and our area makes it seem even smaller. The area is big, huge in fact, and there are a lot of fields and the houses are far apart. Tomorrow I am doing divisions with the elders in El Centro so I will see what the other side of the city is like. I've attached some photos of my new apartment.

So far we have a few solid investigators. One of them is named Yolanda and she is very humble. It’s obvious that she believes what we are teaching, and she really wants to come to church. She’s just got to get there.

I think this is the smallest ward I’ve been in which is interesting. Only 35 people came to church yesterday, and that is a big change from what I’ve seen in other wards in the mission. One of our goals is to increase our assistance to the members. There are a lot of less active families that live in our area. I’m also the only American around for miles, and it hasn’t been like that since my first area. 

Starting in a new area again always makes me think about home, and it makes me appreciate and love everyone back in Arizona more. I am really grateful for everything and for all of the experiences I had at home. They are the best memories. Also in every area I seem to find someone that reminds me of Amanda. The Mellado family has two boys, 17 and 18 that both have special needs. I loved visiting them this week.

Zapala is pretty cold at night and always brisk in the morning when we go out to contact people. I do like the weather. Elder Garcia and me are teaching some great lessons, and they have all been taught by the spirit. We are already seeing the positive impact it has on people. 

I’m trying to show more love for people, and to be more diligent in my work. I have a poem my Dad wrote about Jesus Christ above my bed here. It helps me to think about the power that one can find in Christ. It is infinite. 

I love everyone!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

Arrived in Zapala

Good afternoon!

Well I arrived in Zapala this morning around 11:30 a.m. It's a lot different here than Neuquén, and it reminds me of San Carlos de Bariloche.

I am excited more than anything, a little nervous, but I know it will pass soon. My companion is a great guy and he leaves in two transfers so we're thinking he will finish his mission here with me.

My goal is to make this area "sacred ground" for me. Just work hard from the start, and do everything I can in the Lord's service. We've already been talking about the four investigators we have that have been progressing for a while. They are our priority. 

In my last interview with President Lovell we talked about faith, and I am going to need it now as I start anew again in Zapala. Wish me luck and pray for me!

I love you all and I write on Monday's now so please email me on Sunday and I will respond and let you know how things are going here!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

¡Me dirigen a Zapala!

Dear family and friends,

The Neuquén District

I am so excited, maybe more excited than I was when I got my mission call to Argentina to find out my new assignment in the mission. I had no idea where I was going to go, and where I am headed had never even crossed my mind, but I know it was an inspired decision. I will be serving in a town called Zapala starting on Monday and my companion will be Elder Garcia from Honduras. He was in my zone here in Neuquén for a transfer and then was sent there. We will be the Zone Leaders and I am pumped to get to know everyone in the zone and make a difference. Zapala has a baptism every week so we have to keep the ball rolling. 

It is pretty cold here, and everyone tells me that it is colder in Zapala and with a lot of wind! I took advantage of the fact that in the mission home I could buy some thermal garments to stay warm in the coming months.

The police... Friends I worked with each week

I finished training my replacement as the mission secretary. This week we did the transfers and that was the last big thing I needed to show him. Sometimes you just have to jump in and learn on the job. I realized this week that is how I internalized everything here. I have left a lot of instructions, and more than anything we have agreed that if he needs anything he can call me. The¡Me dirigen a Zapala! cell phone has the numbers of every companionship, as it should, and he'll know where to find me!

Working in the mission office has been such a hard, but worthwhile, experience. As I leave I think of how much I have learned: I can make important decisions. I learned a lot about the immigration system of Argentina. More than anything I have more faith in the Lord. Everything I am or ever may accomplish is only possible because of God and his Son. 

I had my last interview with President Lovell this morning in the mission home. There was not enough time to do it in the stake center with the rest of the zone yesterday. He is a very cool guy and I hope to see him in the future. 

I love all of you and I will write on Monday from Zapala next week.

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

El gran milagro de la vida

Buenas tardes!

We had a lot of good experiences this week in our area and in the office, most of all good contacts and communication with the ward. On the 26th we have plans to show Meet the Mormons, something that I think will get a lot more people in church on Sundays.

Just last night we talked with a guy named Gabriel on the street. It was on Olascoaga, a pretty busy street, imagine contacting someone on Cactus or some other main road. He was a really inspiring person, very religious, and very firm in his beliefs. The whole time we were talking I couldn't believe we found him, because I knew we needed to find him.

He told us that he was happy with his life, but that there was still something missing because of a time when he denied God. We read Mosiah 26:30, one of my favorite verses and it felt so good to share my own experiences, to tell him that I've messed up time and time again, but that I have been forgiven. The miracle of this life is that God wants us to return to him, and a way has been provided, because we cannot do it by ourselves. 

I've come to learn a little more about Jesus Christ as I've been here, and as I've had the opportunity to focus on others needs above my own. That doesn't mean I do it 100 percent of the time, it's hard, but I'm still working on it and consider it a privilege to be a disciple of Christ. 

We have interviews with President Lovell this week, my last one, and my third in this zone. That means I've been here a long time. I will definitely miss President Lovell who is a very inspired man. One of the biggest blessings of being in the office is learning how a mission works logistically, and seeing how dedicated President Lovell is to it all. He never stops working.  

This is my last week in the mission office. Serving as the mission secretary has been the greatest experience I've ever had, and I think it's because its been the hardest challenge I've ever had. That's how it works and I'm ready for a new adventure. 

Wish me luck and pray for the mission office as we do transfers this week. It's a lot of work and it requires heavens help! I will let everyone know where they send me and who my new companion is on Saturday! 

Elder Kauffman aka Jack