Dear Family,
How are you? I am well—I received my new companion this week, Elder
Henry from Calgary!
I left La Quebrada on Tuesday, after working for two days with Elder
Ferro, and on Wednesday, after a training meeting, companions were
assigned. We were hoping to come back on Wednesday night, but, there
wasn't a bus, then we wanted to come back on Thursday afternoon,
but... we missed the bus, and then, we finally set out on the six-hour
trip on Thursday night at midnight! Thus we've been away from home a
bit, but we were able to help the Elders in Cordoba, and I got to help
out the Elders in the mission office while Elder Henry went out to get
his visa arranged—I spent the day updating lists, and checking orders,
etc!
We're working hard to find people that we can teach, and to help
those that we are teaching to keep progressing and learning and
feeling the Spirit! One thing that President Salas taught us about
while we were in Cordoba this week was the idea of 'the pipeline.' If
we have a pipe of water with air pockets, it will come out in spurts.
Likewise, if we entirely focus on a couple investigators until they
get baptised, neglecting finding other people, or teaching them, we
end up with an air pocket, as it were, as soon as they join the
church! Thus, we're trying to be able to have investigators in all
stages of progression in order to be constantly busy—what we do right
now, today, will affect the state of the work here in a few months!
Other points this week include setting goals that will actually be
reached, and considering what exactly is required to achieve the
goals! In training material that we received this week, we are told
that our missionary purpose is to increase the number of people who
are exercising faith, repenting, being baptized and receiving the gift
of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end, by following the guidance
of the Holy Spirit. Thus, goal-setting becomes an important way to
achieve the goal of doing more of what we do.
I was excited to hear about the baptism in Ottawa, and that young
women's camp went well, and about the Pageant. For the driver's
license, I think that it will be best to cancel it. Thus, I'll fax a
letter to the SAAQ to that effect.
I hope that you have a good week!
Love,
Elder Schlachter
P.S. Also, Elder Henry is from the same stake as the Lawlor family and
he knows them!
Monday, July 11, 2011
July 4, 2011, La Quebrada, Argentina
Querida Familia,
¿Cómo andan? I am well--we've had a somewhat busy week in the
Quebrada, and every day it's a little bit colder! We're waiting for
snow, but, as my temporary companion Elder Ferro (from Calgary and
Uruguay) says, "I haven't seen it yet".
This week was transfer week, so Elder Strong is off to Córdoba
Capital, and I'm staying in the Quebrada, and... training a new
missionary! Thus I'm with Elder Ferro for a couple days in the
Quebrada until we both go to Córdoba to meet and pick up our new
companions. We're both a bit excited, and a bit nervous, but I know
that the our new Elder will be a blessing to the people here.
The motto of our Zone (the city of La Rioja) this month is something
like, "Pongamos todo en el asador," or "Let's put everything in the
(Argentine) barbeque"—the saying meaning that we'll give a 100%
effort. I considered a bit this week about how faith works, and here's
what I wrote (in Spanish):
Esta semana estaba pensando un poco de la fe--creo que es una
certeza que viene por haber hecho todo lo posible, por ser obediente,
por trabajar con diligencia, etc. Pensé en mis convenios con Dios,
y que según mi fe, o sea, mi cumplimiento de las condiciones que
Dios ha puesto, Él me bendecirá seguramente. Estoy viendo la fe
un poco así esta semana, y tratando de ser digno de recibir las
bendiciones prometidas. Veo así que convenios me ayudan a saber
que necesito hacer, y por tener los requisitos de Dios así, y un
compromiso con Él, me da la oportunidad de cumplir.
[This week I was thinking a bit about faith — I believe it is a truth that comes by having done everything possible, by being obedient, by working diligently etc. I thought about my convenants with God, and how according to my faith, that is, my complying with the conditions that God has set, He will surely bless me. I am seeing faith a bit this week, and trying to be worthy of receiving the promised blessings. I also see that covenants help me to know what I need to do, and by having God's requirement thus laid out, and a promise with Him, this gives me the opportunity to meet them.]
We also had an excellent lesson with the neighbour of a family of
recent converts, Valeria. We showed up at the member's house to find
another family visiting them, so they were there helping in the
lesson, and then the family of the Branch President arrived, etc.
Thus, we had many people who were able to testify of the truthfulness
of the work and help Valeria to feel comfortable. The same family is
also helping another woman, Victoria, to learn the Gospel, and she's
progressing very well. We've read 3 Nephi 27 a few times with her, and
though she hasn't been very much invited by us to follow the Saviour's
example and be baptised, she was introduced to the church by attending
her friend's baptism—thus, it's something that she's thinking about
and something that I know will bless her and her family. I know that
the authority required to perform a baptism and actually receive a
remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost is only present in
this church.
Happy Canada Day! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it, and I hope
that Mom is having a good time! I love you all and I look forward to
hearing from you in the coming week!
Elder Schlachter
¿Cómo andan? I am well--we've had a somewhat busy week in the
Quebrada, and every day it's a little bit colder! We're waiting for
snow, but, as my temporary companion Elder Ferro (from Calgary and
Uruguay) says, "I haven't seen it yet".
This week was transfer week, so Elder Strong is off to Córdoba
Capital, and I'm staying in the Quebrada, and... training a new
missionary! Thus I'm with Elder Ferro for a couple days in the
Quebrada until we both go to Córdoba to meet and pick up our new
companions. We're both a bit excited, and a bit nervous, but I know
that the our new Elder will be a blessing to the people here.
The motto of our Zone (the city of La Rioja) this month is something
like, "Pongamos todo en el asador," or "Let's put everything in the
(Argentine) barbeque"—the saying meaning that we'll give a 100%
effort. I considered a bit this week about how faith works, and here's
what I wrote (in Spanish):
Esta semana estaba pensando un poco de la fe--creo que es una
certeza que viene por haber hecho todo lo posible, por ser obediente,
por trabajar con diligencia, etc. Pensé en mis convenios con Dios,
y que según mi fe, o sea, mi cumplimiento de las condiciones que
Dios ha puesto, Él me bendecirá seguramente. Estoy viendo la fe
un poco así esta semana, y tratando de ser digno de recibir las
bendiciones prometidas. Veo así que convenios me ayudan a saber
que necesito hacer, y por tener los requisitos de Dios así, y un
compromiso con Él, me da la oportunidad de cumplir.
[This week I was thinking a bit about faith — I believe it is a truth that comes by having done everything possible, by being obedient, by working diligently etc. I thought about my convenants with God, and how according to my faith, that is, my complying with the conditions that God has set, He will surely bless me. I am seeing faith a bit this week, and trying to be worthy of receiving the promised blessings. I also see that covenants help me to know what I need to do, and by having God's requirement thus laid out, and a promise with Him, this gives me the opportunity to meet them.]
We also had an excellent lesson with the neighbour of a family of
recent converts, Valeria. We showed up at the member's house to find
another family visiting them, so they were there helping in the
lesson, and then the family of the Branch President arrived, etc.
Thus, we had many people who were able to testify of the truthfulness
of the work and help Valeria to feel comfortable. The same family is
also helping another woman, Victoria, to learn the Gospel, and she's
progressing very well. We've read 3 Nephi 27 a few times with her, and
though she hasn't been very much invited by us to follow the Saviour's
example and be baptised, she was introduced to the church by attending
her friend's baptism—thus, it's something that she's thinking about
and something that I know will bless her and her family. I know that
the authority required to perform a baptism and actually receive a
remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost is only present in
this church.
Happy Canada Day! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it, and I hope
that Mom is having a good time! I love you all and I look forward to
hearing from you in the coming week!
Elder Schlachter
Sunday, July 3, 2011
June 27, 2011, La Rioja, Argentina
Dear Family,
How are you? I am well—I feel a bit more energized and rested this week (thank you for the prayers!). I also started making a list of things to tell you this week, to enlarge my memory!
Guillermo was baptized! He finished reading the Book of Mormon this week, and he brought friends to his baptism. He even came alone to church the week before, which he didn't usually do. He's doing very well. His baptism was also super-well organized—we had the interview finished a week and a half before the baptism, and then we coordinated with the Ward mission leader (Marcos) such that we really only had to show up at the baptism.
We finally found another investigator this week, Daniel. He had been living in the house of our Ward mission leader for a few months, went to another province (disappeared) for a few weeks, and now he's back. After inviting him to Guillermo's baptism, we invited him to be baptized with the phrase, "So, Daniel, when are we going to have your baptism?" He seems to be all right, but needs to get married to his live-in girl friend, and we'll be visiting him this week to help him out. He's presently living with his sister, who is also a member of the church, so we believe that he's in good hands.
Also, winter started this week! The day was marked by a cold, misty, showering rain, which is apparently rather common here but we've only experienced it on one day so far. Apparently, it snows rather often in La Rioja, thus, in about a month we can be expecting a few centimetres to stay on the ground for a few days.
We had a mysterious thing happen this week: we got back to the apartment to find a bag on the doorstep. Further examination revealed the bag to be filled with... copies of the Book of Mormon, assorted invitations to church activities in 2004, a few other church books, and a church agenda from 2003. We found that the materials belonged to the Ward Mission leader of the time, and so... now we need to pass by his house and see what happened! We're hoping that he moved away and the family is giving us his extra things, but we don't know!
Also, a good line from this week: "My job is not to push you into the chapel—I'm a regular young man just like you!" We're trying to be a bit more bold and efficient in explaining our purpose as missionaries! In a talk that Elder Holland gave while I was at the MTC, he told us (roughly): 'My wife has an Avon lady who's more persistent than you are!, and she's only selling mascara!' Thus, we're trying to be more effective in teaching right away when we meet someone, and in helping them make effective commitments.
Thank you for your letters! I'm glad to hear that all are doing well, and look forward to hearing from you in the coming week!
Love,
Elder Schlachter
P.S. I've attached a few photos —technical challenges with the computers here are making it hard to send them the usual way!
P.S.S. Also, Kammy did send me her address last week, so her letter has been sent.
June 20, 2011, La Rioja, Argentina
Dear Family,
This week has gone very quickly! An investigator, Guillermo, is being
baptised this Saturday. We're working on finding more people! We've
been working more with the members.
We had our first sacrament meeting and branch council with a new
branch president. We also had a branch activity today--we ate 'locro',
a stew.
Happy Father's Day Dad! (It was also Father's Day here)
Somehow I feel a bit sleepy and it's hard to write!
Hope all are well,
Love,
Elder Schlachter
This week has gone very quickly! An investigator, Guillermo, is being
baptised this Saturday. We're working on finding more people! We've
been working more with the members.
We had our first sacrament meeting and branch council with a new
branch president. We also had a branch activity today--we ate 'locro',
a stew.
Happy Father's Day Dad! (It was also Father's Day here)
Somehow I feel a bit sleepy and it's hard to write!
Hope all are well,
Love,
Elder Schlachter
June 13, 2011, La Rioja, Argentina
Dear Family,
Cartas--gracias,
Me siento muy cansado--
¡Trabajaremos!
[Letter--thanks
I feel very tired
let's work]
We've had a somewhat busy week—with a conference of the missionaries
of La Rioja and Catamarca and a Stake Conference for all of Argentina,
broadcast from Salt Lake.
Las reuniones
Comieron la semana,
pero aprendí.
[the meetings
ate the week
but I learned]
I think that I'm better learning in a practical sense how important it
was that the Gospel was restored. I know that the Book of Mormon is
true, and that it evidences that, to quote the Doctrine and Covenants,
'There is a God in Heaven and He does call and inspire men to His holy
work.'
One investigator in Villa Dolores told us how it is hard for him
to believe in God, given his understanding and experience of this and
that, etc. but the conclusion was that we also knew and acknowledged
all the things that to him were doubts and stumblingblocks, but the
difference of personal experience through prayer, and the authorized
ordinances of the the gospel in their correct form, through which the
power of Godliness is manifest, changes the perspective and allows us
to see things with our spiritual eyes a bit more open. I know that it is
only through this church that we can really follow God in His own
path, simply because God established it and guides it today in a real
and direct sense.
Other thoughts from this week included considering what exactly
obedience is—the summary is that it is obedience to the written words
of Christ, guided and made alive by divine guidance through the Holy
Spirit. Consider Nephi's words that the words of Christ will tell us
all things that we should do, and the Holy Ghost will show us all
things that we should do. I know that the Spirit does provide guidance
in all things, according to our faith and desire to listen and to
obey. Obedience to the commandments includes obedience to personal
commandments—specific application as prompted by the Holy Ghost. The
gospel aims to bless us with the gift of the Holy Ghost in this life
so that we may be able to return to live with God. Specific guidance
is required, and also specific personal witness of eternal truths.
Otherwise, this week I did receive the Easter candies and six
envelopes of pen refills! They do fit—thank you very much for sending
me them! It took a while for me to get them because all of my mail
arrives in Cordoba, and then it takes a while to travel the eight
hours or so to La Rioja—usually it comes after a missionary has had to
travel to Cordoba for meetings, etc. which happens about once a month.
I was happy to receive the birthday letter!
Considering differences between Villa Dolores and La Rioja, people do
talk differently here—it's a bit more common to pronounce "rr" more as
"sh," but other than that it's difficult for me to perceive specific
differences. Panaderías are also much less common; I think we had one
every couple blocks in Villa Dolores, but here we have only one
nearby, and they sell two kinds of bread as opposed to about six in my
favourite Villa Dolorensean panadería. Likewise, alfahores are less
common. There are more dirt roads and half-constructed houses, and
also, everybody has a laptop! Every plaza has free Wifi, and is
generally occupied by children playing games on their laptops. There
are also more families in their houses than there seemed to be in
Villa Dolores.
Hope you are well,
Love,
Elder Schlachter
Cartas--gracias,
Me siento muy cansado--
¡Trabajaremos!
[Letter--thanks
I feel very tired
let's work]
We've had a somewhat busy week—with a conference of the missionaries
of La Rioja and Catamarca and a Stake Conference for all of Argentina,
broadcast from Salt Lake.
Las reuniones
Comieron la semana,
pero aprendí.
[the meetings
ate the week
but I learned]
I think that I'm better learning in a practical sense how important it
was that the Gospel was restored. I know that the Book of Mormon is
true, and that it evidences that, to quote the Doctrine and Covenants,
'There is a God in Heaven and He does call and inspire men to His holy
work.'
One investigator in Villa Dolores told us how it is hard for him
to believe in God, given his understanding and experience of this and
that, etc. but the conclusion was that we also knew and acknowledged
all the things that to him were doubts and stumblingblocks, but the
difference of personal experience through prayer, and the authorized
ordinances of the the gospel in their correct form, through which the
power of Godliness is manifest, changes the perspective and allows us
to see things with our spiritual eyes a bit more open. I know that it is
only through this church that we can really follow God in His own
path, simply because God established it and guides it today in a real
and direct sense.
Other thoughts from this week included considering what exactly
obedience is—the summary is that it is obedience to the written words
of Christ, guided and made alive by divine guidance through the Holy
Spirit. Consider Nephi's words that the words of Christ will tell us
all things that we should do, and the Holy Ghost will show us all
things that we should do. I know that the Spirit does provide guidance
in all things, according to our faith and desire to listen and to
obey. Obedience to the commandments includes obedience to personal
commandments—specific application as prompted by the Holy Ghost. The
gospel aims to bless us with the gift of the Holy Ghost in this life
so that we may be able to return to live with God. Specific guidance
is required, and also specific personal witness of eternal truths.
Otherwise, this week I did receive the Easter candies and six
envelopes of pen refills! They do fit—thank you very much for sending
me them! It took a while for me to get them because all of my mail
arrives in Cordoba, and then it takes a while to travel the eight
hours or so to La Rioja—usually it comes after a missionary has had to
travel to Cordoba for meetings, etc. which happens about once a month.
I was happy to receive the birthday letter!
Considering differences between Villa Dolores and La Rioja, people do
talk differently here—it's a bit more common to pronounce "rr" more as
"sh," but other than that it's difficult for me to perceive specific
differences. Panaderías are also much less common; I think we had one
every couple blocks in Villa Dolores, but here we have only one
nearby, and they sell two kinds of bread as opposed to about six in my
favourite Villa Dolorensean panadería. Likewise, alfahores are less
common. There are more dirt roads and half-constructed houses, and
also, everybody has a laptop! Every plaza has free Wifi, and is
generally occupied by children playing games on their laptops. There
are also more families in their houses than there seemed to be in
Villa Dolores.
Hope you are well,
Love,
Elder Schlachter
June 6, 2011, La Rioja, Argentina
Dear Family,
How are you? I am well--I find myself today using a computer in a
different shop than normal, and it's very slow, thus, I haven't much
time to write.
This week has been good. We're teaching a man who was baptised a few
months ago, but somehow the confimation didn't happen--thus, he must
be rebaptised. He's improving all the time, is in Mormon in the Book
of Mormon and has read "Gospel Principles." We're also visiting
members rather often (and they're giving us more references) and we
organized the Area Book this morning--we have so many Teaching Records
that we might have to look for a three inch binder! However, we'll
start by looking for these families that the Elders have taught in the
past (all the way back to 2005). I know that we will find miracles as
we look diligently thus for people, because I know that God is
preparing many people to receive the gospel, and there are many ways
that He may choose to lead us to them or put us in contact.
Otherwise, we had a good practice this week as we prepared to teach an
investigator about sexual purity. We thought he might have a problem,
based on his situation and comments from friends of his, so we put
together a list of many possible objections or responses to the
specific point, and then practised a few of them in our companionship
study. A couple of my favourites were, "But God doesn't teach that,"
(answer: showing him our ministerial certificates signed by God's
living prophet, and teaching that if the Book of Mormon is true, then
Thomas S. Monson speaks for God as His prophet), "It's not important
to live commandments--I just want to get baptised," (answer: baptism
is a covenant to keep the commandments--it only works (remission of
sins, companionship of the Holy Ghost) if we're honestly striving to
follow all the commandments with an honest heart), and "What exxaactly
would be crossing the line and sinning?" (answer: that's hardly a
worthy question--think about your situuations in the context of where
they will lead you to go--you only want to choose strictly what God
desires because that's what happiness is). Thus, we felt that we
learned a bit and were lead by the the Spirit in helping understand
these and other questions, and being able to teach the true doctines
clearly and boldly.
We were also lead to a family, Avila-Fuentes, that is honestly looking
for God's guidance to raise their family. We had a really good lesson
with them with a single mother in the ward, her 15-year old daughter,
and 12-year old son (and 3-year old daughter), and they all clearly
explained how the gospel has changed the life of their family and them
each individually (véase Alma 5:7).
It's been a good week.
Also, thank you for looking into my banking affairs. I had asked about
the credit card because the PIN is necessary to use an ATM with it.
However, I discovered that my debit card works fine (it must have been
a temporary problem with a specific machine), and thus I think I'll be
fine--$1000-ish pesos could probably buy a car! I withdrew a bit as I
mentioned for tickets for the bus to the Rioja, and I'll be getting a
refund for the mission for that in a couple weeks, giving me thus a
$200 float of personal money, which is enough for anything that comes
up.
Thank you for your love and prayers!
Love,
Elder Schlachter
How are you? I am well--I find myself today using a computer in a
different shop than normal, and it's very slow, thus, I haven't much
time to write.
This week has been good. We're teaching a man who was baptised a few
months ago, but somehow the confimation didn't happen--thus, he must
be rebaptised. He's improving all the time, is in Mormon in the Book
of Mormon and has read "Gospel Principles." We're also visiting
members rather often (and they're giving us more references) and we
organized the Area Book this morning--we have so many Teaching Records
that we might have to look for a three inch binder! However, we'll
start by looking for these families that the Elders have taught in the
past (all the way back to 2005). I know that we will find miracles as
we look diligently thus for people, because I know that God is
preparing many people to receive the gospel, and there are many ways
that He may choose to lead us to them or put us in contact.
Otherwise, we had a good practice this week as we prepared to teach an
investigator about sexual purity. We thought he might have a problem,
based on his situation and comments from friends of his, so we put
together a list of many possible objections or responses to the
specific point, and then practised a few of them in our companionship
study. A couple of my favourites were, "But God doesn't teach that,"
(answer: showing him our ministerial certificates signed by God's
living prophet, and teaching that if the Book of Mormon is true, then
Thomas S. Monson speaks for God as His prophet), "It's not important
to live commandments--I just want to get baptised," (answer: baptism
is a covenant to keep the commandments--it only works (remission of
sins, companionship of the Holy Ghost) if we're honestly striving to
follow all the commandments with an honest heart), and "What exxaactly
would be crossing the line and sinning?" (answer: that's hardly a
worthy question--think about your situuations in the context of where
they will lead you to go--you only want to choose strictly what God
desires because that's what happiness is). Thus, we felt that we
learned a bit and were lead by the the Spirit in helping understand
these and other questions, and being able to teach the true doctines
clearly and boldly.
We were also lead to a family, Avila-Fuentes, that is honestly looking
for God's guidance to raise their family. We had a really good lesson
with them with a single mother in the ward, her 15-year old daughter,
and 12-year old son (and 3-year old daughter), and they all clearly
explained how the gospel has changed the life of their family and them
each individually (véase Alma 5:7).
It's been a good week.
Also, thank you for looking into my banking affairs. I had asked about
the credit card because the PIN is necessary to use an ATM with it.
However, I discovered that my debit card works fine (it must have been
a temporary problem with a specific machine), and thus I think I'll be
fine--$1000-ish pesos could probably buy a car! I withdrew a bit as I
mentioned for tickets for the bus to the Rioja, and I'll be getting a
refund for the mission for that in a couple weeks, giving me thus a
$200 float of personal money, which is enough for anything that comes
up.
Thank you for your love and prayers!
Love,
Elder Schlachter
May 30, 2011, La Rioja, Argentina
Querida Familia,
Thank you very much for your letters! I enjoyed the photos, and
hearing about Stake Conference (Elder Malm spoke at the MTC while I
was there!).
This week has gone rather quicky. We don't have many investigators, so
we're busy inviting people (contacting "a ful" as they would say
here), and visiting active members, and less active families to find
people to teach! We're also working hard to gain more of the members'
confidence, by filling out progress reports, consulting with the
bishop, offering to serve and help, and generally trying to be
powerful, worthy, hard-working missionaries that they can trust and
that will be accompanied by the Spirit!
The branch here is a bit small—normal attendance is about thirty, but
I do expect it to grow, as the branch has goals to do so, and the
organizations seem to be working well. One long-time member says that
this branch was the first in the Rioja, and is the most frequently
split! We're hoping to grow the branch and split it, in place of the
looming threat of closing it if activity decreases too much!
I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that this church is based
on and guided through real revelation from God to His prophets, and to
all church members and leaders. We have been blessed with so much to
help us to return to our Heavenly Father! Baptism that actually cleans
of sin; the gift of the Holy Ghost that is actually that! I want to
share these things with a bit more enthusiasm and boldness this week.
I love my Heavenly Father and I do want to serve Him, for Him!
Hope you are well, love you all,
Elder Schlachter
P.S. Thank you for the music! I'll probably learn a line or two in the
moments when we're by a piano! We have a stake choir here, and stake
conference in a couple weeks. Elder Strong is playing the piano, and
I'm thus singing!
Thank you very much for your letters! I enjoyed the photos, and
hearing about Stake Conference (Elder Malm spoke at the MTC while I
was there!).
This week has gone rather quicky. We don't have many investigators, so
we're busy inviting people (contacting "a ful" as they would say
here), and visiting active members, and less active families to find
people to teach! We're also working hard to gain more of the members'
confidence, by filling out progress reports, consulting with the
bishop, offering to serve and help, and generally trying to be
powerful, worthy, hard-working missionaries that they can trust and
that will be accompanied by the Spirit!
The branch here is a bit small—normal attendance is about thirty, but
I do expect it to grow, as the branch has goals to do so, and the
organizations seem to be working well. One long-time member says that
this branch was the first in the Rioja, and is the most frequently
split! We're hoping to grow the branch and split it, in place of the
looming threat of closing it if activity decreases too much!
I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that this church is based
on and guided through real revelation from God to His prophets, and to
all church members and leaders. We have been blessed with so much to
help us to return to our Heavenly Father! Baptism that actually cleans
of sin; the gift of the Holy Ghost that is actually that! I want to
share these things with a bit more enthusiasm and boldness this week.
I love my Heavenly Father and I do want to serve Him, for Him!
Hope you are well, love you all,
Elder Schlachter
P.S. Thank you for the music! I'll probably learn a line or two in the
moments when we're by a piano! We have a stake choir here, and stake
conference in a couple weeks. Elder Strong is playing the piano, and
I'm thus singing!
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