Sorry but this one will be really short. This week has been crazy and there are a million things that went down, but none of them are worthwhile to tell you about. We are working hard and doing a lot... so right now we need to get going. We have three baptisms this week and some in the upcoming weeks. So we are running around like wild men.
There has been rain all week, so I’ve broken in my new boots pretty well, a little too well... We got wet almost every day. It has been a little dampening on the work. For some reason people here don’t want to let two wet boys into their houses when there is rain. SOMETIMES yes, but not this week. We have however been working amazingly hard and have done fairly well.
Here is a little fun story to share with you all about a comment my Mother always tells me. She tells me to "shine". Well, it is funny she says that because I try. I’m a pretty smiley person, but not always. It is amazing how much effect a smile has with people. So, I smile a lot to cheer people up, even if I don’t feel like smiling. Anyway, this week we had a meeting after church. Everyone was hungry because it was time to eat and everyone had been fasting. Also tired because we all drudged through the rain and mud to get to church. So I started smiling and enjoyed the effects of it. Then the ward secretary who is Uncle Dursley`s twin brother (mustache and all... from the movie) starts giggling. I normally don’t get that... from men, especially a fully grown and serious man. Everyone looks at him of course and he points at me. So everyone looks at me too. I smile back and everyone in the room just smiles. It was a fun moment. But the best part is that the ward secretary says, "You have this friendly face. I’d bet you have a lot of friends, I’d bet your friends with everyone you talk to". That just made the moment even sweeter. It was nice to see such a wonderful reaction from the people I work so closely with. So I hope I am finally able to report home that I am shining.
Christmas is coming up... so I thought I’d put a list together of all the things I would like from the fam and friends. So here it is:
1. A letter... HAND WRITTEN... and more than one page
2. A current photo... with the letter. Just one is good enough
3. For all that can... be home so that I can talk to you.
And that is about it.
All the stores around here have their Christmas stuff out and it makes me long for snow. Unfortunately there is only heat and muggy rain. Perhaps a miracle will happen.
I love you all,
Elder Steinkuhler
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
through prayer she received a powerful witness
Well, I will start this out with an apology. We played soccer this morning and I took a direct hit to the face several times. And scraped off about all the skin on my left leg (for those of you who know me well, you`ll know it is nothing new). But that means my brain is still kind of running on low brain power. So, sorry if this is really random.
This week was amazingly weird and long... but great! According to the mission standards we are still one of the best in the mission. I’ll stop telling you all what number, but we`re doing good. It feels good knowing that we are doing well. We are seeing a lot of hard work and success in our area. I’ve written down a few things noteworthy to tell you all about.
First of all... this Saturday something weird happened. We had a meeting early in the morning and almost no one could go. We are trying to train the ward missionaries. Well, two showed up... two ladies. We sit down to teach them and one of them had a seizure. She started shaking and spluttering up water. It was pretty scary. But my companion and I pulled out the good old oil (no joke on the old part) and gave her a blessing. It was interesting because my companion had never done it in Spanish. All I had to say to her was... Sleep. And she slept. The other lady said she`d never seen it so bad before. After awhile she came to her senses and went home to sleep more. But that was a fun early morning wake up call. I'm glad we are both worthy Priesthood holders.
Well, about 6 months ago my shoes died and I bought new ones. It rains here a lot, so the souls basically just died. And when I step on mud (unpreventable) it gets into my shoes. I got tired of it, so I went out and bought a new pair of shoes this week. I bought some nice ankle high boots with WOODEN bottoms. So much cooler and funner (FYI=Funner does not get caught by spellchecker). I’ll try to send pictures. I now have two pairs of shoes with wooden bottoms. I like them a lot more. They don't wear out and are actually pretty comfortable. I admit it is like walking around with a piece of tile strapped to your feet because they are so hard... but I don't walk that much. However, I do walk around in the mud a lot.
On that note.... it rained a lot this week. Like 3 times and the last one was a mini storm... some people had their houses ruined because of the strong winds. It was pretty fun. And my companion and I got all muddy and wet... fun times.
Something I am just bursting to tell you all. Last Sunday we found this family. It was Mother`s Day here and so I told this lady I had a Mother`s Day present for her and we walked into her yard. The whole family was outside chilling in the shade. We taught that God is our Heavenly Father and what the Book of Mormon is. Also that we can pray to know if it`s true. We set up an appointment and left. We were going to come back on Tuesday, but there was no time because the Zone Conference went long. I had the lady in my mind for a long time afterwards, but there was never time to go by. Finally on Saturday someone stood us up so we had a little bit of time. We booked it over to her place and found her there with her kids. She was washing clothes (by hand... as is normal) and just leaves everything to come talk to us. We sit down in her house with her kids. They were watching TV and I always find it distracting so I asked them to turn it off... but they only turned off the volume. So we start and pray. My companion still has troubles speaking... so he helped me with the lesson part (we taught the Restoration) but then got lost when we started speaking fast and about specific needs. So he tried to tranquilize the kids as I taught. MIB 2 comes on TV and that TOTALLY distracted me. I asked her if she thought the Book of Mormon was true and she said yes. That surprised me and so we read the last paragraph in the introduction page to the Book of Mormon. While she was reading I was looking at all the kids running all over the place and the movie going and a thought entered my mind. It was a quote from Preach My Gospel about someone that had a similar experience and the thought entered his mind to pay attention. I looked at her and focused all my energy on not loosing concentration. I asked her if she believed The Book of Mormon was true... again... then if she thought Christ was our Savior... if Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God.... and if The Church of Jesus Christ was the true church of God. She said yes to every question. The spirit filled the room and I forgot about the kids and craziness going on. I looked deep into her eyes and saw that she was completely and honestly sincere about all of that. I invited her to get baptized and she said yes. I love seeing the power the Book of Mormon has in the lives of others. She knew nothing, but through prayer she received a powerful witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. That is just one of the many times this has happened to me. The difference was how the Spirit pulled my mind out of the world to focus on the needs of this lady when no one else was listening to her. It was great!
Well, things are going great! I’m working hard and enjoying it. This was a rather rough week, but we pulled through with flying colors. I’m loving the work and don’t want to go home. Sorry, but I think I’ll probably stay out here as long as possible. I hope no one is missing me too much. But I also hope you know I miss you all dearly. What more can I say?
"I’m good family... Had a great week... tell you about it next week. Love ya"
I love you all...
Elder Tommy Steinkuhler
This week was amazingly weird and long... but great! According to the mission standards we are still one of the best in the mission. I’ll stop telling you all what number, but we`re doing good. It feels good knowing that we are doing well. We are seeing a lot of hard work and success in our area. I’ve written down a few things noteworthy to tell you all about.
First of all... this Saturday something weird happened. We had a meeting early in the morning and almost no one could go. We are trying to train the ward missionaries. Well, two showed up... two ladies. We sit down to teach them and one of them had a seizure. She started shaking and spluttering up water. It was pretty scary. But my companion and I pulled out the good old oil (no joke on the old part) and gave her a blessing. It was interesting because my companion had never done it in Spanish. All I had to say to her was... Sleep. And she slept. The other lady said she`d never seen it so bad before. After awhile she came to her senses and went home to sleep more. But that was a fun early morning wake up call. I'm glad we are both worthy Priesthood holders.
Well, about 6 months ago my shoes died and I bought new ones. It rains here a lot, so the souls basically just died. And when I step on mud (unpreventable) it gets into my shoes. I got tired of it, so I went out and bought a new pair of shoes this week. I bought some nice ankle high boots with WOODEN bottoms. So much cooler and funner (FYI=Funner does not get caught by spellchecker). I’ll try to send pictures. I now have two pairs of shoes with wooden bottoms. I like them a lot more. They don't wear out and are actually pretty comfortable. I admit it is like walking around with a piece of tile strapped to your feet because they are so hard... but I don't walk that much. However, I do walk around in the mud a lot.
On that note.... it rained a lot this week. Like 3 times and the last one was a mini storm... some people had their houses ruined because of the strong winds. It was pretty fun. And my companion and I got all muddy and wet... fun times.
Something I am just bursting to tell you all. Last Sunday we found this family. It was Mother`s Day here and so I told this lady I had a Mother`s Day present for her and we walked into her yard. The whole family was outside chilling in the shade. We taught that God is our Heavenly Father and what the Book of Mormon is. Also that we can pray to know if it`s true. We set up an appointment and left. We were going to come back on Tuesday, but there was no time because the Zone Conference went long. I had the lady in my mind for a long time afterwards, but there was never time to go by. Finally on Saturday someone stood us up so we had a little bit of time. We booked it over to her place and found her there with her kids. She was washing clothes (by hand... as is normal) and just leaves everything to come talk to us. We sit down in her house with her kids. They were watching TV and I always find it distracting so I asked them to turn it off... but they only turned off the volume. So we start and pray. My companion still has troubles speaking... so he helped me with the lesson part (we taught the Restoration) but then got lost when we started speaking fast and about specific needs. So he tried to tranquilize the kids as I taught. MIB 2 comes on TV and that TOTALLY distracted me. I asked her if she thought the Book of Mormon was true and she said yes. That surprised me and so we read the last paragraph in the introduction page to the Book of Mormon. While she was reading I was looking at all the kids running all over the place and the movie going and a thought entered my mind. It was a quote from Preach My Gospel about someone that had a similar experience and the thought entered his mind to pay attention. I looked at her and focused all my energy on not loosing concentration. I asked her if she believed The Book of Mormon was true... again... then if she thought Christ was our Savior... if Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God.... and if The Church of Jesus Christ was the true church of God. She said yes to every question. The spirit filled the room and I forgot about the kids and craziness going on. I looked deep into her eyes and saw that she was completely and honestly sincere about all of that. I invited her to get baptized and she said yes. I love seeing the power the Book of Mormon has in the lives of others. She knew nothing, but through prayer she received a powerful witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. That is just one of the many times this has happened to me. The difference was how the Spirit pulled my mind out of the world to focus on the needs of this lady when no one else was listening to her. It was great!
Well, things are going great! I’m working hard and enjoying it. This was a rather rough week, but we pulled through with flying colors. I’m loving the work and don’t want to go home. Sorry, but I think I’ll probably stay out here as long as possible. I hope no one is missing me too much. But I also hope you know I miss you all dearly. What more can I say?
"I’m good family... Had a great week... tell you about it next week. Love ya"
I love you all...
Elder Tommy Steinkuhler
Monday, October 19, 2009
Easy come, easy go.
Well, I have to admit, I want to brag it up. We started a new system in the mission. The President is listing the top missionaries of the mission every week. Every key factor of the mission is weighed and then totaled. Of the 125ish companionships, we are ranked at number 20. And that is without baptizing or anything... WE ROCK!!! Sorry... I’ll stop.
Well, Elder Mortensen from St. George Utah is my new companion. He is an amazing elder. He speaks a lot better than I did when I got to the mission, and he is a lot better of a missionary then I ever will be. He really is an example to me. We have been working our hearts off this week. We ended up finding 19 new investigators this week... that was like 3-4 new families!!! I must admit, I’m quite enjoying the new missionary rush. You know... that rush of success you have from the missionaries freshly out of the MTC. Those elders who explode with the Spirit simply because they are so packed full of it. I love it! JUST LOVE IT!
We have had a pretty interesting experience week 1. Normally I don’t tell you all about this, but my companion already wrote home about it, so you can all find it out if you wanted to. We saw a drug deal this week. Day 2 on the mission and we walk by some drug dealer and his client... "just keep on walking elder". Later that day we found a guy who was obviously just doing drugs... HAHAHA... SURPISE!!! We also had a few drunks come up to us for various things. One of them wouldn’t leave us alone, so we gave him our apples an investigator gave us. Easy come, easy go.
The coolest thing about this week was finding. We really have been blessed to just find. We are bold and just walk in... it works out great! I must admit, this was a very powerful week for us. We got a lot done and I feel good about what we did. I don’t really know what all to say. Most of what happened was really personal, so I won’t tell you all. Let us just say that investigators are progressing. We took out a few baptismal goals this week, as well as dropped a few. Easy come, easy go. Some people just are not yet ready. But we also met someone who was just perfectly ready. A bunch of people actually. This week was AMAZING!!!
I’ll write more next week. I’m not really sure what to say this week and out of time all the same.
Love ya,
Tommy Steinkuhler
PS I’m sun burnt now and really blond again.
PPS We cleaned the pinch all morning... it looks pretty good.
Well, Elder Mortensen from St. George Utah is my new companion. He is an amazing elder. He speaks a lot better than I did when I got to the mission, and he is a lot better of a missionary then I ever will be. He really is an example to me. We have been working our hearts off this week. We ended up finding 19 new investigators this week... that was like 3-4 new families!!! I must admit, I’m quite enjoying the new missionary rush. You know... that rush of success you have from the missionaries freshly out of the MTC. Those elders who explode with the Spirit simply because they are so packed full of it. I love it! JUST LOVE IT!
We have had a pretty interesting experience week 1. Normally I don’t tell you all about this, but my companion already wrote home about it, so you can all find it out if you wanted to. We saw a drug deal this week. Day 2 on the mission and we walk by some drug dealer and his client... "just keep on walking elder". Later that day we found a guy who was obviously just doing drugs... HAHAHA... SURPISE!!! We also had a few drunks come up to us for various things. One of them wouldn’t leave us alone, so we gave him our apples an investigator gave us. Easy come, easy go.
The coolest thing about this week was finding. We really have been blessed to just find. We are bold and just walk in... it works out great! I must admit, this was a very powerful week for us. We got a lot done and I feel good about what we did. I don’t really know what all to say. Most of what happened was really personal, so I won’t tell you all. Let us just say that investigators are progressing. We took out a few baptismal goals this week, as well as dropped a few. Easy come, easy go. Some people just are not yet ready. But we also met someone who was just perfectly ready. A bunch of people actually. This week was AMAZING!!!
I’ll write more next week. I’m not really sure what to say this week and out of time all the same.
Love ya,
Tommy Steinkuhler
PS I’m sun burnt now and really blond again.
PPS We cleaned the pinch all morning... it looks pretty good.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Green
This picture just arrived from President and Sister Asay. Tommy is training again and here is his new companion, meet Elder Mortensen.
Monday, October 12, 2009
the true power of the Book of Mormon in connection with the Spirit
Well, it looks like things are going to change for me again. It is interesting to me that of my 10 transfers here in Argentina I’ve had 8 companions. That means I’ve only been with 2 companions for 2 transfers. Every other companion I’ve been with has stuck around for one transfer and nothing more. Elder Acuña has also left me. But that was somewhat expected. I just hope the Elder I receive will stick around with me a little bit longer. I`d tell you his name, but I cannot. I will find out tomorrow, because I’ll be training again. It feels weird not knowing the name of my companion again. I am currently with Elder Schupple. He is also going to train. He was in the MTC with me. Elder Hodson, my MTC companion is going to train also. YEAH!!! Elder Jones, the other Elder who came with us, left me to be a zone leader. I will miss that big Teddy bear.
Well, I am doing very well. I had a whole lot of things to tell you all. I even wrote some down, but then I changed agendas and now I don't have anything I wrote down... oops. But I have at least a few cool stories to tell you from what I remember. But before I start, I want to explain again that our focus is finding. So when we find, it feels great! It feels like we are completing with our calling as missionaries and will our calling as missionaries working under our great president. If that makes any since to you at all.
We got a reference last week from our zone leaders. They had no clue where it came from, just that it came. We went off to contact it the one day we had time. We got lost because they changed all the numbers on the street. We were walking down the street and I saw a lady sitting on a fence with her baby and I decided to do a contact. The Spirit just told me to ask her about the person we were looking for. She said, wow... that is my Mother. So we chatted and set up a time to come back when her mother would be around. It just turns out that her Mother is the daughter of an inactive member. She knows the missionaries very well and even cleans the churches. When we returned we asked to gather the family and explained to them just The Book of Mormon. It was very easy to feel the Spirit. It was strong in the room and all were impressed by the power it had on us. We invited them to pray and read. They promised they would... and the next time they would invite others as well. We found part of the family that day. There are about 15 in all, and we found 7. They were excited to see us return and are truly waiting for what we have for them. When we finished with the lesson, we asked the son in law to kneel down and pray to find out if what we were teaching was true. He and the family bowed down and he offered his first prayer. The Spirit was strong and I believe many received answers that very day.
A few days after we were walking down the road on our way to an appointment. I felt the Spirit pull me toward a house. I clapped and out came a nice lady. She smiled and said, ‘Hello Elder’. I laughed and said, ‘you must be a member’. We chatted and I walked into her house to meet her family. We sat down and began to learn. She was baptized when she was 12 years old, but stopped going because they moved and then she "didn't have time", that was about 20 years ago. Two days before we clapped on her door, she was talking to her husband about religion. She still says she is Mormon. Her husband is Catholic. The majority of her children are Evangelist. And one of her daughters is studying with the Jehovah`s Witness`. We called the family together and explained The Book of Mormon again. The Spirit washed over us again. We told them they could only know the truth by getting answers from God. We explained clearly and with power. All promised to read and pray who were there in the house. The mother offered the prayer. Something she hadn't done in many, many years. She cried softly as she communicated with her Heavenly Father again. The Spirit down poured on us and we left that house feeling full and edified.
Sunday I went out with Elder Coats, who got here about 6 weeks ago. He doesn't speak well, but has lots of power. We found 3 more. Those and every other person we found this week were just ready. They were all powerful lessons and great memories to me. If there is one thing I learned this week... it is the true power of the Book of Mormon in connection with the Spirit. We need to read from the Book of Mormon every day if we want to feel the Spirit. It is a clear and powerful way of feeling what God wants for us. I'm grateful for the time I have to read daily. I'm grateful for the opportunity to train again. New missionaries have such power, even if they don`t speak Spanish. I'm expecting to receive an American this time. So I’ll be able to learn all over again the Spanish language.
I love you all and expect to hear from you soon. Don’t leave me hanging high and dry.
Don’t forget that you are loved, at least by me.
Elder Tommy Steinkuhler
PS Argentina is going to mundial!!!!
Well, I am doing very well. I had a whole lot of things to tell you all. I even wrote some down, but then I changed agendas and now I don't have anything I wrote down... oops. But I have at least a few cool stories to tell you from what I remember. But before I start, I want to explain again that our focus is finding. So when we find, it feels great! It feels like we are completing with our calling as missionaries and will our calling as missionaries working under our great president. If that makes any since to you at all.
We got a reference last week from our zone leaders. They had no clue where it came from, just that it came. We went off to contact it the one day we had time. We got lost because they changed all the numbers on the street. We were walking down the street and I saw a lady sitting on a fence with her baby and I decided to do a contact. The Spirit just told me to ask her about the person we were looking for. She said, wow... that is my Mother. So we chatted and set up a time to come back when her mother would be around. It just turns out that her Mother is the daughter of an inactive member. She knows the missionaries very well and even cleans the churches. When we returned we asked to gather the family and explained to them just The Book of Mormon. It was very easy to feel the Spirit. It was strong in the room and all were impressed by the power it had on us. We invited them to pray and read. They promised they would... and the next time they would invite others as well. We found part of the family that day. There are about 15 in all, and we found 7. They were excited to see us return and are truly waiting for what we have for them. When we finished with the lesson, we asked the son in law to kneel down and pray to find out if what we were teaching was true. He and the family bowed down and he offered his first prayer. The Spirit was strong and I believe many received answers that very day.
A few days after we were walking down the road on our way to an appointment. I felt the Spirit pull me toward a house. I clapped and out came a nice lady. She smiled and said, ‘Hello Elder’. I laughed and said, ‘you must be a member’. We chatted and I walked into her house to meet her family. We sat down and began to learn. She was baptized when she was 12 years old, but stopped going because they moved and then she "didn't have time", that was about 20 years ago. Two days before we clapped on her door, she was talking to her husband about religion. She still says she is Mormon. Her husband is Catholic. The majority of her children are Evangelist. And one of her daughters is studying with the Jehovah`s Witness`. We called the family together and explained The Book of Mormon again. The Spirit washed over us again. We told them they could only know the truth by getting answers from God. We explained clearly and with power. All promised to read and pray who were there in the house. The mother offered the prayer. Something she hadn't done in many, many years. She cried softly as she communicated with her Heavenly Father again. The Spirit down poured on us and we left that house feeling full and edified.
Sunday I went out with Elder Coats, who got here about 6 weeks ago. He doesn't speak well, but has lots of power. We found 3 more. Those and every other person we found this week were just ready. They were all powerful lessons and great memories to me. If there is one thing I learned this week... it is the true power of the Book of Mormon in connection with the Spirit. We need to read from the Book of Mormon every day if we want to feel the Spirit. It is a clear and powerful way of feeling what God wants for us. I'm grateful for the time I have to read daily. I'm grateful for the opportunity to train again. New missionaries have such power, even if they don`t speak Spanish. I'm expecting to receive an American this time. So I’ll be able to learn all over again the Spanish language.
I love you all and expect to hear from you soon. Don’t leave me hanging high and dry.
Don’t forget that you are loved, at least by me.
Elder Tommy Steinkuhler
PS Argentina is going to mundial!!!!
Monday, October 5, 2009
We explained that feeling as the Holy Ghost
I feel like a broken record, but I swear this was the longest week in history. We did so many things. As most of you know, conference was Saturday and Sunday. So we spent all the week trying to prepare ourselves for it.
Wednesday we had interviews with the president. I got a package!!! I say this not to offend, but to help you understand my joy. I really don't get many letters or packages... So when something does come it is the thrill of a lifetime. Who was it from?! What does it say?! What is inside?! Needless to say, it is amazing to get things from the other world. So thank you mystery person. You know who you are... it`s great!
Anyway, interviews went well. I always expect the president to drop the cane on me... but he always just tells me I'm doing great and to continue doing it. So, I guess I get to stay in the mission for at least up till next interviews.
Thursday we did a Family Home Evening in the church with a whole lot of investigators to teach them a little more about the Prophet Joseph Smith and what a FHE really is. We watched the majority of Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration (which none of you have seen because it hasn't come out yet... hehehe... only missionaries have seen it). It turned out great... with lots of kids. You see, we are teaching a young couple who have 4 kids between the ages of 2 and 6. They are a handful. And we want our investigators to focus, so we normally play with the kids to keep them quiet while the parents learn. I’ll be honest... I still have a headache. Babysitting is something that I can do... it isn't ever easy with 4 kids... but even less easy as a missionary with 1001 rules pertaining to the child-missionary permitted conduct.
Friday we got a lot of people together to finish the movie and play volleyball (which doesn't really exist around here). I again was on child entertainment duty.
Saturday and Sunday during conference I was also on child duty. I basically only heard Priesthood and the last session of Sunday. Which were AMAZING by the way. I fought with kids for hours and then sat down to hear Elder Holland bear pure testimony about the Book of Mormon. It was extremely wonderful. Priesthood was off the spiritual hook as well. I took a million and one notes and only saw 2/5 of conference. I’ll be honest, I was starting to wonder if it was all worth it and then saw the change it made in the 5 investigators who went. DEFINATELY WELL WORTH IT!!!!
The young couple who went have had a very deep change of heart. The wife sat down for the first session on Saturday and during the talk of some lady leaned over to me and told me she had heard the talk already. I looked at her with a puzzled look and she asked me why I look so bewildered. I explained again that conference was happening at this very moment. That she was in fact giving that talk for the first time at that VERY moment. She stared at me and then clutched her chest. Soon tears were forming in her eyes and later she explained to us how she felt. We explained that feeling is the Holy Ghost and she looked at us as if she finally understood. The husband is a little more hard-headed. He only came to one session and loved every minute of it. Hopefully this week we will be able to take out a baptismal goal with both of them.
That wasn't all that happened. A lot more went down, but I can’t really explain how or why. Here is a cool little thing though.
Every day we need to do 5 contacts. Conference makes that hard. But we decided to do it anyway. Between sessions we returned back to our area to find more people. We did divisions with a few young men to get two groups. We took 15 minutes to do contacts. The only thing is that when we do contacts we don't just give them a pamphlet and leave. We try to find them at that very moment. Well, God always blesses us for being faithful and doing what he asks us. I decided to clap a house where a family was working on cleaning their clothes outside. The member that was with me said, "Hey, I know them. I just never thought we had time to stop by, so I never told you." We entered and taught them about the Book of Mormon and left all within 15 minutes. It turns out that they normally are not together, but that day they were because we took advantage of every minute of the day... God helped us find a family of 6.
There are just so many things that happen like that. We go a little bit more and God goes miles ahead of us to prepare our paths.
I’ve been thinking that it has been a long time since I have given my family/friends my testimony. I assume all of you are alright. But I know that there is something I’ve learned here on the mission that I want to share with you all. And it just so happens to be what Elder Holland talked about. The Book of Mormon really is everything. Every person we teach needs to gain a testimony of that book. They often ask us questions and the answer is always simple and findable within the Book of Mormon. We have been asked to divide the wheat from the tariffs more. The best way to do that is find out who is reading from the Book of Mormon and who isn't. It is amazing that every person who reads is progressing. Every person who doesn't gets dropped within a week. Many people have asked me why I don't use the Bible to teach. Well, it is simple. Everything I teach can be easily found within my triple... ESPECIALLY The Book of Mormon.
So I would like to add my testimony to that of Elder Holland. I am not as great at word choice as he, nor am I as powerful of a speaker, nor am I an apostle. But I want you all to know that I know The Book of Mormon is true. It is "the most correct of all the books on earth." I love it`s pages and glory daily in the power it has as I read and share with others what prophets have written to us. I love that book and will continue to read from it every day until the day I die.
Now is that dreadful parting we all hate. The moment where I go back into the Spanish world and leave you all to wait breathless for one more week (I doubt your breathless, but I`d like to imagine so). If anyone wants anything from me... let me know. I think I can find at least 20 minutes to reply to you all. I’ve learned one thing here on the mission. If you want to do anything special... you need to take sleeping time. I basically don't sleep anymore. So, if anyone wants anything... I now know how to find time ;) But in all seriousness... Is there anything I can do for my loyal listeners?
Love you all,
E. Tommy Steinkuhler
Wednesday we had interviews with the president. I got a package!!! I say this not to offend, but to help you understand my joy. I really don't get many letters or packages... So when something does come it is the thrill of a lifetime. Who was it from?! What does it say?! What is inside?! Needless to say, it is amazing to get things from the other world. So thank you mystery person. You know who you are... it`s great!
Anyway, interviews went well. I always expect the president to drop the cane on me... but he always just tells me I'm doing great and to continue doing it. So, I guess I get to stay in the mission for at least up till next interviews.
Thursday we did a Family Home Evening in the church with a whole lot of investigators to teach them a little more about the Prophet Joseph Smith and what a FHE really is. We watched the majority of Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration (which none of you have seen because it hasn't come out yet... hehehe... only missionaries have seen it). It turned out great... with lots of kids. You see, we are teaching a young couple who have 4 kids between the ages of 2 and 6. They are a handful. And we want our investigators to focus, so we normally play with the kids to keep them quiet while the parents learn. I’ll be honest... I still have a headache. Babysitting is something that I can do... it isn't ever easy with 4 kids... but even less easy as a missionary with 1001 rules pertaining to the child-missionary permitted conduct.
Friday we got a lot of people together to finish the movie and play volleyball (which doesn't really exist around here). I again was on child entertainment duty.
Saturday and Sunday during conference I was also on child duty. I basically only heard Priesthood and the last session of Sunday. Which were AMAZING by the way. I fought with kids for hours and then sat down to hear Elder Holland bear pure testimony about the Book of Mormon. It was extremely wonderful. Priesthood was off the spiritual hook as well. I took a million and one notes and only saw 2/5 of conference. I’ll be honest, I was starting to wonder if it was all worth it and then saw the change it made in the 5 investigators who went. DEFINATELY WELL WORTH IT!!!!
The young couple who went have had a very deep change of heart. The wife sat down for the first session on Saturday and during the talk of some lady leaned over to me and told me she had heard the talk already. I looked at her with a puzzled look and she asked me why I look so bewildered. I explained again that conference was happening at this very moment. That she was in fact giving that talk for the first time at that VERY moment. She stared at me and then clutched her chest. Soon tears were forming in her eyes and later she explained to us how she felt. We explained that feeling is the Holy Ghost and she looked at us as if she finally understood. The husband is a little more hard-headed. He only came to one session and loved every minute of it. Hopefully this week we will be able to take out a baptismal goal with both of them.
That wasn't all that happened. A lot more went down, but I can’t really explain how or why. Here is a cool little thing though.
Every day we need to do 5 contacts. Conference makes that hard. But we decided to do it anyway. Between sessions we returned back to our area to find more people. We did divisions with a few young men to get two groups. We took 15 minutes to do contacts. The only thing is that when we do contacts we don't just give them a pamphlet and leave. We try to find them at that very moment. Well, God always blesses us for being faithful and doing what he asks us. I decided to clap a house where a family was working on cleaning their clothes outside. The member that was with me said, "Hey, I know them. I just never thought we had time to stop by, so I never told you." We entered and taught them about the Book of Mormon and left all within 15 minutes. It turns out that they normally are not together, but that day they were because we took advantage of every minute of the day... God helped us find a family of 6.
There are just so many things that happen like that. We go a little bit more and God goes miles ahead of us to prepare our paths.
I’ve been thinking that it has been a long time since I have given my family/friends my testimony. I assume all of you are alright. But I know that there is something I’ve learned here on the mission that I want to share with you all. And it just so happens to be what Elder Holland talked about. The Book of Mormon really is everything. Every person we teach needs to gain a testimony of that book. They often ask us questions and the answer is always simple and findable within the Book of Mormon. We have been asked to divide the wheat from the tariffs more. The best way to do that is find out who is reading from the Book of Mormon and who isn't. It is amazing that every person who reads is progressing. Every person who doesn't gets dropped within a week. Many people have asked me why I don't use the Bible to teach. Well, it is simple. Everything I teach can be easily found within my triple... ESPECIALLY The Book of Mormon.
So I would like to add my testimony to that of Elder Holland. I am not as great at word choice as he, nor am I as powerful of a speaker, nor am I an apostle. But I want you all to know that I know The Book of Mormon is true. It is "the most correct of all the books on earth." I love it`s pages and glory daily in the power it has as I read and share with others what prophets have written to us. I love that book and will continue to read from it every day until the day I die.
Now is that dreadful parting we all hate. The moment where I go back into the Spanish world and leave you all to wait breathless for one more week (I doubt your breathless, but I`d like to imagine so). If anyone wants anything from me... let me know. I think I can find at least 20 minutes to reply to you all. I’ve learned one thing here on the mission. If you want to do anything special... you need to take sleeping time. I basically don't sleep anymore. So, if anyone wants anything... I now know how to find time ;) But in all seriousness... Is there anything I can do for my loyal listeners?
Love you all,
E. Tommy Steinkuhler
Monday, September 28, 2009
Elder Horse Whisperer... that is me
Well, this week was huge. I promise you, God has changed the time continuum or something. I know that the days/weeks are getting longer. There is no way I can tell you all of what happened this week.... but we`ll try. ("Do or do not, there is no try" -Yoda)
First of all... a funny little tid bit about missionary life in Argentina. The majority of members are converts. So they are used to the missionaries knowing more than them and being prepared to do anything. So every once and awhile they just ask us to do something last minute. Last Sunday, 30 minutes before Sacrament... they asked me to give a talk. I was with investigators and had no time to prepare, so sacrament meeting roles around and I sit down to write a quick talk... when the music director comes up and asks me to direct the music. So I go up to the stand and try to plan a talk in my mind. NOT ENOUGH TIME! As I was directing the music I realized I was doing a solo and that the reason I was directing was because no one in the audience (music director included) knew the words or melody. So I gave a talk about music and the power it has. I talked for 15 minutes and sat down. During the last hymn everyone at least tried to sing. It was really cool. The best part is that all the members gave me compliments this week on my wonderfully well written talk and all of them want to learn new music. I guess it was a success... and I guess God knew what he was doing.
Funny story: There are 4 elders in my ward. We went and ate together and were walking in some back roads when we saw in the distance a kid untie his horse. The horse bolted down the road right at us. The other 3 missionaries I was with screamed like little girls and ran for cover. I don't know why... but I jumped out at it and whistled. The horse skidded to a halt about 7 feet from me and took off like a rocket in the opposite direction. It was pretty funny. Then Elder Jones called me Horse Whisperer. Elder Horse Whisperer... that is me.
FUNNY STORY 2!: We went out one morning to contact a few people and put ourselves to do contacts. We saw a few kids in the yard of someone and a few adults, so we went to talk to them. As we are approaching the fence, we hear them call us and realize it is a bunch of ladies. Well, we decided to do the contact anyway. This lady comes up and we start to talk to her. Within about 2 minutes we realize she just wanted to talk to two young men from other countries. She started asking us how old we were, guessing I was about 25 and my companion 24. So we decide to finish talking with her and ask her when her husband would be around. She told us she didn't live there but would give us the direction of her family’s house. As my companion is writing her address down, she looks at me and blatantly says, "Sos lindo"... or in English, "You`re cute". Hmhmhmhmhm...Awkward. I just said thanks and goodbye. And we walked away. I’ll be honest, that kind of thing has happened to us before, but never has it been so blatant and hilarious. One thing I like is when they ask us if we`ll bring them back to the States with us. HAHAHAHAHA NO, soy un misionero!
Okay... now that we are done with all that fun stuff. I would like to talk to you all about a little more serious thing. The temple. It just so turns out I went to the temple again this week. Our ward was going so we decided to provechar (no clue how to say that in English anymore). We brought as many investigators as we could. In total we had 15 investigators and about 5 recent converts that all went with us. We could not go into the temple with them, but we walked around the temple and taught them all. It was a gorgeous day and I might have got a tan. I doubt I’ll be able to send photos today, but I’ll try to get some out. I spent a lot of time thinking about it and I would at least like to describe the investigators who went to the temple.
Damian/Nora: These wonderful people we found doing contacts my first day here in Mayol. They have 4 kids who are just adorable and cry every time we leave. He welcomed us into his house saying, "Yeah, let’s talk. But just so you know.... I don’t believe in God." He started to read The Book of Mormon and I think he is 2nd Nephi. The other day we taught him about Repentance and at the end he asked us, "Who are the gentiles?" It was great! They are some of the most wonderful people I know. They invited us to eat at their house this week and they ended up cooking all day to give us dinner. We had homemade ravioli with fish inside (WONDERFUL!). I’ll try to keep you all updated on big events with them. Just know that they are wonderful and I truly find joy with them.
Gloria: This wonderful lady is the mother of Juan who got baptized my first week here. She is beyond wonderful but can’t get baptized because she needs to get married (difficult here in Argentina). She knows more than most members and befriends every person we teach. I love her to death and all of her family. She is so patient and willing to serve.
Noelia: Also needs to get married. But she received an answer to The Book of Mormon my first week here. Ever since she has done everything we ask of her. The only problem is that she is REALLY pregnant. So it is hard bringing her places (like the temple). But she loves it to death.
Okay, there are a lot more, but I’m out of time. I´d just like to send you all my love. I worry for you all and pray for you all. I’m very happy. I’m working as hard as I possibly can and staying relatively healthy (always a problem for me). Something I learned this week is that children really are innocent. I saw it in the eyes of the children we teach. 3 Nephi 17 really had a powerful impact on me recently. Read it, love it. As for me, I’m off to the wild again. Love you all.
Elder Tommy Steinkuhler
PS Conference is this week!!!! Who is excited? IM EXCITED!!!!
First of all... a funny little tid bit about missionary life in Argentina. The majority of members are converts. So they are used to the missionaries knowing more than them and being prepared to do anything. So every once and awhile they just ask us to do something last minute. Last Sunday, 30 minutes before Sacrament... they asked me to give a talk. I was with investigators and had no time to prepare, so sacrament meeting roles around and I sit down to write a quick talk... when the music director comes up and asks me to direct the music. So I go up to the stand and try to plan a talk in my mind. NOT ENOUGH TIME! As I was directing the music I realized I was doing a solo and that the reason I was directing was because no one in the audience (music director included) knew the words or melody. So I gave a talk about music and the power it has. I talked for 15 minutes and sat down. During the last hymn everyone at least tried to sing. It was really cool. The best part is that all the members gave me compliments this week on my wonderfully well written talk and all of them want to learn new music. I guess it was a success... and I guess God knew what he was doing.
Funny story: There are 4 elders in my ward. We went and ate together and were walking in some back roads when we saw in the distance a kid untie his horse. The horse bolted down the road right at us. The other 3 missionaries I was with screamed like little girls and ran for cover. I don't know why... but I jumped out at it and whistled. The horse skidded to a halt about 7 feet from me and took off like a rocket in the opposite direction. It was pretty funny. Then Elder Jones called me Horse Whisperer. Elder Horse Whisperer... that is me.
FUNNY STORY 2!: We went out one morning to contact a few people and put ourselves to do contacts. We saw a few kids in the yard of someone and a few adults, so we went to talk to them. As we are approaching the fence, we hear them call us and realize it is a bunch of ladies. Well, we decided to do the contact anyway. This lady comes up and we start to talk to her. Within about 2 minutes we realize she just wanted to talk to two young men from other countries. She started asking us how old we were, guessing I was about 25 and my companion 24. So we decide to finish talking with her and ask her when her husband would be around. She told us she didn't live there but would give us the direction of her family’s house. As my companion is writing her address down, she looks at me and blatantly says, "Sos lindo"... or in English, "You`re cute". Hmhmhmhmhm...Awkward. I just said thanks and goodbye. And we walked away. I’ll be honest, that kind of thing has happened to us before, but never has it been so blatant and hilarious. One thing I like is when they ask us if we`ll bring them back to the States with us. HAHAHAHAHA NO, soy un misionero!
Okay... now that we are done with all that fun stuff. I would like to talk to you all about a little more serious thing. The temple. It just so turns out I went to the temple again this week. Our ward was going so we decided to provechar (no clue how to say that in English anymore). We brought as many investigators as we could. In total we had 15 investigators and about 5 recent converts that all went with us. We could not go into the temple with them, but we walked around the temple and taught them all. It was a gorgeous day and I might have got a tan. I doubt I’ll be able to send photos today, but I’ll try to get some out. I spent a lot of time thinking about it and I would at least like to describe the investigators who went to the temple.
Damian/Nora: These wonderful people we found doing contacts my first day here in Mayol. They have 4 kids who are just adorable and cry every time we leave. He welcomed us into his house saying, "Yeah, let’s talk. But just so you know.... I don’t believe in God." He started to read The Book of Mormon and I think he is 2nd Nephi. The other day we taught him about Repentance and at the end he asked us, "Who are the gentiles?" It was great! They are some of the most wonderful people I know. They invited us to eat at their house this week and they ended up cooking all day to give us dinner. We had homemade ravioli with fish inside (WONDERFUL!). I’ll try to keep you all updated on big events with them. Just know that they are wonderful and I truly find joy with them.
Gloria: This wonderful lady is the mother of Juan who got baptized my first week here. She is beyond wonderful but can’t get baptized because she needs to get married (difficult here in Argentina). She knows more than most members and befriends every person we teach. I love her to death and all of her family. She is so patient and willing to serve.
Noelia: Also needs to get married. But she received an answer to The Book of Mormon my first week here. Ever since she has done everything we ask of her. The only problem is that she is REALLY pregnant. So it is hard bringing her places (like the temple). But she loves it to death.
Okay, there are a lot more, but I’m out of time. I´d just like to send you all my love. I worry for you all and pray for you all. I’m very happy. I’m working as hard as I possibly can and staying relatively healthy (always a problem for me). Something I learned this week is that children really are innocent. I saw it in the eyes of the children we teach. 3 Nephi 17 really had a powerful impact on me recently. Read it, love it. As for me, I’m off to the wild again. Love you all.
Elder Tommy Steinkuhler
PS Conference is this week!!!! Who is excited? IM EXCITED!!!!
Monday, September 21, 2009
They call us friends
Well, it looks like another week down. I can’t believe it has passed. I figure I’ll tell you all what time seems like for me, because everyone seems to mention it so much.
They say that the first year is hard and long... but the second is fast and easy. I fully disagree. I`d say that the people who say that are people who slacked off and didn't work their last year. Most people compare the mission to a mountain. At one year you reach the top and start to descend. I feel like I just climbed a mountain... yes. But instead of going downhill I started rock-climbing. But trust me, it is a lovely ascent. People say that "Days are like weeks and weeks are like days" on the mission. I kind of agree. The days feel like weeks, but the weeks feel more like months. Fortunately I think I’ll get my full 2 years out of my time here.
Another little thing about the mission right now, I feel like I owe you all apologies. Every Monday I receive e-mails that say that you are all praying for me... and that night I pray for all of you. I try to keep it up, but honestly... by Sunday I'm just praying for my investigators and that they all make it to church the next day. I’ll try to do better and be more consistent. Sorry.
Okay... that all said, don't take me wrong. I am doing wonderful. I love being here on the mission. We are working with some of the best people around. We brought a family to church this week that had never gone before. The husband wasn't able to come last minute, but his wife and 4 kids came. It was about a mile...ish walk to the church from their house. The kids range from 2 to 6 years of age. I know it is against the rules... but with the permission of the mother, I carried the smallest. We had a great time and the kids loved being in church. As well as the mother. When we brought them home we turned to leave and all the kids started yelling, "Come back!!! Don't leave us!" It was heart wrenching. The family has come so far. We clapped their house my first day in the area. The first time in their house they told us they didn't believe in God... or Christ. Now they are reading and praying basically every day. They have desires to change, get married and want to feed us. It is amazing to see the changes in the lives of people as we teach them. They call us friends and wait expectantly for our visits. I know it will take time, but we have surely found some "wheat" as opposed to "tariff".
We have the goal to find every day and as a minimum 10 people every week. We've been fulfilling this challenge, and then some. But as our President has taught us... we now need to start separating the wheat from the tariff. With so many found in one week and so little time to teach, we drop investigators all the time. If the Spirit doesn't tell us they will progress, we drop them. It is hard to tell good people that we won’t be coming around anymore... but it gives us more time to teach people who are ready for baptism. The mission is an interesting lifestyle. Full of it`s grand joys and small pains. I’ve learned so much since I’ve been here and continue to learn every day. Well, my reasoning for telling you all this is to explain a little more about why I don't write many stories anymore. With all of the sifting we are doing, I don't know how things will end. Just so you all know... we have 7 people who are ready for baptism, they just need to do this or stop doing that... and they will be baptized. That battle goes well here against Satan.
Well, I haven’t heard from a lot of you recently. I hope all is well and that all the birthdays are going well. I have everyone’s birthday written out on that calendar I got last Christmas, but I always forget to say happy birthday when the Monday comes around. So... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all. I love you all and have faith that all is well. I’m doing great here!
Talk to you all next week,
Elder Steinkuhler
PS It got hot again.
They say that the first year is hard and long... but the second is fast and easy. I fully disagree. I`d say that the people who say that are people who slacked off and didn't work their last year. Most people compare the mission to a mountain. At one year you reach the top and start to descend. I feel like I just climbed a mountain... yes. But instead of going downhill I started rock-climbing. But trust me, it is a lovely ascent. People say that "Days are like weeks and weeks are like days" on the mission. I kind of agree. The days feel like weeks, but the weeks feel more like months. Fortunately I think I’ll get my full 2 years out of my time here.
Another little thing about the mission right now, I feel like I owe you all apologies. Every Monday I receive e-mails that say that you are all praying for me... and that night I pray for all of you. I try to keep it up, but honestly... by Sunday I'm just praying for my investigators and that they all make it to church the next day. I’ll try to do better and be more consistent. Sorry.
Okay... that all said, don't take me wrong. I am doing wonderful. I love being here on the mission. We are working with some of the best people around. We brought a family to church this week that had never gone before. The husband wasn't able to come last minute, but his wife and 4 kids came. It was about a mile...ish walk to the church from their house. The kids range from 2 to 6 years of age. I know it is against the rules... but with the permission of the mother, I carried the smallest. We had a great time and the kids loved being in church. As well as the mother. When we brought them home we turned to leave and all the kids started yelling, "Come back!!! Don't leave us!" It was heart wrenching. The family has come so far. We clapped their house my first day in the area. The first time in their house they told us they didn't believe in God... or Christ. Now they are reading and praying basically every day. They have desires to change, get married and want to feed us. It is amazing to see the changes in the lives of people as we teach them. They call us friends and wait expectantly for our visits. I know it will take time, but we have surely found some "wheat" as opposed to "tariff".
We have the goal to find every day and as a minimum 10 people every week. We've been fulfilling this challenge, and then some. But as our President has taught us... we now need to start separating the wheat from the tariff. With so many found in one week and so little time to teach, we drop investigators all the time. If the Spirit doesn't tell us they will progress, we drop them. It is hard to tell good people that we won’t be coming around anymore... but it gives us more time to teach people who are ready for baptism. The mission is an interesting lifestyle. Full of it`s grand joys and small pains. I’ve learned so much since I’ve been here and continue to learn every day. Well, my reasoning for telling you all this is to explain a little more about why I don't write many stories anymore. With all of the sifting we are doing, I don't know how things will end. Just so you all know... we have 7 people who are ready for baptism, they just need to do this or stop doing that... and they will be baptized. That battle goes well here against Satan.
Well, I haven’t heard from a lot of you recently. I hope all is well and that all the birthdays are going well. I have everyone’s birthday written out on that calendar I got last Christmas, but I always forget to say happy birthday when the Monday comes around. So... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all. I love you all and have faith that all is well. I’m doing great here!
Talk to you all next week,
Elder Steinkuhler
PS It got hot again.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
I’m going to burn 90%
Well, this has been a rather long week. I'm writing you all on Tuesday because today is when we took our P-Day. We went to the temple for the last time today. The temple here in Argentina will be going under serious changes... so it will be closing down for 2 years... in October. So we went as a Zone and will probably not be returning. I did my last session in Spanish for a very long time. Very sad, but a lovely experience. My old companion Elder Kushlan leaned over to me as we were finishing up and said, "The next time you`ll be in the Lord`s house you`ll be at home". Scary thought!
This last week was a crazy mess of events. I did exchanges for the first time with my district. We baptized 2!!!! I’ve been trying to send you photos of these people, but it is really hard. Computers here don't run the same. But trust me, we baptized the 2 cutest little girls in history. We reactivated the family and then baptized the little girls that were too young to get baptized with the family. It was a fight though. A million and one top things that can go bad in a missionary week... went down. But it was fun, and a challenge. We ended up baptizing the girls and Elders Jones and Coats baptized a young man all on Saturday. Right after the baptism we gave them the Holy Ghost because the next day was Stake Conference. It is always an interesting experience telling someone: "Receive the Holy Ghost". But I’ll admit, I love using the Priesthood.
So, here are some cool things about my new calling as district leader: I ran my first district meeting yesterday. That was interesting. I planned it all out and then we did it. It was pretty straight forward... definitely time to improve. We also did exchanges. That was fun. I went to another area and we found 5 people and took out a baptismal goal. I’d say it was successful. Not to mention I got to spend some time getting to know my district. I went on exchanges with an American... so we talked English the entire time we were in the apartment. Really weird after spending 6 months only speaking Spanish in the apartment. We quoted Brian Regan to celebrate our new found English freedom.
We had Zone Conference this week. The President talked about the 12 tribes of Israel and how we need to separate the wheat from the tariffs. I always love listening to President Asay, he is simply amazing. There is no way you can know how amazing mission presidents are without meeting with them. They are simply amazing. We now have the goal to baptize EVERY WEEK, and find at least 10 new investigators every week. All of you ex-missionaries might understand how hard those two things are... but hey, it`s happening. We`ve baptized 2 weeks in a row... and not just one person, lots.
Um, there is not a whole lot of cool new stuff to report on. I explained to my dearly Momas this, but I’ll tell you all the same. Most of the stories I have I can’t share now. They all include private information that I don't feel comfortable sharing to the Internet world. Needless to say, wonderful people are making breathtaking leaps and bounds of faith. I love watching it happen... but you`ll all just have to wait about a year to hear the best stories.
Good news: I bought new garments at the temple today... I’ve decided that before I go home I’m going to burn 90% of my clothing because it is just not worth the effort of bringing it home.
Well, I hope all is well. I know lots of things are going on that I don’t know about... and even though I don’t know what they are... I hope they end well. I’d like to think that I’m still going strong. I feel good, I feel Great... I feel WONDERFUL. Baby steps, ya know.
All my love,
Elder T. Steinkuhler
PS It`s hot again. I’ll have blond hair in no time.
Monday, September 7, 2009
That threw me off guard and I politely turned down the request.
Well, what an interestingly awesome week. First of all to the questions.
Tell us about your new companion? My companion is a 22 year old child of Chile. He is short but stalky. He has a LOT of energy and loves working. He is an amazing example of desire and faith. I am his second companion... and he is still in his first area. But he already has major aspects of the mission mastered. I love him a lot... it is great to serve with him.
And how long were you a trainer? I was a trainer for 6 weeks (one transfer). I had already been in Villa Zula for 5 transfers... so the President basically had to move me out. Normally trainers train for 2 transfers (12 weeks). But my talents are needed elsewhere... But I´m not worried... with any luck, I’ll be able to train again. I love it.
Tell us about your new district, and the Elders there. My district consists of 4 elders. There are two Latin’s and two Yankees. Um, it is pretty good. I don’t know too much because I still haven’t gone out with them personally. I’ll let you know more when I do.
Tell us about your new area. It looks like city? It isn’t really, its more like the outskirts. Lots of mud... And the area is really small.
And the ward? Large or small? What kind of building? The ward is amazing. We share it with another set of elders. So there are 4 elders in total that go to the ward... and two more that meet with us for a branch on Sundays. It is pretty big. There are about 125 people in church every Sunday... here that is huge. The building is new and really nice, a typical Argentine chapel. I’ll try to send photos. The chapel is right in the middle of our ward boundaries (which would be our area) and right next to the apartment... so we go there all the time.
Your new apartment? Upstairs or down? 2 Elders or 4? The apartment is really a small house. There are 4 elders. Me, Elder Acuña, Elder Kushlan and Elder Hernandez. Elders Kushlan and Hernandez can’t find an apartment in their area, so they bunk in with us... it is really quite complicated. ANYWAY... It is a small house. We have 2 rooms for studies and a large room where we keep all 4 beds lined up. The kitchen is small and has no table. But we did just buy a new fridge!!!
What do you eat for breakfast…it can’t be American cold cereal. To tell you the truth, we try to find American cold cereal. The majority of the missionaries here eat that. But it is a little too expensive for me, so I make pancakes every morning. Which the other elders normally chow down on as well.
What are the holidays like in Argentina? There are almost always holidays here. Argentina is very Catholic. About 2-3 times a week there is a holiday. Normally for Saint Jo-schmoe... or whathaveyou. Everyone just takes the day off and does whatever they want. Really weird, but hey... what can you do. Basically the only corresponding holidays are Christmas, Easter, New Years, Valentine’s Day and Fathers day. Here Mothers Day is in the middle of October. So if you want I can call home the 16 of October instead of next May.
Well, that out of the way... let me share some of my week, although I have no time.
This area is very different. We go out with members almost all the time. The members here all were surprised at how open I was... they all thought I would be a square or something, anyway... they like me... so we go out with them a lot. That helps us baptize A LOT!!! This week we had a baptism. Next week we have a baptism... Our goal is to have baptisms EVERY WEEK! We don’t know how... but we have faith, we will try our hardest. The ward is split, so we share everything with two other elders. It just turns out the other elders are Elder Jones (from the MTC) and a new elder who JUST got here from the MTC named Elder Coats (who doesn’t understand a thing yet). Wonder to work with. Anyway... there is some background info.
As a district leader I have the opportunity to do baptismal interviews. Fortunately Elder Jones is a District Leader as well, so we can just do interviews for each other. He asked me to do one this week and so I got the opportunity to do my first interview with Celeste. She and her sister got baptized this Saturday along with Juan, the kid we baptized as well. During the interview I got to know Celeste. More than anything the interview is to help them feel secure and find out if they are ready for baptism. At the end I asked her who she wanted to baptize her. She asked me to do it. That threw me off guard and I politely turned down the request. I told her that it would probably be better to have someone from the ward do it or Elder Jones. She had Elder Jones do it (which I’m happy for). But I thought that was an interesting first interview experience.
The 3 people baptism went great! I’ll try to send photos. Baptizing days really are the best!!!
Well, it has been raining all week... so I’ve been all muddy all week. Just so you know. But the members still went out with us... They really are amazing. There are a few return missionaries here and preparing missionaries. One of them went to California, the mission next to Carlsbad.
It is interesting getting to know a lot of new people. I decided to just be bold and follow the Spirit in a bold way. During my first day we took out 2 baptismal goals and we found 12 people this week. It was an amazing week. It feels like every time the Lord asks me to do something new, fill a new calling of some sort... he makes me better, whether I want to be better or not.
Well, there is a lot more, but I’ll wait till next week. I love you all. Thanks for all the messages and love.
All my love,
Elder Tommy Steinkuhler
PS take it easy up there
Tell us about your new companion? My companion is a 22 year old child of Chile. He is short but stalky. He has a LOT of energy and loves working. He is an amazing example of desire and faith. I am his second companion... and he is still in his first area. But he already has major aspects of the mission mastered. I love him a lot... it is great to serve with him.
And how long were you a trainer? I was a trainer for 6 weeks (one transfer). I had already been in Villa Zula for 5 transfers... so the President basically had to move me out. Normally trainers train for 2 transfers (12 weeks). But my talents are needed elsewhere... But I´m not worried... with any luck, I’ll be able to train again. I love it.
Tell us about your new district, and the Elders there. My district consists of 4 elders. There are two Latin’s and two Yankees. Um, it is pretty good. I don’t know too much because I still haven’t gone out with them personally. I’ll let you know more when I do.
Tell us about your new area. It looks like city? It isn’t really, its more like the outskirts. Lots of mud... And the area is really small.
And the ward? Large or small? What kind of building? The ward is amazing. We share it with another set of elders. So there are 4 elders in total that go to the ward... and two more that meet with us for a branch on Sundays. It is pretty big. There are about 125 people in church every Sunday... here that is huge. The building is new and really nice, a typical Argentine chapel. I’ll try to send photos. The chapel is right in the middle of our ward boundaries (which would be our area) and right next to the apartment... so we go there all the time.
Your new apartment? Upstairs or down? 2 Elders or 4? The apartment is really a small house. There are 4 elders. Me, Elder Acuña, Elder Kushlan and Elder Hernandez. Elders Kushlan and Hernandez can’t find an apartment in their area, so they bunk in with us... it is really quite complicated. ANYWAY... It is a small house. We have 2 rooms for studies and a large room where we keep all 4 beds lined up. The kitchen is small and has no table. But we did just buy a new fridge!!!
What do you eat for breakfast…it can’t be American cold cereal. To tell you the truth, we try to find American cold cereal. The majority of the missionaries here eat that. But it is a little too expensive for me, so I make pancakes every morning. Which the other elders normally chow down on as well.
What are the holidays like in Argentina? There are almost always holidays here. Argentina is very Catholic. About 2-3 times a week there is a holiday. Normally for Saint Jo-schmoe... or whathaveyou. Everyone just takes the day off and does whatever they want. Really weird, but hey... what can you do. Basically the only corresponding holidays are Christmas, Easter, New Years, Valentine’s Day and Fathers day. Here Mothers Day is in the middle of October. So if you want I can call home the 16 of October instead of next May.
Well, that out of the way... let me share some of my week, although I have no time.
This area is very different. We go out with members almost all the time. The members here all were surprised at how open I was... they all thought I would be a square or something, anyway... they like me... so we go out with them a lot. That helps us baptize A LOT!!! This week we had a baptism. Next week we have a baptism... Our goal is to have baptisms EVERY WEEK! We don’t know how... but we have faith, we will try our hardest. The ward is split, so we share everything with two other elders. It just turns out the other elders are Elder Jones (from the MTC) and a new elder who JUST got here from the MTC named Elder Coats (who doesn’t understand a thing yet). Wonder to work with. Anyway... there is some background info.
As a district leader I have the opportunity to do baptismal interviews. Fortunately Elder Jones is a District Leader as well, so we can just do interviews for each other. He asked me to do one this week and so I got the opportunity to do my first interview with Celeste. She and her sister got baptized this Saturday along with Juan, the kid we baptized as well. During the interview I got to know Celeste. More than anything the interview is to help them feel secure and find out if they are ready for baptism. At the end I asked her who she wanted to baptize her. She asked me to do it. That threw me off guard and I politely turned down the request. I told her that it would probably be better to have someone from the ward do it or Elder Jones. She had Elder Jones do it (which I’m happy for). But I thought that was an interesting first interview experience.
The 3 people baptism went great! I’ll try to send photos. Baptizing days really are the best!!!
Well, it has been raining all week... so I’ve been all muddy all week. Just so you know. But the members still went out with us... They really are amazing. There are a few return missionaries here and preparing missionaries. One of them went to California, the mission next to Carlsbad.
It is interesting getting to know a lot of new people. I decided to just be bold and follow the Spirit in a bold way. During my first day we took out 2 baptismal goals and we found 12 people this week. It was an amazing week. It feels like every time the Lord asks me to do something new, fill a new calling of some sort... he makes me better, whether I want to be better or not.
Well, there is a lot more, but I’ll wait till next week. I love you all. Thanks for all the messages and love.
All my love,
Elder Tommy Steinkuhler
PS take it easy up there
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