Checking In

Dear family and friends,

This was a great week and I feel like I grew a lot. My morning studies are becoming sacred. They teach me and give me motivation and revelation for the area and the people we are teaching.

Sometimes I feel like I try to take everything that needs to be done upon my own shoulders, and if something good is going to happen I've got to do everything. I read D&C Section 14 and it really helped me and the last three verses are key. It says that Jesus Christ is going to do his work, and that the rest (us), are called to help. Taught me again that we work and God works miracles. 

Something I focused on this week is following the spirit in everything we do. We need investigators right now and actually found one in a really strange, but inspired way. We were out walking and saw someone that I thought was a kid named Jonathon. As we approached him and shook his hand I realized it actually was NOT him.  

It could have been an uncomfortable experience, but instead of feeling awkward we told him and his dad a little bit about what we do as missionaries. Yesterday we taught him and he was really receptive! Wet taught all of the first lesson (which is not typical because it can be a large lesson), but we kept teaching until we finished because he was understanding everything and wanted to hear more!

Elder Carroll and I are getting along really well and I got lucky again with a companion that pushes me to be better! The more I work the more I come to love the people that surround me. Not everyone is super interested, but if we keep looking we always find people who wonder what we are doing here and that want to learn more. 

This morning we did a deep cleaning of our pension. On our patio there were a lot of old boxes that I knew needed to be thrown out, but I haven't wanted to touch them fearing what was behind and underneath them! I finally got myself to do it and I found a lot of spiders. A neighbor from above started laughing when he saw us jumping up and down killing bugs. Pero bueno!

Attitude is everything. That came to my mind (again) this week. When it seems like there is nothing to do, or no one to teach, we must trust in the Lord that things will work out!

Have a great week everyone!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

Buenos dias!

Dear family and friends, 

Thank you for the emails, I enjoy them as always!

This week was busy. We went to Villa Regina on Tuesday for zone conference and then Neuquén for leadership counsel. 

We are focusing on working with members in our ward, not just more, a lot more! As far as investigators go we are struggling, but this week is going to be better. More people to teach will be found! Vanessa, the mom we were teaching has a lot of interest, but it's hard for her to attend church. She has not been progressing and we will probably have to stop popping by and visiting.

We had an excellent fast and testimony meeting yesterday. The first counselor in our ward, Brother Esteche, talked about the importance of keeping the goodness of the gospel alive. 

He used a phrase I liked, he said "as if it were the first time." He was referring to the fact that every time he hears the message of the First Vision, or hears someone explain the Atonement, he tries to remember what he felt the first time he heard it, as if it were the first time. He was baptized in Buenos Aires when he was a teenager and the gospel changed everything for him.

I want to have this same attitude the rest of my mission. This week I feel like I made some things too complicated. In reality, I should do what I did when I started, trust in the Lord and just serve as best I can. 

I love you all and hope you have an excellent week!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

Primero de febrero 2016

Querida familia, 

Thank you for writing me! Its good to hear from everyone. 

Megan I do, and at the same time do not, believe that you are 18. I hope that it was a great birthday and I too wish I could have been there! 

Cameron that's sweet, Disney World!? I liked the pictures. Looks like you had a blast. Finish strong at ASU. 

Connor the cold sounds nice right now haha. Its hot here and my arms will forever be brown thanks to the city of Roca. 

Chris I had a super weird dream last night. I got back to my pension here in Roca and couldn't find my companion, but found you sitting at my desk. Super real! Glad everything is going well at the academy, keep it up. I am ready to finish my mission strong, and I am doing it.

Kaylee I just had a haircut before coming to write. Pretty decent cut and price, but you will always be the jefa!

This week has been interesting. We have been looking a lot for two new apartments for missionaries in the zone and just finally found them! We did the move in for two sisters that are new in the ward this morning. We found a nice place and its safe and cheap.

This morning when we went to get their furniture and fridge fell on me that I was carrying down the stairs! I received just a small cut, but Elder Carroll was telling me afterwards that it was a good story to write home about!.

The other pension will be ready tomorrow for the new elders that will live and work in Cervantes (that's where I spent a lot of my time last during the last transfer). The elders that will be moving in have been staying in our pension this week. Elder Barrios and Elder Baldovino, two Argentines. It's been fun being with them this week.

As far as investigators go we have been having daily contact with a girl named Vanessa. Her husbands name is Javier who doesn't have much interest in what we are teaching, but he does likes talking with us. Vanessa is awesome and we saw a lot of progress this week. She started reading the pamphlets and feels a peace that she has never felt before. It confirms to me that the gospel has no time limit. It can change people in an instant!

We have also been working a lot with less active families. In the training we had I believe they actually said that less active families are gold mines and it's true! We have a lot of part member families in our zone and we can provide service for almost all of them. This week we need to follow up and see how we can help.

This week I had a cool experience. I started studying scriptures that talk about God's family, a phrase I read very simply as that we are are sons and daughters of god, and we are all brothers and sisters. it changed the way I approached things this week. In lessons that I taught I feel like I was better able to express my love for for the Savior and the those in the room.  People I had never seen before looked familiar, and i wanted to talk to them more. 

Prayer means more and more to me. I read a talk that we should be grateful for people who know how to pray. People who ask God for what they need and have compete faith that they will receive it. I want to be that kind of person and little by little I amgetting there. 

Mom and dad I love you both. I am excited to be in the last stretch of my mission, but I need everyone to keep pushing me! Good things are happening here in our zone. Tomorrow we have zone conference and on Wednesday we travel to the mission home for leadership counsel. Excited to see what they have to say! 

I love you all!

Elder Kauffman aka Jack

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

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

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

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