Elder K.C. Boyce

I'm Home

2011-06-17T00:31:00.000-07:00

Elder Boyce arrived home June 16, 2011 after a long plane ride from Uruguay to Sacramento, CA. His family was there at the airport to greet him and welcome him. He has grown so much and had the experience of a life-time serving the Lord. We know he will miss Uruguay and the people he came to love.

Knockin Off My Best Two Years

2011-06-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Hola from Montevideo. I had to come to have an interview with President Da Silva. We are waiting to head back to La Paloma, and will be heading back tomorrow morning after saying goodbye to a few people. These past few weeks have been I think some of the most challenging and emotionally stressful for me, but the Lord has really blessed us. I am so happy and content right now. I know I have done my best and have given my all. I love Uruguay and I know that this is the work of the Lord.
We had an AMAZING zone conference this past week. It was with three zones. Trienta y Tres, Rocha, and Melo. The same church building where I had my first zone conference with Elder Bowen of the Seventy. This time Elder Foster came, one of the counselors in the area presidency. He complemented the mission on the amazing progress it has had over the past years, and talked a lot about who we are and that Our Heavenly Father KNOWS us by our own name. He shared a very tender story about a man named Joseph Millet. I encourage you to look it up. It brought tears to my eyes. He talked about a day when the work will progress so much that the members will be doing the mission work, and the missionaries will simply teach. It was quite the meeting.
Although we weren’t able to get another baptism in La Paloma, we continue to progress in the area. We are no longer allowed to use bikes in the mission. A missionary had quite a spill and in another mission, I guess there was a fatal accident. Sooo..... no more bikes. That makes things a little interesting for La Paloma. Oh well, Elder Castillo will surely adapt. We already have begun to do so. Angel is doing great. His wife René has started to come back to church again. That was a great miracle. She wants to get baptized, but she is elderly and wants to wait till the warmer weather comes..... figures..... :) It’s alright. We continue to be patient with her and we have been finding a few other families to teach. We met this family Rudy and Rosario. (Great name right?) They are pretty great people. They have been planning to come to church these past few weeks but there is always something that impedes them. Their family has been in town. They said next week for sure they will be coming. I hope so. That would be great to have another family coming to the branch.
Well, I think I am starting to see that the work will just go on without me. I was thinking a lot that I’m really just being called off to another place to serve the Lord. Even though I know that I will never again be able to serve in this capacity, you never know... I can still serve just as faithfully and willingly. This mission really has been the best two years of my life. I have never sacrificed more for anything in my whole life. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven.
I am looking forward to seeing you all again, and I have really come to see the things that REALLY are important. I have changed so very much, but more importantly I am so happy to have helped other people to change as well. I testify that Christ loves us. Our Heavenly Father listens to and answers our prayers. HE loves us. I know it. I know they answered the prayer of a fourteen year old boy in 1820. I love them. I love you all. See you on Thursday, but until then, as always, KEEP THE FAITH!
Love your son and missionary,
Elder Boyce
K.C.

Yo amo a Uruguay

2011-06-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

June 6, 2011

Well, what you said Dad pretty much sums up all of the feelings I’ve had over the past few days. Its been mixed emotions and I’ve felt a couple of things that I wish I had done better and such, but then I realized that I really have been trying my best. I have learned so much, and I know I still have much to learn. But, I need to go where the Lord wants me to go. I still got a week left! I know its not over quite yet. I still have work left to do here before I get on that plane. I hope to tell you about it! This past week was filled with a couple of slumps, but lots of learning experiences. No matter how much it happens, it’s always frustrating when the difficulties come. We have a couple of investigators that are doing pretty well, only it’s really hard to get a hold of them. We’ve been trying to work with the members as well, but it’s going to take time and patience. I hope Elder Castillo or whomever the Lord calls here next change will carry forward with that. We’ve seen a few miracles with some of the members as well. The other week, we visited a sister Adriana Cardoso. She was going inactive, and felt the difference in her life when she didn’t go to church. We had a REALLY spiritual lesson with her, and her family has slowly but surely been following her example. She has started to come back to church and was recently called as the Relief Society Secretary. She is really excited and wants to keep moving forward. It felt really neat to have been able to help in a small way. I know the Lord sends us where He needs us, even if we aren’t sure if it is the right place. I love Uruguay. I love the people. They are really special, and the members struggle against difficult trials, but still hold on as hard as they can to the iron rod. I am so happy to have the Gospel. I am so grateful to our Savior who made it possible to return to live with God again. Without Him, life would be utterly meaningless.

The Great Cause

2011-06-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

May 30, 2011

Well, it’s been a few weeks since we got into this new house. It’s all going fine. The work now moves forward unhindered by the annoyances of where to sleep. As the Savior put it, ¨Consider the lilies of the field.¨ Anyways, we just keep working hard. Elder Castillo has really grown a whole lot and has a lot more self confidence. He teaches with a lot of confidence and we work really well together. He’s going to do so well. I’m really proud of him. The past few weeks have been full of trials as well, but nothing more than the usual. Just trying to help people come to Christ and be baptized. I love doing this. I really feel that I have a lot more love for the people and for others in general. I find myself setting more goals to think about myself less and think about others more. I firmly believe now that this is the key to true happiness. I had to give a gospel doctrine class on charity. It was really insightful and as I read over the manual, one of my favorite scriptures on charity came to mind. I probably have already shared it with you numerous times, but I love it so much. 1 Corinthians 13. And Moroni 7. Charity is the source of all we do as disciples of Jesus Christ. We must become perfected in Him and develop this unique and universal attribute. Once, I remember Elder Bednar state that the gospel is not just a check list of things to do, but rather an overarching spiritual question which there are steps we must take all leading to one goal. I hope I can develop even a fraction of the charity that I’ve seen in others in my life and my time here as a missionary. We also had the opportunity of watching the video of Thomas S. Monson, On the Lord’s Errand. It really led the theme of charity. He is another great example of what it means to serve the Lord and serve others. These past few weeks have been really insightful. I’ve pondered a lot over what I’ve been able to do these past two years, and I realize I’ve changed more than I even realize. I know that that’s not as important though as the people that the Lord has allowed me to meet and help to follow Christ. Once again, I testify that this is the work of the master. There is NO greater cause and no greater wonder on the face of the earth that compares to His mighty saving grace. I love Him. I know He loves us. Thank you for teaching me that.

All Moved In

2011-06-06T14:33:00.000-07:00

May 23, 2011

Another week flown by. We FINALLY were able to move into the new house and are still getting it accommodated and ready for the future missionaries. It’s really nice! We were just cleaning today and trying to figure out how we are going to get the washing machine to work. (Thanks Elder and Sister Hegerhorst for leaving that behind!) It’s a real challenge, especially for one who is used to having the plumbing built INTO the walls. Ha-ha! Anyways, we’re all settled in and working hard. My companion got to go to his first future leadership conference in Montevideo. I got to work in Rocha for a day with someone else’s companion. It was really strange not having to go. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to be a leader and really see how the Lord’s work moved forward. I hope my companion has the same opportunity! This week, we have been focusing on finding people to teach. One night, making phone calls, I came across the phone number of a person who lives WAY out in another part of our area miles from the church. Her name is Isabel, and she has 10 children. Some of them are already grown. We have only really met 6 of them or so. They are a wonderful family. The only issue... how they can get to church.... They expressed desires to be baptized. They had listened to the missionaries before, but I think they stopped visiting them for the same reasons. We will have to pray about them and see what happens. They love to read the Book of Mormon. Also, we’ve found a few other people. Angel is doing GREAT! He is coming to church strong, but is a little nervous about receiving the Aaronic Priesthood. We talked to him about it and he wants to wait a little longer and learn a little bit more.Last Sunday, a few people who had been less active came to church. It was the first Sunday without the Hegerhorsts and the members were a little sad, but President Cal is a great guy and really has a desire to do all he can to help the branch. There are about 30 or so who go constantly, and it continues to grow. I love this area. It has had some interesting challenges and distractions, as have all my areas, but it has helped me to know many wonderful people and develop more charity. I love this work. I know it is the Lord’s work. I love you all. Needless to say, I have been a little antsy about the coming weeks. I really don’t want to be done, but I know it has to be done. I love baptism. I love the Gospel. I love my Savior. Have a great week, and thank you so much for your prayers and support.As always, KEEP THE FAITH!

Pondering the Atonement

2011-06-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

May 16, 2011

Thank you for letting me know how things are going. It really makes me so happy to know that all is well and that the Lord is taking such great care of you all. I have been thinking a lot about that today. I was studying in personal study a little bit about the atonement and thinking about how I can better teach the eternal importance of that singular act. I was reading in Jesus the Christ. It just strikes me how Talmage describes the emotions that Christ must have been feeling at that moment. It really made me ponder and think about it for a moment. It wasn’t just an act that let us come back to live with our Father in Heaven. It was the supreme act of love ever to take place. I love thinking about the effects it has had on countless lives. As Talmage puts it, it is unfathomable to the human understanding the fullness of His suffering and the far reaching effects it has on all of us. Just something I was pondering. I love Him. Today we had to pull some strings to store some of our stuff in the new house. We can’t move in until all the owners of the new house have signed the contract. There are some that are in Montevideo. It’s a long story.... ANYWAYS... we at least got to have them agree to let us keep our furniture there. We are going to be living in a little house a member usually rents for a few days until the contract gets signed. The Hegerhorst´s are leaving Wednesday morning, so we had to get out now. It’s all resolved though. Thank goodness! The work has hit a few little bumps, but we are moving forward. Its normal and we just keep going. Angel is doing great. Rene has slowed down a bit. She came to a baptism that other missionaries had in Rocha. We went and she felt nice, but there is still something holding her back. Well, we are just going to have patience and let the Lord do His part and just keep helping Angel. She’ll come around.

Awesome Members

2011-06-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

May 9, 2011

It was great to get to talk to you. It was really strange and it really left me thinking about how fast time has flown by. I still have much to do before, well, yeah.... It’s just so hard to think about it. I really am so happy to be here in this branch. The members are so awesome. The majority of them are single or widowed women. They are all so special and the majority of them are members of just a few years. Some are what you would call ¨veterans¨ or Pioneers. But, most of them have been around a short time. One of the people not in the picture of the branch is Ruben Bica. He has a constant battle with diabetes, and as a result of it, every wound he gets takes a long time to heal. He had both his legs amputated thanks to just a few little wounds that wouldn’t cause problems to anyone else that wasn’t in his position. This happened a while back. He is our Elder’s Quorum President and just has the strongest testimony of the church. He is also a convert of just a few years. He is quite an inspiration. He had to go to the hospital to get a little more of his leg amputated due to another wound he received. He always has really high spirits and is someone I definitely will never forget. One of the many here in Uruguay... The baptism went, well half great! We are still super pumped for Angel. He was confirmed yesterday in church and was accompanied in church by his wife René. Hopefully she will come along. She is really sweet, but sometimes she can forget a little bit or she gets a little nervous. I hope we can help her understand the Love that Heavenly Father has for her. We will be visiting her tonight with the Relief Society President Lillian Curbelo. I have been thinking a lot about how my testimony has grown about the gospel and how we should never be ashamed or scared about the things we know to be true. Sometimes as a missionary, it gets pretty easy to get shy and not share your full testimony. Sometimes people reject it and no matter how many times it happens, it still hurts. Its like you wrap up a present to give someone, and they just throw it on the ground. Even if that’s not their intention. We just need to be patient and love others and understand that we are all different. The Lord prepares us to hear His word. There are many in the world who do not want to hear, but I know that if we pray for them and do our part to be an example and love them and extend Christ like love to all, the Lord will work miracles in many many people. Just because we don’t wear the title Elder doesn’t mean we are not a representative of Jesus Christ. I love the Hymn Love One Another. It really typifies the essence of all we do as Disciples of Christ. Just some thoughts....

Moving Forward

2011-06-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

May 2, 2011

Changes came and my companion and I are staying together. So this will be my last assignment as senior companion. I’m really glad we are staying together another change. We really have a lot more we can learn together. It’s been a huge learning experience. I really love my companion Elder Castillo. He is such a hard worker. We’ve been finding a whole lot of people to teach. Now it’s just a matter of organizing ourselves and moving forward. The baptism set for the 7th is looking pretty good now. Rene and Angel came together to church on Sunday and they loved it! The Elder’s Quorum president was sick in bed, so I had to give the class in Elder’s Quorum, then in Gospel Principles. It was quite a handful, but thankfully we are always teaching. Although sometimes I still feel like I have a LOT to learn about being a good teacher. It requires a LOT of patience, love, and not trying to teach all you know on the subject. The spirit must guide our words, and those listening must feel his presence and be able to find the inspiration they need to answer heaven sent questions. It’s a difficult process, but very very powerful. I love what D&C 50 says about this process. I hope I can get better at that! Rene is super excited about the baptism. Angel as well, but he’s fighting against smoking. He quit for good on Sunday, so we are going tonight to visit them to see how he’s progressing and help him to progress. I love him a lot. He was quite a miracle. He ended up knowing a whole bunch of people at church. We have a few other families we are trying to help. The more this work continues, the more I see that if we want to reach the Lord’s expectations, the members and missionaries have to work 100% together. That’s probably something we really want to improve upon here. The members are really willing, they just need some guidance! It’s starting to get really cold down here. Especially with our proximity to the coast. Last night there was a huge wind storm and the ocean was going nuts! I thought a title wave was going to come and wash us away! No just kidding!

Pascua

2011-05-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

April 25, 2011

Thank you so much for your messages you send me every week. It really lets me know that the Lord has blessed me so much in so very many ways. It helps me be able to testify even more boldly that I know these things are true. I am so thankful for this time here! It was a wonderful Easter, well Pascua, for us down here as well. I was able to give a talk in church on the message of the April Liahona called Always Remember Him by Elder Christofferson. It was a great opportunity for me to see how I can better remember the Savior always. I think that is my favorite phrase from the Sacrament Prayer. It really is the reason for everything. Remembering Him and His mission, and His sacrifice. I love Him. This past week was the best we’ve had yet here in La Paloma, and probably one of the best on my mission. I finished the Book of Mormon again in Spanish, having marked all the references to heart. I highly recommend you all do so. It really helped me realize a couple of REALLY important things. I won’t tell you because it might not be the same for you, and I don’t want to ruin the surprise. Now I’m reading it again, marking every reference to Faith, Repentance, Baptism, The Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the End, The Gospel, or the Doctrine of Christ. It so far has been also very enlightening. I’m reading it in English this time. I think I’ve decided I’m just always going to read the Book of Mormon, even when I’m studying other scriptures, which are also VERY important. :)

We had a little visit from President Da Silva this week, in what was probably my last interview with him before, well... let’s just say June. It was great. I love talking to him. He reminded me that most of the Savior’s finest and most tender moments were in the last week of His mortal ministry. He counseled me, much as you all have done, to work as hard as I can till the end. It’s funny, because I really don’t want to stop working. I just go and do it. Of course there are times when I get tired and would love to lay down or take it easy. But then I think of whose work this is and I just have to keep at it!

Church was AWESOME! We had 4 investigators in church! Angel came, but his wife was a little under the weather. He LOVED it! They seem to be fine for their upcoming baptism for the 7th of May. I’ll let you know about that. They are such a sweet couple. They have opened up a whole lot to us and I have just grown to love them. That happens all the time! The other three who came were an investigator who has come to church for a LONG time but her husband doesn’t want to marry her. He came to church with her! Quite the miracle! We’ll see what comes! Also, a cousin of a member came. It was great. The little church house was filled to the brim with visitors and people. Well, I gotta go. Lots to do! Lots to DO! As one of my BYU professors used to say. Keep the FAITH! I LOVE YOU!!!!

A Foot in Brazil

2011-05-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

April 18, 2011

It was a really fun week this past week. To start things off, I have officially crossed the border and visited Brazil! We had a district meeting in a town called Chuy. The border cuts right through the middle of the town on the main street. (Border protection is not so tight here.) After the meeting, we had a little of time to kill before the bus left, so we went and explored a tiny bit. We all went and bought some Guaraná (a really tasty soda) and some tang with some really interesting flavors. If we ever go again, I’ll have to take a picture by a sign that says Brazil. It was pretty cool, and interesting to hear full blown Portuguese. The closest I ever got was in Melo my first area listening to the television that the people watched. Like someone once said, Portuguese is like speaking in Spanish while sucking on a piece of candy. They weren’t very far off! Other than that, we had some really cool experiences with some of our investigators. We have lost a few, but we continue to have faith and push forward. This woman named René came to church. She is about 70 or so, and we are teaching her husband Angel. They both accepted a baptismal date after a couple of attempts. It was a MIRACLE! But Sunday came. Friday it had rained and it wasn’t the summer warm rain. It was the cold rain! Saturday, like today, was a perfect day. We were excited that many were going to come to church. Then we woke up Sunday morning to a cold and windy rain storm...Needless to say I was kind of bummed. But, as promised, we went out before church to pick up René to go to church with her. My comp’s bike tire popped. We went back and borrowed another bike from Elder Hegerhorst. We called René. She was ready and waiting so we went flying. We got all wet and muddy (she lives in kind of a campy part of La Paloma.) We got there, and she said, ¨I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk with you guys.¨ We got a little nervous. Then Angel said, ¨I’ll call a taxi! ¨ It was awesome! We went to church. Even though there were only about 15 people due to the rain, it was a great meeting. She really enjoyed it and is excited to get baptized! Angel, even though he didn’t come, will probably not be too far behind. So that was our little wet adventure. One of the many of the mission! :)Well, we just felt so tired, but so happy. I love this work. It is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but it has helped me realize what is most important. I love these people. Thanks for all your love and support. I love you all SO much!

Great News From Home

2011-04-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

April 11, 2011

Well, it's AWESOME to hear so much great news from home. Congratulations to you all! Just as President Monson and Elder Scott drop some cane and tell us to just GET MARRIED so many marriages are happening in our family! (You don´t have to tell them I said that...) I was really excited to hear about all of them, and though I am not trunkie at all, I AM SO EXCITED FOR BECKY AND TERRY! Just a funny thing I noticed. I´m going to have to join the club eh? Ha ha! It's also so awesome to hear about all of the people who will soon be leaving on missions from our ward! Congratulations to all of those guys! Anyways, things sure have been progressing here. We continue to get to know our area better and we found a new place to move to. We just have to find out if President Da Silva approves it. But enough about that. The work is moving along. This past week was filled with some interesting experiences. We visited a couple of people who hadn´t been to church in a while. We shared some spiritual thoughts with them and talked with them. The spirit was so strong in some of these lessons, and in one occasion we got to give a blessing of comfort. Miraculously, many of them came to church this last week and it was a very spiritual testimony meeting. It's just so amazing to remember that the Lord really does have angels in all parts of the world, lifting up the down trodden and inspiring the afflicted. I bore my testimony and I just felt this love for the people. We as members of the church have the opportunity and responsibility to be examples of the believers and help in ANY way we can. I have felt my testimony grow so much about that. I know that The Lord trusts so much in us and we can truly be His hands here on earth. We have found quite a few people here to teach in La Paloma. The issue is as always getting them to progress. But we just have to have patience and keep helping and inspiring them. I know the Lord loves each and every one of them so very much. Like you said Dad. Charity is so important. Without it, nothing would have any meaning. I love how its put in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Charity never faileth. With that note, I gotta go. Have a great week and keep the faith! I LOVE YOU!! Love your son and missionary, Elder Boyce K.C.

Beautiful La Paloma

2011-04-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

What an amazing General Conference. It was so moving and like Elder Holland stated, really was the word of the Lord sent unto all nations from that one place. It’s amazing to watch Conference from a foreign country. Although I was able to view it in English, which is quite a miracle and blessing, I loved being there and seeing that it really was being watched in all the world. I loved all the messages and I think I found something the Lord wanted me to hear in each one. I feel that as each Conference has passed, I have received council for that specific point in my mission. For example, I remember my first conference; a talk that really motivated me was Elder Holland’s talk on the Book of Mormon. It inspired me to just go out and work. These past years have brought so much instruction to me, and I am just so happy that we have living prophets and apostles. We must NEVER take it for granted.

It was a pretty nice week. A little slow due to the traveling we had to do to watch General Conference in nearby Rocha. But, we were able to find a family to teach! We are also really trying to get to know the members better and help them share the gospel with their friends. It’s going to take a whole lot of patience and some time, but I know that if we just keep at it, the Lord will bless us and we will be happy and love the people. I love how much this last conference was focused on service and how we just need to BE more Christ like and go DO IT! Strong advice. Like Nephi of old stated, ¨I will go and do...¨ He is definitely a model of that for me. I don’t know if I told you before, but to make matters even more interesting, we have to find a new place to live because Elder and Sister Hegerhorst are going to be leaving soon. That makes things a little shaky too, but the ward has been on the lookout for something and it has helped us get to know our area a whole lot better. La Paloma, as you can see from the pictures I sent, is BEAUTIFUL! The people are great and the members are really firm. Our Elders Quorum President is a convert of just a few years, but he is so awesome! He is in a wheel chair, but he is so willing to do all he can for the work. He is always trying to help us find someone to share the gospel with. Being here has been a really humbling experience so far, and as you said Dad, an experience of lots of growth. I shouldn’t be surprised. Since when is that new on the mission? Ha-ha! Well, my time is about up. Until next time! Know that we will be working hard and having fun!

Biking it and Liking it

2011-03-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

March 28, 2011 Well, here I am in La Paloma. Its been quite an interesting week! One of lots of growth and trust in the Lord as always, but we are super positive. There is lots of work to be done, but I´m SUPER excited! La Paloma is pretty much like a Hawaiian beach town. There are about 60 members on the records and about 30 to 35 that regularly attend. We meet in a little house that the Church rents. It even has a little sign on it. The baptismal font is in the closest church in Rocha 30 minutes away or on the beach. Needless to say its a pretty interesting place. I love it of course! My oro is Elder Castillo. If you haven´t noticed, he has the same name as my trainer. However, he´s NOT from California he´s from Peru. The majority of the members are widows. The branch president is Elder Hegerhorst. He and his wife are serving a senior couples mission. We live with them for now. They are finishing their mission this coming month. So we´ll see what happens. We have to find a new apartment to live in! Oh well, its surely an adventure! The place is really calm. During the winter months, the town pretty much shuts down except for the people that live there. They pretty much make their living in the summer then close shop. They live off of tourists. There are about 5,000 people during the winter months, and 50,000 during summer. We´ve found some people to teach and we hope will progress. The Hegerhorst´s don´t know too much Spanish so I get to help them out. They are really sweet and have grown a whole lot here. I can´t imagine how difficult a job it must be to serve a mission in that way! This last week, we just tried to get to work and do as much as we could. Even though few people live here, the area is HUGE!!!!! I got so confused. Luckily Elder Hegerhorst was able to take us around to visit a lot of the members and to show us the area. We now feel a WHOLE lot more comfortable in the area. We even have bikes! My companion is an awesome hard worker. He´s from Lima. He´s a great sport about everything and is teaching me a whole lot, despite the fact that I´m his trainer. He´s got this down already. I´m so excited for what the coming weeks hold in store. I´m super excited for General Conference this Sunday. We will be watching it from the district center in Rocha. I am so thankful for this glorious gospel. It is such a great blessing to know that Heavenly Father lives. That He loves us. That Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins, and that He has a living prophet on the earth today. p.s. CONGRATS ON YOUR MISSION CALLS MITCH AND SARAH!!!!! The mission is the best experience you will have ever had up to this point in your life. Enjoy every moment of it!

Off to La Paloma

2011-03-29T20:28:00.000-07:00

March 21, 2011 Well, my time here in Barrio 13 in Montevideo has come to an end. I have really grown attached to this area and have grown to love so very much all of the members and investigators. Its going to be super hard to leave. Thankfully I was a little prepared to leave. I was finishing my fourth transfer here. Elder Luke and I have had some awesome faith promoting experiences. I have grown to love the missionaries with whom I´ve served. I loved this area so much. The members gave me a cool t-shirt to remember the area. They were so gracious and were thankful for the work we had been doing. It just filled my soul with a sense of gratitude and love for this work. It is the Lord's work, and when we do it His way, we feel His love fill our souls. Graciela´s baptism turned out really nicely. Though as always there was a little bit of opposition. The pump to take out water got clogged as we were cleaning the font. Luckily some hermanos were there to help us out. I had to get my feet a little wet and take some gunk out of the filter, but it all worked out and we got it filled. Hot water and all! I got to perform the baptism. She is elderly, needless to say I was a little nervous. But we took it really nice and slow and it went perfect. Thankfully we only had to do it once. She came to church on her own again yesterday. She is really happy and the members are taking her in. That's been one of the best things about this ward. Everyone is really nice and willing to talk to new people. They have come up to us and have noticed that lots of new people have been coming to church. Sometimes its hard to get them to come constantly, but we are making progress on that part. We have a few baptisms lined up for the coming month. The Mother of a recent convert named Marta, and this woman we met named Maria de los Angeles. She came to church on Sunday and we will be working to help her read and pray. However, that will be stuff for Elder Luke. I'M OFF! Its sad, but I gotta accept it. I'm just happy I´ve been able to stay in all of my areas for so long! I´m heading off to a little tourist town called La Paloma right on the Atlantic coast of Uruguay. I've heard it has a teeny tiny little branch. I'm so excited.To top it all off, I'M TRAINING!!!!!! a new Elder. I get a little orito! I´ll find out who he is tomorrow. I´m so happy and blessed. I am so excited to make these next few months the best experience. I know that if we do our part and trust in the Lord, he will ALWAYS keep His promises. I love you all! Have a great week and KEEP THE FAITH!!!!Love your son and missionary,Elder BoyceK.C.

This is the work of the Lord

2011-03-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

March 14, 2011 Glad to hear that all is well at home. I received a letter from the Stake Presidency this week. It was a wonderful reminder to me that you all support me and this work. Once again, thank you for all your prayers. They really do help and sustain me. I know the Lord blesses us all so very much if we keep His commandments and follow His direction. This week was filled with great experiences, many of which humbled me HARD! One experience in particular I think was one of the most humbling if not THE most humbling experiences I have ever experienced. My companion and I learned a whole lot. I would like to tell you about it in person because it was kind of personal and special, but I have it written down in my journal. I would like to tell you about it some day. Just know that it REALLY humbled me and reminded me that this is the work of the LORD. We depend completely and wholly on Him and His influence in the lives of others. I will tell you of another experience though. This Saturday we had a huge rainstorm that of course SOAKED us! Haha! I love it! Nothing beats getting everything wet, of course our scriptures and pamphlets were in plastic bags. Anyways, it made things a little chilly and complicated for a couple of investigators to get to church. However, Graciela, this elderly woman we´ve been teaching, was set on coming and getting baptized this coming Friday. First off, the brother who was going to help us pick her up slept in and didn´t come to church in time to take her. We called her and she said, ¨It doesn´t matter. I´ll just walk.¨ We went to go meet her, and she just walked all the way to church! She got on for a little bus ride and made it. We met her on the way, but she was just determined and wanted to get there. She is really excited for her baptism and has made a few friends in the ward. She has a few neighbors that are members that have been visiting her with us to teach. Its amazing how much she just accepts what we teach her! Where there is a willing heart, the Lord pours out His blessings. That is what I´ve really been relearning lately. The Lord truly knows our hearts. He knows what we really want, or if we really desire something of Him. Graciela will be baptized this Friday. I´m so excited for her! On the other hand, our other investigators are hanging in there. We are doing all we can to help them develop similar faith, but we are all different and have different experiences. We will see this coming week who we will be able to keep teaching and maybe a few people we will have to leave for a while. A couple of people like Richard and Grisel fell into old habits, but we just can´t lose faith in them. Maybe now they wont get baptized, but the Lord knows them and will take care of them. We just have to keep going and finding those people who the Lord has prepared.One of the members of the Stake High Council spoke on Sunday. He spoke of missionary work and what each of us can do as members to open our mouths and just share the simple message of the gospel with others. He shared a couple of personal experiences that really touched me and helped me to realize that this time out here is almost like a boot camp for future opportunities. I know it will never be the same as always focusing completely, but I know that if I´m always willing and prepared to share the Gospel, the Lord will always offer me the opportunity. Also, another AWESOME thing happened in church. Brian Medeiro, our recent convert that got baptized in February, a young man, gave an AWESOME talk in church! He just looked so much like a missionary. He was so confident and has learned so much! His family was so excited and so were the members! It made me feel so happy to have been a part of his conversion. I went up and gave him a big hug after the meeting. He is so awesome. The stake high council member said ¨ we look forward to the day when you will be Elder Medeiro, serving the Lord.¨ I do too. Anyways, I will let you know how the baptism goes. Until then, we continue to press onward, finding, teaching, and of course, baptizing! I love you all! Take care and have a wonderful week!Love your son and missionary,Elder Boyce

Just Keep Swimming

2011-03-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

March 7, 2011 Well, what can I say. Its been a wonderful week as usual. Things are going really well. Although I´ve gotta say that I´ve been really tired lately. Seriously. I don´t think I've ever been more tired my whole life. When I hit the mattress, I feel like a log! But it´s so satisfying and just makes me smile. We just keep going and doing it! I love it, and wouldn´t rather be doing anything else. Anyways, things are going well, and things keep moving along. Some of our investigators and recent converts have been having a couple of problems, but we just keep our heads up and continue to trust in the Lord. We had a very awesome Zone Leader Council on Tuesday. I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a zone leader. It has taught me so much and has helped me grow up a bit. I think the best part is getting to have a little more contact with President Da Silva and the assistants. They are such great examples of humility and service. At this past meeting, President shared a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3. And then we talked about the experience of Moses parting the red sea. There are some very interesting insights and details that he talked about. We just need to go. ¨Just keep swimming!¨ And trust that the Lord will open the way, even if we get wet all the way up to our necks. Sunday was AWESOME!!!! We had 9 investigators in church, even though they weren´t exactly the people we were expecting. This one woman named Graciela came. We have to bring her because she cant walk too far, but she is always ready to go. She understands perfectly what we teach. She had a super spiritual experience during sacrament meeting. She felt the spirit so strongly. She will be baptized next week. Testimony meeting was really powerful as well. I shared my testimony. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and has an immense love for each of us that we could never come close to understanding. I think if we really understood how much He loves us, we would do whatever it takes to return to live with Him again. Also a missionary that recently returned home came to visit the ward with his mom and dad who both served Spanish speaking missions. I knew him. His name is Drew Smith. He's from Las Vegas. It was pretty interesting for him I could tell. It was really cool. It added to the spirit of the meeting. He went up and shared his testimony as well. It was just an awesome Sunday! This last week, we had some very interesting experiences. I don´t know if I should really tell them to you in an email, but maybe one day I´ll tell you in person. They were just kind of interesting and a little eye opening and spirit strengthening. I know that the adversary has power, but like it says in Doctrine and Covenants 121, a man might as well try to stretch forth his hand to stop the Missouri River from flowing in its due course than stop the Lord from pouring wisdom and knowledge upon the Latter-day saints. We have interesting investigators, each with unique challenges and stories. I just know the Lord loves them and wants them to be happy. I have seen so many wonderful people accept the gospel here. I know its true. I know it. What more can I say?Well, I´d better go. I'm sorry if I don´t tell you very much or if I repeat myself a lot. I just sometimes don´t know what to tell you specifically. Just know that I love you so much. I love the Savior and my Heavenly Father. If it wasn´t for them, I wouldn´t have the joys I now enjoy. Thank you! I love you! KEEP THE FAITH!

I Love Being a Missionary

2011-03-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

February 28, 2011 Things are fine here in Uruguay. More than fine, we are doing AWESOME! This past week brought lots of interesting experiences. We found lots of new investigators and had a few miracles happen in church. This elderly lady named Graciela walked to church with her cane and enjoyed the all of the meetings. Apparently her daughter was going to come as well, but she didn't get ready in time, and her mother lost her patience and decided to leave without her. Oh well, next time! But this woman is really amazing. She understands perfectly the Book of Mormon and really feels the spirit and puts it to the test. She is excited to be baptized as soon as possible. We have also been teaching the mother of one of our recent converts. Her name is Marta (Mariana´s mom). She also wants to get baptized as soon as possible. The miracle at first is that she really didn´t want to. But we left her 2 nephi 31 to read. The next time we came back she told us, ¨I want to follow the straight and narrow path. I want to get baptized.¨ IT WAS SO COOL! It also happened with a few of our other investigators after they had read and studied in the Book of Mormon. We have started teaching that woman named Grisel that we taught a while back. Her son, who has some problems, really wants to change his life. We invited him to be baptized and prepare himself. He also rejected the initial invitation. But we left them with Alma 32 in the Book of Mormon, and when we came back, he and his mother had read and expressed desires to change. He committed himself to prepare for baptism! We also have a few other investigators who have felt the same! Well, we have had no shortage of opportunities to teach and invite to be baptized. Now we just have to help them to keep developing their faith and to keep reading and praying. It amazing the power the Book of Mormon has to change the hearts of good people and bring them the light of the Restored gospel. I have been reading it again. Another assignment from President Da Silva. It is amazing how the prophesies are all being fulfilled and that the gathering of Israel has moved forward with so much force. I love being a missionary. I love this area. I love my companion. I love the Savior. We had a nice morning. We played some soccer (Fùtbol) with the zone and had some lunch. Now we are going to go do our shopping and wash some clothes and clean house. Not much else to tell. Just the little but nonetheless powerful experiences that constantly remind me whose work this is.

I Love the Book of Mormon

2011-02-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

February 21, 2011

Things are going well in the mission. We’ve been working with quite a few investigators and the Lord has really blessed us. It was a week full of trials and testing as well. But we had a great zone conference with President Da Silva and another zone. We had to get everything ready in terms of food and seating. It was as always a little stressful, but it all worked out, and it was a huge spiritual experience. President talked a lot about opposition and overcoming it. As well, he made reference to Joseph Smith’s first prayer and that when Satan opposed him, he exerted ¨all my power to call upon God...¨ I felt a little like that at times this week. We saw lots of opposition in the zone this week, but we are overcoming with faith. We just have to do our part, and then trust in the Lord that He will fulfill His promises. I know that He never forgets His promises. President also left us with the challenge of reading the Book of Mormon in 6 weeks again. This time, marking all the references to heart. Hard hearts, soft hearts, etc... It has been really eye opening. I love the Book of Mormon. Every time I read it, I find answers to my questions and direction to what I should do and how I can be a better missionary and representative of Christ. I love the story of Nephi. He is such a CAPO!!! He was so faithful, even when it would have been so easy to give up. I have been trying to develop faith like him. It’s no easy task, and I doubt I will even be able to get there anytime soon, but I’m going to try! We’ve been working really well with the members. The ward is doing very well. They recently changed the borders to give another ward more support and a couple of families. But the attendance is already up to 117 again! This ward is very great! They work really hard and are so willing to help us and support our investigators. We just have to work hard and earn their trust.

Working Harder Than Ever

2011-02-21T17:43:00.001-08:00

February 14, 2011

This past week was very interesting and full of challenging experiences. I always get a little nervous when my companion leaves and I'm left to run the area by myself for a few days. Elder Luke is really awesome. He’s a big guy from California Los Angeles area. His mom is Samoan and his Dad is from the states. He and I get along really well.

We have been helping this family to make the preparations to get married so they can get baptized. They are Juan, and Nancy, and their family. The marriage process here is a little complicated and expensive for those who don’t make a lot of money. But they are doing fine and continue to progress and read the Book of Mormon. I love that book! It’s so true!

Also, we had a miracle at church yesterday. An investigator named Andrés was going to come. But Sunday morning he sent us a message saying that his son wanted to see him and that he wasn’t going to make it. We kind of got a little discouraged. But as we were waiting at the door, he sent another message telling us he was on his way! When he got there, he received a warm welcome from the members and felt really nice to be there! It was awesome! He has a baptismal date for the 26th of February. We are hoping and praying a lot for him. We lost some contact with a couple of other investigators like Carlos but we still have hope that if we do our part, the Lord will pour out His blessings upon us. He already has so much!

I know I need to be focused on the work and I am, but I can’t help but get really excited about Becky’s wedding! VA A SER UNA BODA MARAVILLOSA!!!!!

I have to admit, these past few weeks I’ve been feeling super tired... probably more tired than I ever have in my life. I was just pondering that I don’t think I have ever sacrificed more time, stress, energy, and love in one thing in my whole life. This work, difficult and challenging as it may be, is the most rewarding and peace bringing thing I have ever done. ¨He who looseth his life for my sake, shall find it.¨ This scripture is so very true. I love you all. Keep the faith, and you are in my prayers!

An Awesome Baptism

2011-02-21T17:32:00.000-08:00

February 7, 2011

We had an AWESOME baptism this past weekend. It was a great way to start off February, and it was one of the most well attended baptismal services I have ever been to! There were about 60 people there! And Brian Medeiro, the guy who was baptized, invited lots of his friends to the service. It was really cool; He even got up in front and shared his testimony in the end. It was a very sweet experience. He is the nephew and grandson of some members in our ward. He was such a miracle. We had been looking very hard for investigators. He came to church with his aunt and grandma and we set a baptismal date with him the same day. Three weeks later he was baptized. He has fit in nicely with the growing Aaronic Priesthood quorum. He is 15. I sent you a few pictures. It was such an amazing experience. That was the biggest news from here in Uruguay. Well, changes have come as well. Elder Carlock is headed off to Florida! My old area of Piedra Alta! I’m so excited for him. The area is going great right now! All the families I left there are doing great, and I hear that they have received their first callings in the Church! He’s going to love it! My new companion is a new zone leader named Elder Luke. Changes are tomorrow, but I already know him. He came to Uruguay with my greenie Elder Delbar, and I was in the same zone with him for a couple of months. He’s a great guy. He’s a big Pacific Islander.

Growing

2011-01-25T21:20:00.000-08:00

¿Cómo están todos? Pa! No puedo creer que el tiempo pasa tan rapido! Seriously it’s hard to believe that January is almost over. Elder Carlock and I are having a great time here and it’s been a super interesting experience having been with a companion for so long. It’s been great during our planning sessions. We put personal and companionship goals on how to improve. Sometimes we get on each other’s nerves, but we get over it fast, and just help each other grow. I really feel like he’s my brother. Anyways, the work has been progressing. This month it only looks like we’ll get to 6 baptisms in the whole zone. It was kind of a humbling experience. We have been working hard to motivate the missionaries. We have been trying to convert ourselves more to the gospel and to the need for baptism. Pres. Da Silva once read to us the scripture in 3 Nephi 11: 33-34. It’s quite powerful, and has helped inspire us to just remember how important baptism is and that we need to help the people to prepare for this saving ordinance. We are really positive of the future! We have two baptisms planned for this next weekend. Not this weekend, but the next, (The 5th of February) They are really cool guys that just showed up in church! Yet again! Well, one of them we invited. His name is Carlos, and he is trying to change his life. The other is a young man who lives in a house where a few other members live. Lots of his relatives are members. He came to church and he accepted a visit from us. We invited him to read the Book of Mormon, and pray, and according to his answer be baptized. He accepted and has felt a calm peace about it. He’s been doing great and came to church again last week. He’s a super stud! Well, that’s all that’s been going on around here. We continue to work hard and the Church here continues to grow ¨unhindered¨ as Pres. Monson stated in the last general conference. We have had our fair share of trials and learning experiences, but its just keeps growing.

Summer.... south of the equator

2011-01-17T16:01:00.000-08:00

This week, we had a baptism! Her name is Mariana Gomez. She came to church a few weeks ago and we started to teach her. She is really nice and the members have really extended a hand to her and have helped her feel welcome. She was confirmed yesterday in church

My yummy birthday carrot cake !!

En la lucha!

2011-01-10T08:38:00.000-08:00

We’ve been working hard, and we had lots of conferences last week. I’ll admit it, sometimes I really love going, but it sometimes throws me off a bit.

We had a great start last week, and we have been finding lots of awesome people as always. The challenge is just helping them to progress and reaching the waters of baptism. Sometimes I feel like I’m just giving all I have and they just don’t quite reach it. But go on we must. My companion read me a few words of comfort from The Sons of Mosiah. They went through lots and lots of opposition, but they held firm and pushed forward. And as I have seen many times on the mission, the best times are just after the most intense moments of opposition. But really, we are doing great. I can’t complain. The Lord has blessed us immensely with people who are progressing as well. Well, I guess I just need to follow the prophet’s advice and just be more grateful.

We have found this cool family. We have been teaching the husband for a while, but now more and more of their family have started to listen. They even came to church together as a family. They aren’t married, but they have plans to do so. They are even friends of the bishop and a few of the other members!

It’s been interesting. As always, the mission brings its highs and lows, but one constant is that we just gotta do what the Lord wants and follow His Son. The baptisms will come.

I wanted to share an experience that I had this past week. At the beginning of the week, I just decided to trust in the Lord and love the people even more. It had an interesting effect on my work. It became even more of a joy to go out and just talk to everyone. The lessons became more focused and powerful and there was a sweet spirit. I know I’m not perfect. That’s why we REALLY have to rely on the Lord and do our part. I felt so happy. We were able to teach a lot of people. But then with the conferences and such, it kind of threw me off. I don’t know why, but it also renewed my determination to be more consistent and be an agent and not an object. It was interesting, and a testimony that if we decide to just have faith and work, the Lord blesses us with what we need.

I am REALLY looking forward to what’s in store for the coming week. I love this work so very much. It is not our work, it is His work. I testify of this. I love you all so very much. It sounds like all is going well at home. I’m really glad. Even though I look forward to seeing you all again soon, I hope it doesn’t feel like too soon. I still gotta do some things before that day comes.

WOW!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

2011-01-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

Dear Mom, Dad, newly engaged people that I love so much, new parents, and silly people,

Well, I’m sorry to start off. I was a little selfish and wasted a little bit too much of my time reading all of your emails and seeing all of your pictures. Words cannot express the feeling of gratitude I feel in my heart to see how much our Father in Heaven has blessed me in ways that are to numerous to count. I love you all so so so very much. CONGRATULATIONS BUDE!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU BECK!!!!!! And TERRY TOO!!!!!!! I’m so excited for you guys! What a great way to start off the New Year! I was also pleasantly surprised to see in the pictures you took of the party at the Hall’s home how much everyone has just grown with their spouses and families. Everyone just looks so comfortable and well suited. I was surprised by HOW BIG Olivia and Sammie are, and even Abby! I ALWAYS forget that time just keeps marching on, though I’m not there. I’m so happy to have had this extraordinary opportunity to serve the Lord and give Him thanks for His numerous blessings. Pres. Parkinson sent me an email in which it quotes Psalm 100. That pretty much sums up my feelings at the moment. We have been working hard and seeing lots of great experiences. We have started off a little shaky this month, but we look forward to follow the example of Captain Moroni and watch with faith and diligence and prepare ourselves for the coming challenges. I love you all so much! Sorry I once again sent off such a short email. Me and Elder Carlock are closer than ever, and this long time together has built a brotherly companionship.
Take care! KEEP THE FAITH!!!!
Love your son, and missionary, Elder Boyce (K.C.)
P.S. I’ll be home for the 16th of June I believe. Nate, the picture killed me! I was dying of laughter. Eres un bobo! No puedo esperar hast que podamos hacer cadas chistosas juntos! Que cuide muy bien Noecito.

CHRISTMAS IN URUGUAY

2010-12-28T15:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day was really special. It really inspired me to hear all of your voices. I love you all so very much.
We have been loving the Christmas season, and Elder Carlock and I have gotten really close. I should hope so, especially because we are going to be together another change! Well, 3 changes with the same comp. It will surely be fun and very interesting. I’m grateful for it and count it as a blessing. He’s a great guy, and we work well together.

We had a miracle last Sunday at church! This woman who we had met on the street came to church! She just came in and sat down and enjoyed all of the meetings. My companion talked to her in the chapel after church and invited her to be baptized. She has had some difficulties in her life and accepted the invitation. We are going to visit her tonight. Well see what happens!

Attached are some pictures of the adventures of the past few weeks.The first is that baptism of Alisia. She is the little woman with wet hair and glasses and a tan sweater. The big family is the family that shared the gospel with her and invited her to their house to listen to us. The second picture is the navidad blanca activity. There were 5 baptisms, and two more Saturday. We had 15 baptisms in the zone this month! IT was a MIRACLE! We hope to keep improving. The changes have brought some interesting and excited missionaries to the zone. Well just have to keep positive and have faith!
The third is Miguel, who was baptized at the activity. The fourth, our Christmas Eve dinner. It wasn’t finished before we had to go, but they were able to give us some that was cooked as we headed out. The fourth is a picture of the family’s farm house that is just barely inside our area.
Well, I gotta go!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for all your support! I know this is where I need to be, and we keep moving forward. Hopefully I’ll be telling you about even more miracles next week. I know the Lord works along side us. KEEP THE FAITH!
Love your son and missionary
Elder Boyce
K.C.

Making room in our hearts

2010-12-28T12:36:00.000-08:00

I got the package. I opened it today because our pday is today. Christmas will be just a normal day of work, except the phone calls of course! The phone calls are to last for 40 minutes, so I won’t get to talk as much as in the past. Anyways, since Christmas is a normal day, I opened my packages and stuff. I’m waiting to open my birthday one till my birthday comes. THANK YOU so much for everything. All of the wonderful thoughtful pictures, and the ties and shirts. My companion Elder Carlock was really grateful for the tie you sent him. He’s wearing it now. Needless to say, it’s been pretty busy down here! There were four baptisms in the zone this past weekend, and WE HAD ONE! Alisia was baptized last Saturday. Its amazing how much her life changed and how much her heart opened to the Lord. After the baptism, she had the opportunity to share her testimony. She stood in front, held out her arms and said. ¨I feel like a little baby. I’m a new Alisia.¨ She expressed her love for Heavenly Father, and the wonderful experience she has had in the changes she’s seen in herself. It made me feel so happy and excited to keep moving forward. I love this work! She was confirmed at church yesterday, and just beamed and radiated happiness. The ward was amazed by how much she had changed. Everyone was touched. One of the ward missionaries German, was able to baptize her.

Last week, we had our mission Christmas Conference. The whole mission gathered in the church like last year. We all got there, and President Da Silva talked to us as a whole mission about the things we have been learning about the past months in the council meetings. It was great to have the opportunity to talk to everyone. Afterwards, we talked about the verse in Luke where it says that Christ was born in a manger ¨because there was no room for them in the inn...¨ We talked about making room for Christ in our hearts and souls and letting him enter in. It was a very powerful meeting. We took a giant picture of the whole mission. We also got to meet his son William, who just got back from his mission in the other half of Uruguay. He bore his testimony of the work and how we need to just love the people. His daughter also shared her testimony. The missionaries heading home also shared their testimonies. Two of them are the sisters that came with us. IT’S SO CRAZY! We all came together in the airport. We took a big picture of our group too. I’m going to miss them. It gets harder to say goodby each time a group goes because I got to know them longer. It was a very special meeting.Well, we continue to march forward. We have 7 baptisms planned this seek for the 23rd. We are going to have them all together in one church as a stake activity. We have been getting everything together. It’s going to be sooooooooooo special! I CANT WAIT!!! We have a guy getting baptized. Raul´s nephew Miguel. We’re excited for him.

Trust

2010-12-13T11:53:00.000-08:00

Dear Mom, Dad, and the rest of the family, and the NEW PARENTS!!!!! Well, needless to say I was just stunned by the amazing pictures you sent. Dianna and Nate sent me some, and I can just tell that Nate will be photographing every second of his new son’s experiences. They truly are amazing and I felt like I was there and I could reach out to touch him. Congratulations Nathan and Dianna! I’m sooooo happy for you! This is truly as Mom said an answer to lots of prayer. Give him a little hug and kiss from his uncle K.C.! I love the name as well. Noah. It’s a very awesome name! I knew you guys would know just what to name him. I love you guys so much! Thanks for the pictures. I hope all is going well and that you are enjoying the new life as parents.Things are just fine here on the mission front. We had a busy week, lots of lessons, and even the ward Christmas party! It was really fun, but it ended up starting really late and we could only stay for a few minutes. I took some pictures of the members and some of our investigators that came. They all enjoyed themselves. The members made sure to give us a few sandwiches and saved us a couple of pieces of cake! It was GOOD! This ward really takes good care of us, and I really love working here. Of course, when we have more potential for success, el diablo se mete la cola en la puerta, but we are just keeping positive and praying for success. We have a miracle baptism this weekend. This amazing humble woman named Alisia. I told you about her a couple of weeks ago. She is just overcoming smoking, and has begun to make LOTS of changes in her life. We came to her house the other day, and she was busy in her front yard cleaning like crazy and washing everything. She even came to church in the cold rain yesterday, and was one of the first people there! It’s amazing to see the dedication that the people have when they feel the true power of conversion. It’s been a real humbling experience to be able to teach her. Teresa hit a bump and has decided not to listen for a while. Needless to say that left us with a big shock, but we encouraged her to pray and think. I was a little upset, well really upset, but we prayed and asked the Lord if we had done something wrong. We both felt the comforting spirit of the Lord and one night as I was sleeping, this thought just popped into my head. ¨Teresa will be baptized.¨ I don’t know when, but we continue to pray for her and fast for everyone. We have met lots of amazing people, we just have to trust in the Lord and trust in ourselves. I love this work. I love this time of year. I am so happy to be here teaching the gospel. I really am surprised how fast it’s going by, and the wonderful blessings it has brought. I would not trade this time out here for ANYTHING else. I love you. I am so thankful to the Lord for all He has given me. I sometimes feel that this is what keeps me going. I have to share these blessings with others. Have a great Christmas Season and may it be filled with happiness and the spirit of Christ. KEEP THE FAITH! Love your son and missionary, Elder Boyce (K.C.) P.S. That little boy has HUGE cheeks! I just wanna squish them!

Navidad Blanca !

2010-12-06T09:55:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season is here, and we are pushing for it to be a very white one. Last week, we had some really interesting meetings. We had a leadership conference, and also we had a Zone Leader Council with the Area President Elder Arnold. He is a very amazing man, and has a very powerful way of conveying the vision of the work moving forward. It was quite an intense experience. He got us fired up for Navidad Blanca. We are trying to convert ourselves to the doctrine of baptism and the need to invite EVERYONE or rather challenge everyone, to be baptized. The more we have invited this past week, I have felt an interesting spirit that has helped my love grow for the people and a desire to help them know what their Heavenly Father would have them receive. Whenever I think about what my life would be like without the gospel, it just hits me hard how blessed we are to have this knowledge. I could never thank my Heavenly Father enough for ALL He’s given me.
Elder Carlock and I are getting to be really close. He’s such a funny kid and has a sense of humor that’s easy going. We both take the work seriously but at the same time, we have fun doing it and know when to laugh at ourselves a little bit. We have passed through a couple of trials together and in the recent days, we have found a few awesome people to teach. All of them have accepted the invitation to be baptized, or at least said they would think about it. It’s amazing how many people don’t know they need baptism or that they CAN get baptized! It has really helped people open up and find what they have been looking for. I’ll have to tell you about how some of them are doing next week.
But, we have two set baptisms for the 18th. Teresa and Alisia, two people I have told you about. Teresa finally accepted the invitation after we kept inviting her to make the decision. She feels more firm than ever and is inviting all her family and friends. It’s going to be a great baptism! Alisia as well has been coming to church every week and has a little problem learning, but her faith is really strong and she has changed a whole lot.
It’s remarkable how fast these people change when they make the connection to Gospel truths. I am so happy that I have the opportunity to be sharing these things all day every day!
I love you all! Things are going great, and we are excited for NAVIDAD BLANCA!

Thanksgiving Popsicles

2010-12-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

November 30, 2010

Thanksgiving for us consisted of eating a few popsicles that were orange flavored and.... well…. I guess that’s it! Just doing what we usually do! It was a nice day, and we’ve been working hard. This area and the zone have been progressing nicely and the missionaries are focused, working hard, and having fun! Its fun being a zone leader, although you know how I can be sometimes. I can get a little frozen up when there is a lot to do or lots of pressure, but such it is. I feel like I’ve grown a whole lot. I feel like I really love the people I work with. When I remember whose work it is, it just makes it even more special. Sometimes getting all wrapped up in mission stuff, we can forget why we are doing what we are doing. As I was thinking about this the other day, I felt prompted to read in John 21 I believe when the apostles eat with the Savior on the shores. Christ asks three times to Simon Peter if he loves Him. Peter answers three times, the last being the most powerful, that yes he loves Him. Then said Christ, ¨Feed my sheep.¨ It just hit me really hard. I felt a very strong love for the work and my testimony grew of the importance of this work. We gotta just go out and BAPTIZE so everyone can receive the blessings the Lord has prepared for them! Peter’s love for Christ is reflected in the life long service he rendered. I hope I can develop that same capacity of love for Him.

It’s been a great week. We continue to help our investigators progress and learn from the gospel. Many people are coming to church, but it just gets frustrating that so many people aren’t married! However, we’ve found some people who will be able to get baptized this month. Hopefully I will be telling you more about them in my next email.

Hoping for a White Christmas

2010-12-05T23:52:00.000-08:00

November 23, 2010

Well, it seems like all of the new missionaries in the zone have gotten settled into their new areas, and it has brought NO shortage of miracles! The work has been progressing so well, and we are looking to having a VERY white Christmas, even though we won’t be seeing a single snowflake.
We have been working as Zone leaders a lot closer with the stake leaders. We have a representative from the High Council who is the Mission Leader. He has been helping us out a whole lot making sure that we all have communication. We hope to have a stake baptism activity with Christmas. It will be very beautiful to see so much white! I think we will plan some sort of other things after the services that have to do with Christmas. We are planning on doing it on the 23rd, Joseph Smith’s birthday. Just to make it even more special!
Last week was quite a challenge, but the Lord blessed us with some really amazing people to teach and guide. There is a family who is part member. The wife, well partner, is waiting for her husband’s divorce papers so she can marry him, and get baptized. She has a super strong testimony, and has been waiting patiently for months and comes to church every Sunday, with her daughter and husband, who is a member. But anyways, they gave us a reference. A woman who has gone through a whole bunch of trials in her life. She recently lost her second wooden house to a fire, but her children were alright. But that’s not the half of what she told us. It’s a story too sad to relate, but she came to the family’s house for the lesson. We just listened, and through her tears, she just related all. I couldn’t understand at all what she must have been feeling, but the husband shared the scripture from Doctrine and Covenants 121. We talked about Jesus Christ and how he suffered all pains and sins and that through Him, we can be healed. After the prayer, there was a huge calm that came over the whole room. There were a few families participating. I felt so humbled by the experience. I thought ¨How did He do it?¨ Its just SOOO MUCH weight to carry! But, as He said, ¨Glory be to the Father, I partook of my preparations...¨ The next day, we talked about the Gospel. She has a lot of faith in God and Jesus Christ. She accepted the invitation to be baptized. She said she felt like something entered into her heart and broke the chains binding her. She slept better that night than she had in years, and felt an overwhelming peace. She felt as though it were God saying ¨Enough!¨ It was a remarkable miracle, and she came to church yesterday, with a leg cast, and her son, who also wants to get baptized.
We also found another family who is part member. The wife had just been thinking of her children and the world they were going to grow up in. She was a little worried. We knocked on her door. Her husband answered. We went in and shared about how the gospel blesses families. They were really happy, and excited to receive us. After the discussion, she expressed feelings that now was the time for her to return and for them to build their family on the principles of the Gospel she had heard years before. It was really touching.
The Lord has been blessing us so very much. Just when we think we can’t go any further, we turn the corner and find that the Lord was there all along. Like it says ¨Be still, and know that I am God.¨

Time is Flying

2010-12-05T23:46:00.001-08:00

November 16, 2010

It’s hard to believe that it’s been six weeks since I arrived in Montevideo! Time is just flying. Every time I look, there is another month flown by. The best part is that more and more I really feel like I’m trying to take advantage of this time, though I still have so very much to learn. Well, I guess that’s the purpose of life huh?The work continues to progress very well here. We have a few investigators that have been coming to church very regularly. They have overcome quite a few trials of testimony, and we continue to PUSH forward. As President Da Silva quoted from a scripture, ¨If the Lord is with me, then who can be against me? ¨ I continue to try to adopt that motto as we continue in the work.The mission has seen amazing progress these past few weeks and months. The Area Presidency sent a letter to all missions pushing for a Navidad Blanca, White Christmas. They are inviting us to work super hard so that this holiday season, we can share the gift of the Restored Gospel and invite MANY people to be baptized. We are of course hoping that this fire will continue on into the next year and that we lose whatever fear we might have of inviting people to be baptized. That’s something we have been trying to get over as a mission. Recognize and have a HUNGER for baptizing. It’s starting to work. We are seeing many miracles. IN our area too!

I Know This Church is True

2010-12-05T23:45:00.000-08:00

November 8, 2010

This last Sunday was super awesome! There were a few new investigators that came to church, and they were all brought by members that visited them with us this past week. That one woman who lived in New Jersey, Teresa, as well as that other woman I told you about with her sons Grisel and Richard. That was really exciting and to make it even better, Adrian, the boy who got baptized last week, was ordained to the Priesthood, and passed the sacrament! AND to make it even cooler, he bore his testimony in fast and testimony meeting! He said something like ¨I know this church is true, and what I need to do to gain exaltation.¨ Something like that. It was crazy cool, and there were many powerful testimonies shared yesterday. We actually have a lot of investigators that come to church every week, but they can't get baptized because they live together and aren’t married. They are either waiting on divorces or it just takes SUPER long to get married here. Only judges can do it. You have to wait months. Plus the judges are going on vacation until February so they won’t be able to any time soon. But, some continue very faithfully and have made huge changes in their lives. We’ll see what happens. So that’s pretty much what happened last week. I’m so tired. Things move at a whole different pace here, but I’m enjoying it. Next week already begins a new change. I’m almost positive I’ll be staying here in Barrio 13. It’s super great.Oh yeah, funny story real quick. In our ward we have a returned mission president and his wife Hno. and Hna. Perez. Their mission had 10,000 baptisms his time there. Their new calling in the ward.........................................Ward Missionaries......

Conference Sunday

2010-12-05T23:24:00.000-08:00

October 5, 2010

What an amazing week we have just had. This was the last week of the change, so as you might have guessed, I’m now out of Florida. But before I tell you where I am headed off to, I just wanted to talk a little bit about our experiences last week. Last Monday, we had a fun zone activity. We went and played football or soccer, in the church. It was a whole lot of fun, but we were a little sore and tired. Church basketball has nothing on soccer in South America. We had hamburgers for lunch, and we had a nice time bonding and spending time together. After pday, we started getting to work inviting people to General Conference. As I told you last week, we have been focusing on finding and teaching whole families, with miraculous results. It really motivated us to keep working hard. The members in the branch were more willing to help us work, and we had many spiritual experiences teaching by the power of the spirit. The more time I have in the mission, the more I realize that we really are just instruments in the hands of the Lord. I feel so happy and blessed and thankful to have this opportunity the more that time passes. That investigator named Robert is doing amazing! He has been finding lots of answers to his questions and has felt his testimony grow. We visited his family, his wife Veronica, and his two children Matias and Estefanie. We visited them with The Rodriguez family, who is our ward mission leader, and his wife, the Relief Society President. IT was a miracle. Robert had accepted a baptismal date for the 16th of October, but his wife was still unsure. We had a very spiritual lesson with them and she revealed her doubt. We talked about it, and the spirit testified. The whole family came to General Conference, which just blew them away. Afterward, she accepted a date for the 16th as well with her husband. She felt something during the conference. The whole family will be baptized on the 16th. We had a Family home evening with them in the Branch President’s home last night. They are REALLY good friends with them, and there was a very nice spirit. We had tacos and guacamole (thanks to a care package sent to Elder Vargas). It was one of the most special experiences I’ve had. Seeing two families coming together and sharing the gospel. That is the great blessing. How much do we have to be grateful for? The fullness of the gospel has been restored, to bless and guard our families forever. It was one of those moments where I felt... well... just happy. Really happy. Anyways, General Conference was very special, and I really feel spiritually fed, as you must all feel too. I really enjoyed each message, and felt the spirit in every carefully prepared message. I felt their humility and love for us, and the love of the Lord that was conveyed through them. Conference is really special, especially as a missionary.

Well, you are probably wondering where I’m headed off to. Well, back to the city. I’m going back to Montevideo. I’m in a division called Colon (Columbus in Spanish) in the northern tip of the city. I’m going with Elder Carlock who came with me to the mission. I’m super excited and from what I hear, they are having loads of success as well. As always, I’m sad to leave, but as you said Mom, change is good. It helps us grow. I love you all. I’m happy you are all safe and that the Lord continues to bless you.

Happy and working hard

2010-12-05T23:03:00.000-08:00

September 20, 2010

We’ve been having lots of success and lots of people have been coming to church. This past week, my companion and I and the District Mission Leader met with all of the Branch Presidents, their branch mission leaders, and their missionaries. We did it all in one day, and also had to work in between. There were four meetings. It was pretty crazy. Plus riding everywhere on bikes made it all the more interesting and crazy. I feel like I’m finally able to keep with my companion. He goes crazy on a bike!
We have found some really interested investigators this past week, but of course there is always opposition. But I’m trying to change my outlook on opposition. I’m trying to see it more as an opportunity to work even harder. I don’t think I’ve ever worked harder on my mission than right now, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier. We are trying everything we can think of to encourage the missionaries, our investigators, and the members. We have seen great progress, but still haven’t seen great fruits of baptism. San Ramon, a small town, had a baptism last week. A really great woman that I got to interview. She was so humble, but so pleased to join the Lord’s church and accept the gospel. It was a reminder of the great effect our work has on the lives of others and how much we truly can connect and rejoice with them and with the Lord. This really is a great and marvelous work.
We are teaching this guy named Robert. He has gone to a number of other churches and has doubts, but we are helping him to read the Book of Mormon. He is SUPER intelligent. He came to church on Sunday with his whole family. Wife and two kids! It turns out that he is good friends with Branch President Leal. He was pretty excited. The members are too. They have seen us up the ante as it were and have been more willing to help us out and support us. It’s been really fun and I hope we can really continue this. Everyone is so great when a new family comes. They get really excited. I love the church. It helps us so much to follow the example of Christ and apply His teachings. We are also teaching a number of other families. One guy who is a less active and his wife, who has intention of getting baptized. They came to church last week, but they couldn’t this week. Oh well, just gotta keep working and moving forward!
Also the woman we were going to baptize this week Silvia got super sick. We aren’t sure what is going to happen, but we pray and continue to do what we can. I’ll let you know what happens next week!
Anyways, so we keep working hard and trying new things. The District seems really excited. All the branch presidents are stoked and the missionaries are working super hard. This zone really has transformed.

An Amazing Zone Conference

2010-12-05T22:56:00.000-08:00

August 24, 2010

This week has probably been one of the most amazing and craziest of the entire mission. My mind has been fried by all the stuff we’ve had to prepare, and all the preparations for the baptism and zone conference. I really don’t know where to begin. I guess I’ll just go for it as usual!
So, we had to get food ready for all the zones, and for a general authority. It was fine, and we got a restaurant to deliver for us. It all went really smooth and everyone was fed on time, and quickly. We had to move tables from other churches to have enough, and everything was set up, thanks to the help of our zone Elders. It was an amazing experience! Elder Arnold talked to all of the leaders first, and inspired us for the changes he wants to see in the coming weeks, months, and years. He said that after his interview with the quorum of the twelve, his perspective of this area of South America (Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay) grew much larger. He said that one day we will see temples all over, and that the work was going to progress in ways never imagined. All of the missions have been neither progressing nor regressing. We’ve been flat. We had an amazing conference in which we talked about how to change this. We have already seen changes in one week! We had 51 baptisms in the mission this last week alone! We continue with great excitement and we all felt a powerful spirit. Especially when he shared his deep and moving testimony of the Savior and this work. He loves this work, and I do too! The leaders had a personal interview with him, I was a little nervous, but he is such a powerful guy. It’s amazing to see how the spirit can invigorate people and inspire them to stretch their limits. Our zone has substantially progressed and the members are more and more desiring to help us and give us references.
The baptism of Selva was great. It was a little difficult due to her difficulty to walk. Our ward mission leader baptized her, but I was in the water to help and support her. Her whole family was there. Her husband and her son and daughter. Furthermore, many others not of our faith. At first the water seemed cold. She wasn’t shocked and didn’t complain. I was praying pretty hard. She had to be baptized twice because her foot came up. She didn’t complain. She just seemed so content. So happy. It was such a spiritual experience. All of the members know her, and they all extended their arms of friendship and love. It was AMAZING. There were tears.

Just so you know, Elder Bennett got called as the new assistant, and I am in Florida again with my third companion here! It was quite an experience. Elder Vargas is my new companion. He’s from Honduras. It’s going to be a great change!

So Stoaked !

2010-12-05T22:42:00.000-08:00

August 16, 2010

We have a baptism planed for this coming weekend. That woman named Selva is getting baptized. We have seen lots of miracles with her as she continues to progress and learn. The members are so excited for her, and she has connected so well with the Relief Society. So she will be baptized on Saturday at 5. We are SO STOAKED!!! We are planning on making it a very special service. Her family and husband said that they neither support her, nor impede her. It’s her decision. However, we have seen her husband open up a lot. He is a very famous doctor, and he has shown lots of respect for religion. He personally doesn’t believe, but he said just for now. Selva told him she had hopes that her family would follow her. Her husband said ¨I can’t promise you anything.¨ She said, ¨It doesn’t matter I have hope that one day it will happen.¨ It was amazing. He has taken her to church sometimes, and has told us how much it impresses him to see so many people and how happy they all are to see each other. I know he felt the spirit. One day, maybe very soon, he will come to know for himself. Most of the members have children or grandchildren whom he has delivered. It’s pretty cool. Lots of her friends are starting to open up as well. She said there was another relation of hers that wants to read the Book of Mormon! Man, I REALLY DON¨T WANT TO LEAVE. I know this area is just going to keep growing. We have also been teaching Susanna. I’ve already told you about her I think. She is an English teacher, so we teach her in English. We have had some very powerful discussions with her. We have had to speak very slowly and clearly, but with these simple phrases, the spirit has come so powerfully. She has prayed, and has felt something unexplainable. Hard to put into words. As all you returned missionaries know, this is music to every missionary’s ears. We have explained that these simple yet profound feelings are the Holy Ghost. She continues to read and pray, and loves talking to us. Especially because we help her with English. But we have seen a great change in her. I’m excited to see what happens. Winter continues to freeze us. It started off really nice last week, but then it plummeted. It got really cold. Thankfully we were inside teaching most of the time. We have found lots of new people and families to teach this past week. We were blessed as we just continued to look and find people to teach. You always gotta be looking. You never know who the Lord has prepared! I was reading a little bit in 2 Nephi 9 this past week again. I love Jacob. He talks so directly and with such love. Verses 50 and 51 really caught my attention. I apologize if I have already shared these with you, but it was just a nice reminder of the importance of the things we have, and the blessings of the gospel. I am so thankful that the Lord has revealed to me the importance of these things and that through His plan, I can live with you all forever. I hope we can keep having success and find those lost sheep.

Love the people

2010-12-05T22:36:00.000-08:00

July 6, 2010
Things have been a little tough, and we had to push back a few baptismal dates and such, but things continue to go well here in our zone. It’s hard to believe that another change is coming to a close. I’ve already been in Florida 3 months! It doesn’t feel like it. I hope I get to stay another change. I’ve learned a lot here. I’ve finally started to get used to the area and know the people, but as you know when this happens the Lord usually takes you to another area. Oh well... Even with the distractions of all the World Cup affairs, which have been quite a sight to see, the work continues to move forward. That woman named Selva still continues to read and progress. We also have another man named Edgardo. He is getting married to a member. He is an elderly man in his 60s I think. He is reading the Book of Mormon and absorbing everything like a sponge. He has come to church with his fiancé for a couple of weeks now and wants to get baptized. He is a really neat guy. He is sort of deaf. We have to almost yell to teach him, but he learns very fast. His fiancé helps him a lot. Probably more than we do. We have also started talking to the owners of the house we rent. They live above us. The missionaries have taught them before, but they never took action. We shared a video with them and shared our testimonies with them. They are so nice, and love to talk with us. However, they still aren’t sure. I think it’s just a matter of time and patience. It was kind of fun. I feel like I’m an ordinary member talking with my neighbors! It was a really neat lesson, and I think I have learned so much more to just love the people and just be natural.

Actions speak louder than words

2010-12-05T22:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry I have not updated in awhile. Thanks to a friend who reminded me today and thanks for reading.

June 7, 2010

This past week in church was really nice. Lots of the members came, and lots of people shared their testimonies. I just felt this wonderful peace and simple joy. In priesthood, they were working on reorganizing their home teaching efforts. It was great to remember all the times I went out with Dad. It made me think of how grateful I was for those experiences and how great it was for the youth to be able to do that. Even though I really wanted to sleep on Sunday, I am so grateful that Dad always made time to go visit and always motivated me to go with him. I am so thankful for that. It was nice to see their excitement and I pray that all goes well for their program. It will really help lots of the less active members return to the church. I wanted to thank you as well for all your prayers and support. I have really felt them supporting me and uplifting me. As Dad told me months ago, Angels fly because they take themselves lightly. I’m trying to apply this more and not take myself too seriously. As you know, in certain circumstances and situations, this can be difficult for me. But I’m learning. I suppose this is why the Lord chooses young men and women to serve missions. I read a scripture the other night that has inspired me to give it all I’ve got. I have heard it before, but it kind of rang true in particular to me in this occasion. D&C 58:26-29 We are who we chose to be. Our actions speak so much louder than our words. We need to be working hard with our own initiative to bring about good things. I am so thankful for you all, and the huge examples you have played in my life!

Thanks for your support

2010-05-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed talking to you all yesterday. It was so nice to hear all of your voices, and thank you so much for all the advice and support you keep sending my way. As I was thinking last night, I really didn’t feel that far away from you all. Life is so short and the world so small when you think of the infinite nature of the gospel and the love that Heavenly Father has for all of His children. It was such a nice comforting feeling to hear that you are all well, and I really enjoyed laughing and just spending time with you for a little while. Although, I do plenty of laughing here in Uruguay. There is a lot to laugh at when you’re walking in the street!

Anyways, this past week was pretty chill. We continue looking for and finding new people to teach. We have found this really neat family named Alejandro and Jennifer. They have been married just a few years and have a really nice family. They work A LOT!!! He has heard the gospel and knows its true; it’s just that he works so much and has lots of responsibilities. They have so much interest in what we say and teach. He just seems to not have time. That seems to be the case in a lot of families we teach. They feel nice, but just ¨don’t have time.¨ We just keep doing our best to let them know how important it is and how much it will truly bless their lives. They are so nice.

We also found another man named Nestor who has read the Book of Mormon. He needs glasses to read and said that he didn’t understand the book; however he wanted us to help explain it to him. We have plenty of wonderful people listening to us; it’s just a matter of patience and following the spirit.

Last night were the district elections, where EVERYONE votes for their regional leader. It’s so funny. In a country of 3.5 million people, you think that people wouldn’t get that excited about politics. But they just can’t get enough of it! There were people honking horns and cheering all day!

I love you all! Thanks again for all your prayers and support. May the Lord bless you and keep you! KEEP THE FAITH!

Change is good.

2010-05-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

Week two in Florida and I must admit it’s been a little hard getting adapted to a new area. Especially since I was in my last area for 6 months! But like Mom said, change is good. It helps us grow. I definitely have done lots of growing these past few days, and I hope to continue doing so! Not too much has happened this past week. We’ve continued working and have found some really wonderful families. One woman named Mabel whom we have been teaching for a while, is having some difficulty, but continues to come to church and pray and read. It’s amazing. When we do these three simple things, we receive all we need for our spiritual nourishment so we can continue forward in obedience and happiness.

This last Sunday was very nice. Sacrament meeting was pretty full, due to a baby blessing, and we had fast and testimony meeting. It was nice to hear all these sweet testimonies from the members. Even though Florida is pretty small compared to the hustle and bustle of Montevideo, I have thoroughly enjoyed the time away from the BIG city and have gotten comfortable out here. It’s much easier to find things and get around.

I’m very happy, and the zone is really awesome. We just had an activity today. We had asado (barbecue), salad, and purè de pàpa (mashed potatoes). It was pretty fun. We cooked at the Elders’ house who live next to the church in another part of town after district meeting. It was great, and I made sure to take some pictures.

There is a very interesting gaucho shop in the town center. I’ll have to make sure to buy something to bring home to show you all. Gauchos are their equivalent to cowboys. And there are quite a few of them, seeing as how there are more cows than people in Uruguay. Maybe we’ll have to take a page from Saint Francis of Asisi and start preaching the gospel to them.

(See All creatures of our God and King).

Love My New Area

2010-05-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am in Florida, the capital city of the department that has the same name. It is a nice zone with 10 elders and 2 hermanas (sisters). It’s been really beautiful here as well, and I really love my new area. It’s nice to be out of the big city and into the countryside again. Florida is a pretty small city, but it is very clean. It reminds me a little of Folsom, or something, although I’m pretty sure it’s smaller. But it has the same feel. Small, but kind of trendy. It has a nice central street with lots of ´´stuff´´ and it even has a giant cathedral.

My area is called Piedra Alta, and I’m here with my companion Elder Bonilla from Honduras. He’s pretty crazy, and I have been having lots of fun getting to know him. He has a monstrous testimony and has been a member of the church for 4 years. He’s also 20. Whenever he bears his testimony, he bears it with such a pure and bright love for those he is teaching. He’s been helping me out a lot getting used to the responsibilities of being a zone leader.

Florida is still developing and is not a stake yet. It is a district of six branches. There are two very beautiful chapels in Florida, recently constructed. Our branch has about 60 active members, and we continue to look for more. The people here are really nice to talk to. Anyways, the week was for me mostly just trying to keep up with Elder Bonilla. It’s been so long since I’ve been in a new area, that I feel like an oro again! It gets kind of frustrating sometimes, but I’ve got to keep growing I guess. I’m excited to really immerse myself in this new area and start to take on more responsibilities. The branch is amazing and everyone is really nice! They all came up and greeted me after sacrament meeting with all these bright cheery faces. Not to mention, they feed us VERY well. :)

This week all the zone leaders had a conference in the mission home with the assistants and with President and Sister Da Silva. He is so amazing. I’ve learned so much from him and he really is like the father of the mission. The advice that He and Dad have given me have given me so much comfort in my hardships that I wonder why I ever worry. I have had such great examples, both from my family and church leaders. During the conference, we talked about a number of topics, but I want to focus on one for the moment. The power of the Book of Mormon. We have had a challenge as a mission to read the Book of Mormon in 6 weeks and mark every reference to the Savior, and what he says directly or when it says, thus saith the Lord. It has been a remarkable experience. Although I’m inching my way through the book, I have grown to love and adore it. Whenever I read it with the spirit guiding me, I feel like Heavenly Father lovingly created it for me. Like he inspired Mormon to take out specific parts from their history that I would need to hear at each moment of my life. I have come to wonder why I have never realized how truly valuable and priceless the message is. I find it not a coincidence that it was written on gold plates, though the message is far more precious than the gold it was written on. I love that book. I hope you all continue to read it, even when you are studying the other scriptures. I know and promise that you will all come to treasure all the words of the prophets old and modern if you keep reading it at least 5 minutes a day.
Well, I’ve got to go. On a little note, the boy who was supposed to get baptized this week in my last area got baptized! I heard it was amazing! Anyways, I love you all! Keep the faith, and may the Lord bless you and keep you!

OFF TO FLORIDA

2010-04-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

Well, changes have come, and I’m off. Well, both of us are off. They are doing a white wash (when they put two new Elders in an area) in our ward, and they are going to have lots of work on their hands, especially because they have a baptism this coming weekend. We made sure to tell them, everytihng they needed to know and left them lots of notes. Our ward mission leader was sad we were leaving, but he promised he would do everything he could to help them. We had to say goodbye to lots of investigators and explain the situation to them. They all understood and all went very well. So much has happened this week.

Well, my Oro (greenie) Elder Delbar is going off to Durazno in a little town called Villa del Carmen. He’s going to be with an Elder named Elder Hoggan who was in my group in the MTC. He’s very sweet and very funny, almost exactly like Tyler. My companion is all grown up and moving off on his own... sniffle sniffle..... I’m so happy for him. He really likes the country which is good because that’s where he's going. I’m heading off to Florida. Not the state, the province. And... I’m going to be a zone leader. So, I’m a little nervous and I was a little frustrated Sunday night after we received the calls making sure all was prepared and organized for the new Elders coming. But, after a good nights sleep, I just felt this huge sense of peace and I felt very content. We said our goodbyes to our converts and the awesome members of the ward, and I felt a little like Paul leaving behind people who had become his dear friends. Well, as our convert Luis said ¨ Es la ley de Dios¨ It´s the law of God.

I’m very excited and ready to head off to a new area, having learned loads. I’ll never forget this ward and area and all the Lord has taught me here. More and more I grow to understand that the Lord really doesn’t need missionaries. His gospel will roll forth with or without us. But we need to be missionaries. So, I’m off to Florida, just north of Montevideo with Elder Bonilla. I’m excited to work with him, and he seems very nice. I’ll give you more details next week.

Back to what happened this past week. We had a baptism! Sergio, the younger brother of Nicholas who was baptized 6 weeks ago, got baptized. Furthermore, he was baptized by Rafael, a priest/youth in the ward. I think I already told you his story. His family was inactive and had moved into our ward. It was a nice baptism and it all worked out very well. Also, the neighboring ward and their missionaries who are in our district came over for an emergency. Their heater wasn’t working in their building and the water was cold. So they decided to come over, and we had a joint baptism. It was pretty funny, but all worked out very well. When all was said and done, four people were baptized. The three they baptized were these girls that contacted us in the street. We went and talked to their family, but they were right on the border of our area. It’s been a few weeks, and now they got baptized! It was fun that we had a tiny little part and that we got to see their baptism.

Well, I think that’s all that happened last week. Lots of running around, doing baptismal interviews and of course teaching and sharing the gospel. I had kind of a hard time at one point these past few weeks, but then I have just felt this overwhelming sense of peace, knowing that I’m doing my best. It’s been so fun today to be here in the terminal to see all my friends and talk to them and hear their experiences. I have learned so very much. The Lord has poured out His spirit, and I have never felt closer to Him.

A NEW GENERATION

2010-04-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well, another week has flown by, and another change is about to come to a close. It’s hard to believe that I’ve almost been in this area for a forth of my mission! (6 months) If you still don’t know the name, it’s probably my fault. I’m in Montevideo, but I’m in Maroñas, which is a thriving stake and I’m in a ward called Libia. And guess what? The little brother of the boy we baptized a few weeks ago wants to be baptized and follow his brother. He’s going to be baptized this Saturday. His older brother is 12, and he’s 11. They live right next to the church and have been going since I got here in November. They are a little rambunctious sometimes, but the members have lots of patience with them and they have changed a lot. Plus, they are 12 and 11; of course they are going to be a little rambunctious! Anyways, their parents have a few problems and want to get baptized, but just have some changes to make. They support them in their decisions to be baptized. Nicholas, the older brother, has been fully integrated into the young men’s program and has received the Aaronic Priesthood. He’s passing the sacrament every Sunday, along with Luis who was baptized a few months ago. The members kindly provided them with pants, shirts, and ties to wear. You should have seen the looks on their faces when they came to church all dappered up! AHH! It was so cool! Plus, a less active family we found months ago are all now starting to come to church. All of the boys received their priesthood offices and are now participating weekly in passing the sacrament. The ward also helped them out with the clothes. It’s so awesome. The young men’s program and priesthood has started to develop. Plus, Raquel has a calling for passing out the Liahona Magazines. Its so neat to see all these people and how they’ve changed and how the ward has adopted them. It’s really like a big family.

I loved that talk last general conference by Elder Choi in the priesthood session entitled ¨I Love Loud Boys.´´ It talks about how leaders became like parents to a group of loud rowdy boys and how they eventually went and served missions, and they all now have families in the Church. It was an amazing story. I have seen this miracle come to pass here in Barrio Libia. When a ward acts as a family and just acts, miracles happen. I’m so excited for this baptism this weekend. The best part is that Sergio wanted Rafael to baptize him. Rafael is 16 and was part of that family that moved in and got reactivated into the Church. He’s now a thriving priest and blessing the sacrament, not to mention, he ALWAYS wants to accompany us. He wants to be a missionary, and has a very profound understanding of the gospel. He has taken Sergio and Nicholas under his wing, and has become like a big brother to them. Wow! I really can’t believe all the things that have been going on here.

The President visited all of our houses to do interviews this week. Luckily we had cleaned our house before knowing! I’m glad I don’t have a sloppy companion. Elder Delbar is pretty neat and tidy. Well, I might not be here in the next week, seeing as how it will probably be time for me to move on. However, if the Lord sees fit to leave me here, all the better! I will miss this area very much.

We had the opportunity today to have a zone activity. We went to the Fùtbol museum in the Centenario Stadium. We also got to see and walk around the stadium a bit. It’s where they had the first FIFA World Cup, in which Uruguay won. However, Uruguay hasn’t won in about 60 years or so. HAHA! Oh well, it was very interesting and we had a good time. I took lots of pictures.

Well, I think that's about it. I was feeling a little tired last night and discouraged, but it’s funny about how when we really do count our blessings, the Lord shows us the things He has done for us. We are just so impatient, like Pres. Uchtdorf said, and we want everything now. I have been richly blessed to have been here. I don’t know where I’ll be next week. I will NEVER forget this wonderful ward and all the lessons I have learned here. It’s been a very special experience. I love you all, and always remember to count your MANY blessings. KEEP THE FAITH!

Easter Sunday and house guests

2010-04-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

April 5, 2010

Well, this week was a very special one to be a missionary. Although holy week is a little commercialized and most people just use it as an excuse to get some vacation time, there was a sweet spirit.

This weekend was so special, even all the way down here. General Conference for missionaries is like a holiday. We still work, but it was just so wonderful to hear all the messages and testimonies of the Lord’s chosen servants. We got to watch all the sessions in the stake center, which isn’t far from our house. It was fun. As it was last time, we had a special room set up in the Stake High Council room where we were able to view conference in our own language. It was wonderful to be with all the missionaries and be together. I don’t know if I ever told you, but our house is REALLY small. It turned out that some of the Elders needed some place to sleep after the priesthood session, which began at 9pm and ended at 11! They lived a little far out, and so they stayed in our house. It turned out being Elder Mangleson who came in the group after me, and Elder Wally, who was my MTC companion. It was fun. Between sessions, we had to head to the house to borrow mattresses from our member neighbors. We set up the tiny house for four, and ate some food. It was fun to talk with them and get to know each other even more. I really miss Elder Wally. We got to do some division work together. It was REALLY fun to work with him again. It reminded me of our clueless proselyting days back in the MTC. Except this time, we actually understood what the people were saying! Ha-ha! It was a pretty hilarious night. We were all crammed into the house like little sausages.

Earlier in the week, we worked pretty hard. Although we didn’t have too many people come to conference, our investigators continue to learn and grow. Yes, we did get in contact with that golden family again. They are so sweet and kind. They showed us some of their hobbies. The wife loves to do these texture paintings that I thought Mom would really like. We talked only for a little with them. They were busy with family for Holy Week, so it was a little hard to get in touch with them. They still have a desire to learn more. We’ll see what happens. We also found another few people who had listened to missionaries before but had lost contact with them. It’s amazing just how the Lord can guide you to someone without you even knowing it. He really knows us and how we think!

Holy Week

2010-03-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Well, its hard to believe that March has already gone by and that it’s already almost Easter. Down here, everyone is getting ready for Holy Week. In Latin America, they take Easter a lot more seriously, mostly due to Catholic tradition. It’s funny. Back home, I always just thought of Easter as Sunday, but it’s a little special to think of this Marvelous event the whole week. Well, I guess now as a missionary I’m thinking of it every day of the year so it’s nothing different for me! It will be nice to try and share an Easter message with people this week, especially because there will be so many people at home.

I am so excited for General Conference! It’s so relaxing to just go and listen and learn how we can better ourselves. The last conference I felt was more directed at me than at any other time in my life. Especially as a missionary, General Conference is AWESOME! I can’t wait! Especially if our investigators go!

Well, this week was AMAZING!! We had a nice zone conference on Wednesday with President Da Silva, his wife, and the assistants. They showed us the miracles that have been happening all across the mission as we all have tried to be better at obeying the Lord’s commandments. It’s amazing to see the progress. He also talked about the Book of Mormon, and how we should make it the CENTER of all the commitments we make with our investigators. It really is VITAL to read from it every day, even when we are studying other scriptures. It is a special book that the Lord wants us to always ponder and read. We read a talk by Pres. Kimball about flooding the world with the Book of Mormon. If everyone would just try the book and pray to know if it’s true, think of how much the Lord would open the windows of heaven and how many would come to know the truth! The book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. It’s how we know that all of this is true. The president gave us the task of reading the Book of Mormon entirely in 6 weeks, marking every reference to Christ (In His many names) and marking when he is speaking. I’ve already started, and I have already felt a special spirit manifest. I’m excited to keep going!

After the conference, we had a companionship exchange. My companion Elder Delbar went with Elder Moffit, and his companion Elder Baum came to our area. It was a lot of fun. It’s always interesting changing companionships for a day. I’m still trying to get used to the idea that I am their district leader. It’s fun, especially when I get to call them every night. I feel more like there are other missionaries out there. It’s easy to feel sometimes like you are the only missionaries within 20 miles of where you are. It’s kind of funny. We finished the day and it had been awesome! Especially when Javier and Kelly (a family of AWESOME investigators) had made us empanadas filled with dulce de leche. It was so good! We finished off the night knocking on doors. Elder Baum and I were looking for a street I hadn’t knocked before. The first door I knocked on, the family came up behind us. We kind of awkwardly turned around and said hello and presented ourselves. The man looked at me and said... ¨¿Sabes què? En serio.............. me interesa......¨ (¨You know what?......... I’m actually really interested.) HAHA! We looked at each other with such a shock. We almost asked him if he meant that he wasn’t interested. HAHA! I said ¨Bueno....... uhhhhhh hmmmm...... ¿podemos pasar y charlar un rato?¨ (Alright... uuhhhhh... can we come in and talk for a little bit?) We went in and shared the first lesson with him and his wife. They were glued to us, and whenever the husband would be talking too much, she would interrupt him so we could continue! HAHA! I’ve never seen a more interested face. We didn’t even have to extend the commitments. We handed them a copy of the Book of Mormon, and she said she’d read it! Well see what happens. We are going by again on Tuesday. Sunday was amazing too! We had 9 investigators in church!!!!!!!!! We'll see if we can get some of them baptized soon. A boy named Frederico already has a date for the 24th of April. The work continues, and I really don’t want to leave this area. I

Patience and Charity

2010-03-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

Things have been great this past week. We’ve been ramping up our efforts and trying new ideas to find people. Every week, we have lots of people in church; the problem is that many of them have problems with some of the commandments. I don’t see why it is so hard for people to decide to be married even after they’ve been together for 10 or even 25 years! Oh well, we continue to find those willing to change and many who truly are looking for Christ in their lives. Oh, how I love Him.

This past week held some very interesting experiences. First off, I just began to try to focus more and more on the Love of Christ. Trying to develop charity, which really is so many other attributes in one, is one of the hardest commandments I know of. Especially when it is so easy to just lose your temper and get angry at people that slam a door in your face. However whenever I think of Christ and that even He, the creator of this world, was rejected by many, I feel a sense of peace and even a caring love for the people that drives me to keep knocking (clapping). It’s been helping a lot lately, and we have seen fruits.

The other night, we were doing divisions with members of the ward. I was with Hermano Pitta, one of the bishops counselors. We visited an inactive family. I just shared my testimony of the Love of Christ and the power it has to heal us. I don’t know why, but I just remembered feelings I had had in other times in my life, when I felt this love. I felt a special spirit enter the room, and his head snapped up and he looked at me. I don’t know what it was. It was just a little spark. Maybe not even notable. But after the meeting, he thanked me for my testimony. I don’t know why, it really wasn’t me he should thank. I am so happy that the Holy Ghost is the one who testifies of the truth. If we had to do this without His help, we would be lost in a maze of arguments and false reasoning. I am more and more convinced that we are the instruments through which the Holy Spirit is conducted. We are tools in the Lord’s hands. Just like that scripture you sent me Mom. It’s not something of large fanfare or a blazing trumpet. It’s a still small voice, however ¨notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.¨ (3Nephi 11: 3)

Anyways, today was a nice pday too. We just cleaned up the house, mopped the floors, did our grocery shopping, and relaxed. I love this work so much. I do miss home from time to time, but it’s only because I miss you all. I hope I can be worthy of this marvelous calling that I am coming to appreciate more and more as the months pass. I will hopefully tell you more of the progress of our investigators next week. It sounds like you are all doing well. I’m glad you are all having so much fun living this life and not letting it pass by. There are so many people... so many that are doing so. I hope we can help them find their Heavenly Father, and get to know Him. After all, that’s the purpose of this life isn’t it?

FINDING THE TRUTH

2010-03-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

March 15

Well, things are starting to get a little chilly finally down here. Which is good. I was really getting sick of the humid heat. I like summer, but it’s always a welcome change when fall hits. This is funny, because for you guys, summer is still coming. It’s funny living on the other side of the world. We had daylight savings this weekend too, only we moved the hour back. (Spring forward fall back) only it’s the opposite here! Well, sort of. Just at different times of the year. Anyways, this week went pretty well. I’ll admit, even though I love this area, it’s getting a little hard to knock on doors and do contacts. However, yesterday we just went for it and found some great people to go and teach these coming weeks. We’ll see what happens, but it’s amazing what happens when we just go out and do what the Lord wants us to do.

We were having an interesting chat this morning in companionship study about Ether 12. We were reading where it talks about how faith leads to hope and obedience, the Lord blesses us with miracles. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found that to be true. Although sometimes it gets a little hard to be perfectly obedient (something we are always working on), if we do our very best and are continually trying to improve ourselves, the Lord is able to come and bless our lives. Just a neat thought.

We have some investigators that have lost interest due to some trials in their lives and issues with families, but we have others that are willing to make the changes and have already been converted to the gospel. It’s so interesting. People are not converted when they are baptized, but long before. It’s amazing. For example, we are teaching a family, well a couple named Javier and Kelly. They have two little girls. They started listening to us and they became hooked to the answers they were finding. Each time it’s not so much teaching as it is them figuring out what thy need to change to be baptized. They have some goals that may take some time to accomplish, but it is so amazing to see their willingness to make the changes necessary. They have found something they truly desire. The truth. It’s been amazing! I love how the gospel just changes lives.We are also teaching an old investigator named Ruben. He had been taught by the missionaries a long time ago, and always respected the church, but still wasn’t willing to call it Christ’s Church. The first few times we went over, he got very passionate. He absolutely loves Paul the apostle and he sometimes gets a little too emotional. However, we went over one day with Luis and one of the other members. Luis shared the story of his conversion. It touched his heart and little by little he has begun to open his heart more and more and he’s starting to read the Book of Mormon more and more. He also needs to make a few changes in his life, but we have invited him to be baptized. He is very excited about the prospect and really wants to. We’ll hope and pray that all works out. He would make a great seminary teacher. He really knows and understands the Bible. All of these amazing wonderful people had something in common. They were all looking for the truth. It’s like it says in Doctrine and Covenants. There are many people ready to receive the gospel, but they just don’t know where to find the truth. That’s why it is so important that as missionaries (and as Saints) we have the spirit with us so we can share the gospel with our friends and neighbors. We have some work to do in terms of finding more people, but I don’t think we have to look too hard to find those who really need the gospel. I love this work! It’s so fun going out, even though it gets discouraging at times, to serve others and love the people.

DAILY LIFE

2010-03-09T16:11:00.000-08:00

Well, where can I start? I’m staying in Libia and I’m a district leader.... I don’t exactly know how that’s going to work out, but we’ll see. Things are going very well, and the ward is very happy. I’m writing from Tres Cruzes (where the missionaries meet during changes) because I had a little training meeting. We’ve been working like mad, and I’m exhausted, but I love coming home every night and planning and hitting my head on the pillow knowing I did my best.

So, what’s daily life like here in Uruguay? Well, we get up at 630, exercise for 30 minutes, shower, and eat breakfast in our tiny little cement block house. The members built it for the missionaries 15 years ago. The owners are two old sisters. One is a member. They own a little shop where they sell all sorts of little things. They are called almacens. There are some larger stores, but lots of people sell food in little markets next to or under their houses. They are really nice for grabbing a quick bottle of cold water or a little snack. After breakfast, we study at 8 for an hour. I usually read from the scriptures, or a general conference talk. And then we have companionship study at 9. Then, we head out to work at 10. It’s always the hardest starting out a new day because you haven’t done anything and always feel like you have to start climbing all over again. But it’s also fun because it’s a new day with new opportunities. At 12 or 1230, we have lunch with members. I don’t know if you know, but in South America, Lunch is their largest meal of the day. It usually consists of something like Melanesas (fried meat), pasta, mashed potatoes, potato salad, asado (barbecue) etc... They also have AWESOME things for desert like arroz con leche, fruit salad, dulce de leche (caramel), alfajores, and their ice cream is to DIE for! One Brother here makes us fruit salad with paltas (giant avocados). IT’S SOOOOO GOOD! After lunch we have another hour to study language. I like to read my Spanish scriptures, and of course study the grammar. After that, we work again until 9, and then head home for the night, tired and sweaty. Seriously, the summers here are pretty crazy. It’s not that it’s so hot, so much as it is humid. They have had a very wet summer with LOTS of rain, and these past few days there was a wave of mosquitoes. Thanks for the repellent Mom! Well, that’s a typical day. We just go and work. Talking to people, going to lessons, sharing the gospel message. I love it, although sometimes it gets really hard.

We had a miracle this past week. We had a goal to have one baptism for every companionship on the sixth of March. We had one planned but it fell through. We prayed, and thought and asked the Lord what we should do. As we were heading home one night, one name came to mind. He was one of two boys that came to church when we first started in Libia. His name is Nicholas. His parents are supportive and have come to church but have some things to take care of before they can get baptized. We decided to go by and ask him. He said he would think about it. We came by Friday (the day before the hoped for baptism) and asked him. He REALLY wanted to. He has wanted to be baptized ever since his family started coming to church, but we felt that he should wait for his Mom and Dad. But the Lord prepared a way. His grandmother is now coming to church regularly and she can help him. Not only that, we had the baptism, which went VERY smoothly despite it being so late of notice, and the members were all very excited. They have come to love those two little boys. (Sergio and Nicholas). Sergio decided to wait a little, but is still coming to church. His parents came for the baptism and confirmation and said that they want to be baptized and will make the necessary preparations to do so. I’m so happy for them. We’ll see what happens. We continue to hope and pray for them.

A GOOD WEEK

2010-03-03T17:10:00.000-08:00

Next week we´ll be starting a new change. I may be leaving this area. This has been such a great learning experience for me. I have absolutely loved this area, the good and hard times, and it will be very difficult for me if I have to leave. But we´ll see. I could be staying here another month and a half. Hard to believe how fast the months are flying.

We have found a few promising families this past week. We look forward to working with them and getting to know them this comming week.

Well, Luis and his family continue to make progress. He recieved the Aaronic Priesthood this Sunday and is now a priest. They are getting ready to go to the temple to do baptisms for their family. I´m so excited for them. The ward has really opened up their hearts to them. I love them.

Up to our eyeballs

2010-02-15T08:59:00.000-08:00

Well, we’ve had a tiring week running from place to place, still struggling to balance all the aspects of mission life. Sometimes I don’t know if I can do it all, but I guess I just have to do my best right? It’s been a great week anyhow and we have two baptisms this coming weekend! Luis and Erika, I think I’ve already told you about them. Their whole family got to go and see the temple this week with another family from the ward. They were so struck at what it was like and how simply beautiful it was. They talked about it all week. It was so wonderful. I could feel the spirit they brought home from that little visit permeating in their home. As I’ve said before, I love the temple. They are so excited to go after a year and seal their family together.

We found some other really great families this week that want to get baptized as soon as possible. They have a few things they need to do to prepare, but we’ve put dates with them and goals to accomplish so they can. Honestly, we have so much work to do; it’s like the ¨busy season¨ of the mission! I’m feeling a little unable at times, but when I do, I always feel the support of the Lord and know He is there sustaining me in this HIS work. I guess that’s the benefit. It’s not my work, it’s His. Therefore, it will get done. It’s my choice to help or not.

It sounds like all is quite at home again, although all is busy. Ahhhh.... I remember those days I spent with you two old people! Ha-ha! I’m glad you’re keeping busy. That’s always the cure for feeling down. Work really is a universal remedy, especially in the Gospel of Christ. Working and moving forward, if only we all had that attitude. I think I’ve found out more and more that life is SO much more rewarding when you have to not only work, but work HARD. I know I have to find this out even more.

I’ve been reading the Acts this week, about Paul and his missionary journeys. He went all over the place! I love the authority with which he taught and the power of his testimony even in the face of opposition. Sometimes (you know me) I get a little scared and don’t want to offend people to the point where I don’t go for it. However, though we don’t want to get in people’s faces and shout, when I just let the spirit work, I feel the power of the spirit flowing through me like I’m a power cable. I start loving the people and the work even more, and everything just falls into place. I love this work. It has taught me so much.

This past week, we had a Zone Conference with the President about this. He asked us if we are scared to invite people to be baptized. Sometimes we get so scared and we don’t tell the people why we are there, and they lose excitement of their spirit all because we were too shy to tell them why we were there. We have had a goal now to just tell people why we are here. To invite all to come unto Christ through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It’s really helped us and we hope that we can continue to find more and more people. Even though we have investigators "up to our eyeballs".

Faith and Miracles

2010-02-08T22:49:00.000-08:00

It’s been a really awesome week and we are so happy it’s Pday. We are in the bus terminal with a couple of other missionaries, all the other trainers, because the oros (greenies) had to do their doctor paperwork. So, it’s been a really relaxing day so far. Just talking and reminiscing and getting excited. Oh by the way, we have two more baptisms planned and two more dates to put with people so we are looking at four at least. It’s been a pretty tough but very rewarding week. I love this work, even if sometimes I get a little discouraged. The Lord is always there to help us and make us strong.The two people getting baptized are Luis and Erika. Luis is the husband of the woman we baptized about a month ago and her daughter is Erika, 10 years old. They are such a great family, and it’s been a miracle to see how the gospel has truly affected their family in many ways. Luis has quit smoking, and all three of them have had very powerful conversion experiences. More or less, miracles... I love that we still see miracles today. Like it says in Ether 12. If we do not see miracles, it’s because we do not have the faith. Sometimes we don’t have the faith to see them. But the Lord works through small and simple things to bring to pass His mighty purposes.

Other than that, you know... the normal tasks of mission life I guess. Getting up, studying, teaching, WALKING, and bearing our testimonies. I love this work, and every day it’s interesting to find the ideas to make it even more fun. Just talking to everyone, talking about the Book of Mormon in every contact, asking for service, etc...

Well, it’s been raining a lot here. Seriously, a lot! The other day we were doing service in someone’s yard and we were walking back to the house to change, and it DUMPED. I couldn’t see more than a block ahead of us! Luckily we were wearing normal clothes, but the rain continued and let’s just say that I got a little wet. Jacket and all. But it’s been really fun and quite an adventure. It’s been a very tropical summer here, and everyone has been freaking out saying its global warming this or 2012 that. I’m so sick of people quoting Revelations and saying that the end is near. I’m so glad that no matter how hard the earth shakes, the gospel of Christ will stand. Heleman 5:12. If we are built on the rock of Christ, no matter what happens to us, we don’t have to worry. I think that’s also a huge part of what we tell the world as missionaries.

A New Companion

2010-02-02T21:12:00.000-08:00

Well, this week was definitely filled with all sorts of new challenges, both for me and my companion Elder Delbar. He’s from California too. We’ve both been getting to know each other better and he’s been getting his first few blisters and sore feet. Oh how I remember those first few days as well. So much anxiety, but lots of fun. It’s been such a great experience and I’ve already learned a whole lot. I know that this is what the Lord wants and I will do the best I can.

Work continues to chug along here in Libia. We found a young woman who will soon be baptized. Her husband is an inactive member, but she started listening to the testimonies of her family and started reading the Book of Mormon. She has felt very strongly the spirit of the Lord, and wants to be baptized as soon as possible... WHEW! Well I guess that goes to show you that really we just go out and find the people that are already ready. As long as their hearts are really open the spirit will come and testify. I’m glad for my companion too. His first week, and already we have lots of people interested in the gospel!

The Toe Incident

2010-01-26T12:40:00.000-08:00

Well, let me start off by saying that this week has been one of MANY surprises. It seems like the Lord always wants to keep me on my toes. Well, I don’t know where to start first, but I guess I’ll start with the toe incident.The other week I noticed that my toenail was looking a little bad. It came to my attention, and to the attention of my companion that it was a slight ingrown toe nail. I called the Hermana Da Silva, she told me to call the mission doctor. He told me not to worry, but to go and see the doctor as soon as possible. He was busy, so we had to set up an appointment another day. We came back. He looked at it, and told me that it looked pretty bad and that if it didn’t improve soon, they were going to cut off half my toenail for good and that if this were so, I would have to stay off work for three months. But he wasn’t sure, so he referred me to a foot doctor. Needless to say, I was pretty frustrated and freaking out a little. However, we talked with the Hermana and she was surprised to hear what the doctor had told us. She said her son had the same problem and it was taken care of without much trouble. I tried the remedy the doctor gave me, and the next day, Hermana Da Silva called us and told us that a missionary the other day who had the same problem just went to a local hospital and had a slight operation in which they cut the nail slightly so it could heal. Sorry for all the details... I went ANOTHER day to a hospital, they looked at it, said not to worry, sent me to a surgeon, in another hospital. I was in the emergency room, with an ingrown toenail. It was kind of awkward. As I laid there on the table, I could hear all the other people who had more serious problems. And there I was, with just a little toe nail problem! Oh well, anyways... the doctor came back, LOADED my toe with anesthetic, cut the nail just a tiny bit (he said it was practically nothing) and sewed up the other muck... well... yeah, I guess I’ll just have to tell you the details another time, but DON¨T WORRY. It was nothing, kind of humorous, and now it’s healing just fine. You almost can’t tell now. So that’s the incident of my finding myself in the ER over an ingrown toenail. Other than that, this week went on as usual, minus the time we lost at the doctors. Oh well, health is important right? But we continue to move on anyway.

We had changes of course today. And this next part is as much of a surprise to you as it is to me. I’m now training in my area, as well as Elder Gonzales in another area. I have a companion fresh from the MTC in Argentina, from California, Elder Delbar. He’s studied Spanish for the majority of his life so he probably already speaks better than me. I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of scared and unsure of what’s going to happen, but I kind of knew that something new was coming. Never a dull moment in the mission.... I look forward to learning a lot this change, but more than that, helping my new companion start to find "That Something". I REALLY need to read that story again.

A Sweet Baptism

2010-01-21T22:12:00.000-08:00

Well, this week was another one of those where we were tested pretty hard. It was kind of hard to get people to talk to us, and it was, as all of you know who have served missions, frustrating. But, despite our frustrations and discouragement, we took heart in the fact that Raquel was going to be baptized. She is such a sweet woman. She has already read the new Liahona (Ensign Magazine) 3 times! She has learned so much the past few weeks and keeps hungering for more. Her baptism was so sweet. My companion had the honors of baptizing her, and I had the opportunity to do the confirmation. It was really special. She has been such a great example for her family, and I know she will go to the temple one day. I can’t wait to hear all about it! Well, despite the daily trials, the week was still good! We really have found lots of people who are interested, even though it may be hard to get in touch with them at times. The ward is getting more excited too. They have been helping us out more and are starting to volunteer to go out teaching with us. I love this ward! I feel so well taken care of here.

Changes are next week. I hope I stay here, but who knows. I could be off to who knows where. But I at least know that wherever it is, it’s where I’ll be needed. I’m going to miss my companion. He reminds me of Tyler. We have the same sense of humor. Seriously. Sometimes I think we might have too much fun. He has such a pure and kind heart and a strong testimony. But, he’s really bad at Uno. I almost always win...

The Present

2010-01-11T17:08:00.000-08:00

It’s hard to believe that today I complete 7 months in the mission. Time really has been flying by. I really have been taking to heart what Pres. Monson has said. Learn from the past, live in the present, and prepare for the future. I feel like as I look back on these first few experiences I have had on my mission, I take heart that I have learned so much about myself and others and about my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I look forward to learning even more!

I love the quote from that wise old turtle from Kung Fu Panda. ¨The past is history. The future is uncertain. But the present is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.¨

Well, things have been going pretty good here in our ward in Montevideo. Barrio Libia is doing very well, and the members continue to love and support us. We have a baptism this weekend. The first of what we hope will be three in this wonderful family. Her name is Raquel, and she was so ready and prepared to hear the gospel. Seriously, all she had to do was see us pass by. She is such a sweet woman and I’m so happy for her and hope that the rest of her family will continue to follow her wonderful example. The members are getting all excited. It’s going to be such a sweet and wonderful baptism.

A Happy Birthday and A Happy New Year

2010-01-04T11:06:00.000-08:00

Well, it was kind of a slow week here in Montevideo. The New Years Eve Fireworks display was even bigger than Christmas. Seriously I was scared that one was going to ignite our house or tree on fire! It was CRAZY! It’s like being in a war zone.The people here REALLY like to party for New Years and needless to say, the day afterwards was pretty much DEAD. There was no one in the streets. Everyone was at the beaches, or too hungover from the night before to answer the door. It was kind of tough, but oh well. Gotta work right? It was ok anyways. Although I still get frustrated from time to time, I feel like my patience has improved a whole lot out here.

My Birthday was...well... very special... and different. Though I of course missed seeing you all (one of the blessings of having my birthday right after Christmas) it was a very special day. I sure do miss you all, and it gets tough from time to time, but I just have to remember why I’m here and these feelings leave. Luckily I have friends here who have begun to be my family. We had lunch with a family called Echeveria. They cooked us gnochis and this stuffed meat that was so good. My companion told them it was my birthday and they went out later and brought us cake. The members here are so sweet and kind and have such great testimonies even though the Church is relatively new here. Almost all the members are converts to the Church, even if they’ve been in the Church for most of their lives. They sang happy birthday to me in of course, Spanish, English, Italian, and Vasco (an archaic language that almost doesn’t exist anymore). It was a great day. So know that even though I wasn’t home for my birthday, I still felt close to you all, and the wonderful brothers and sisters of this area are taking good care of us.

I finally get to go to the Temple this week! I’m so excited! I haven’t been since I was in the MTC. It will be wonderful to go in. I’ve had many questions and thoughts on my mind lately. I really need a little bit of time sometimes to just sit and ponder. I know I can’t be perfect. I can just do the best I can. I love all the lessons I’ve learned out here. I hope I can remember them all!

Everyone remember to keep looking for those opportunities to share the gospel. It really is the best gift we can give to someone.

Wow, What an amazing Christmas!

2010-01-01T22:24:00.000-08:00

Wow, What an amazing Christmas. This has been one of the most memorable Christmas’s I have ever had, or I think I will ever have. I felt so close to the Savior and why we celebrate the birth of Christ with so much enthusiasm. They LOVE the partying part here in Uruguay. We went tracting on Christmas Night, and people were OUT. It was pretty funny. We at least got to sing some Christmas Carols.

Well, I guess I’ll start off with Christmas Eve, or Noche Bueno. It was such an AWESOME day! I’ll admit it, I was a little discouraged if people were actually going to let us in or talk to them, but we decided to just go out and share the message of Christmas. We sang carols, shared scriptures of the first Christmas with investigators, less actives, and people we met. When we got back to our house after dinner with Bishop Profetti, the fireworks started. People LOVE to shoot off fireworks here. It was CRAZY! SO MUCH LIGHT! It was like and air raid or something. I grabbed my chair and me and my companion watched from our patio and a couple of our neighbors came by to wish us a Merry Christmas. It was so amazing. I felt so good having brought the spirit of Christmas to a few of my brothers and sisters. It’s amazing how the spirit of Christmas, even though the other parts are enjoyable and add to the fun of it all, really brings smiles and joy into the lives of others. And I felt the joy as well.

Christmas day was pretty much just opening up the AWESOME package you sent me, listening to Christmas Music, trying on the Snuggie, it fits perfectly by the way. One size fits all you know... reading my new Spanish bible and also enjoying all the love that was packaged up inside. Thank you so much everyone. I feel so loved and blessed. Sometimes too blessed. Don’t worry; I’m sharing all the treats with my companion. He loves his new tie by the way and says gracias. I got the blue one and he got the purple one. We LOVE them.

Well, I’m almost 20 years old. I don’t feel like it. I still sometimes feel like I’m a teenager and then I realize what I’m doing and who I’ve become. The Lord has really shaped me during these experiences I’ve had here. I’ve had to have a lot of patience with myself and the Lord. I feel like I’m starting to understand at least a little bit more and more how he works and how he expects us to grow and develop. He loves us so very much. When ever we find someone who for the life of them will not even let us shake their hand, I feel sad that they are rejecting this offering to understand this love a little bit more too. However, I can’t let myself get discouraged. There are other people out there who are ready, and some we’ve already found!

We saw a Christmas miracle this week, well post Christmas miracle. We have been teaching this remarkable woman. She is so receptive, and read what we left her over and over again. Her husband has started to listen and already wants to be baptized. I know that the Lord prepares people. We just have to be ready to listen and not give up. I’m so happy for them, and hope they will get sealed in the temple some day.

Miracles in barrio (ward) Libia, estaca (stake) Maroñas.

2009-12-20T15:26:00.000-08:00

December 15, 2009

The work is exploding here! We’ve found so many new people here, and the members are so willing to fellowship each and every one of them. Our Ward Mission Leader is such a stud too. Every week we meet with him once or twice with a few of the ward missionaries to coordinate what it is we need to do. They frequently visit the investgators and invite them to activities and call them. It’s soooooo nice to have the support of the members. It’s much easier to focus on improving other things. It’s a beautiful thing to watch one of our investigators, excuse me, brothers or sisters, anxiously engaged in a discussion with one of the members with bright faces and smiles. I LOVE THIS WARD!!!!

I’ve been thinking how strange it is too, how fast this year flew, mostly because I’m on my mission too I guess. I’m almost 20 years old too! GAH!! I’m so OLD!!!! Just kidding! I love this work so much. Although it gets really hard to focus once in a while and sometimes my feet hurt and such, and I just have a Laman and Lemuel attitude, I remember the testimony of Nephi. I receive strength and determination that aren’t my own, and we are tools in the hands of Heavenly Father to bring to pass miracles. It’s so awesome! Maybe some of these miracles wouldn’t mean much to others, but to a missionary with very little experience they mean everything. Whether it’s finding a family prepared to hear the gospel, a very open person on the street, or even just a very interesting spiritual insight during personal and companionship studies, the hand of the Lord is in this work. How else could kids go out and teach the world the truth of the Restored gospel?

The Power of the Book of Mormon

2009-12-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

December 7, 2009

Time is flying! I CAN`T believe I’ve almost been out 6 months. It really doesn’t feel like it. I love being out here! I know this might sound funny, but I’ve been having scary dreams of being at home, and all of a sudden realizing NO! I need to be on my mission! Why am I at home!!!! They’re kind of funny. Don’t worry. Of course I miss you guys and home every once and a while, especially right now during the Holidays, but I repeat... I DO NOT WANT TO COME HOME!

This past week was exceptionally busy. We had an interesting goal this week as a district to share our testimonies of the Book of Mormon each time we do a contact. It’s been interesting. Also, we have a mission rule to do at least 140 contacts every week. This coupled with the Book of Mormon have brought about many interesting experiences and spiritual insights. It’s amazing how many people you find who have actually never talked to missionaries (despite the fact that the children scream "HUEVOS" at you... (Eggs)) Or even more amazing how many people have never heard of or seen the Book of Mormon. Though at first it was kind of weird to start talking about the Book of Mormon so directly, we quickly found that our contacts became more meaningful and the people more personal. I love the Book of Mormon. It really is the best weapon in the missionary arsenal. I think there is a quote by Elder Wirthlin when he says that we should NOT underestimate the power of the Book of Mormon. Though I’m still studying the New Testament (I’m in Luke, perfect for Christmas :)) I think I’m going to try and read the Book of Mormon once every month fully. It really does have all the answers to the questions of our souls.

I LOVE DOING THIS

2009-12-20T15:05:00.000-08:00

November 30, 2009

Well, this week went by much better than the last one. We’ve been working harder to schedule more of our appointments by telephone, which is working out a whole lot better now that we know the area and have talked with more people. It’s kind of rough starting a White wash, but it has been such a great experience. I love just talking to everyone. Sometimes I get nervous and it takes us a while to really get going. But when we just go for it, the Lord truly is on our right and left hand and before our faces. I really feel comfortable here now.

Well, Thanksgiving passed and I thought of you all and the family I’m thankful for. Seriously, every time I share my family pictures with families (they can’t get enough pictures here) people always comment on how beautiful our family is. I’m not saying that to boast. Just, to show you how thankful I am to have such a wonderful family! YOU GUYS ARE GREAT! WOOOO!!!

Anyways, the weather has been a little weird lately. The other day, it was pretty hot. However, it started to pour rain on us and we got soaking wet. Fortunately we knocked on a guy’s door and he offered us jackets. He was really nice, and now we have an excuse to go back and talk to him. But seriously, the people here are very awesome, although sometimes they can be a little feisty when they see your white shirt and tag, but that’s true no matter where you go. I love it! But as I was saying, the weather has been a little weird. There have been serious floods in the interior of Uruguay, but it looks like everything is calming down now. It’s sunny again and as far as I know, (which means looking at the sky) it looks like its going to get hot again.

This is going to be one awesome Christmas! I can’t believe it’s already coming! Time flies by way too fast. I hear Christmas in South America is, well..., not like anywhere else in the world. LOTS of fireworks. I’ll call you and tell you all about it on Christmas Day. Let’s see... oh yeah. The Uruguay political elections were yesterday, so we had to dodge all kinds of banners and flags (just kidding it wasn’t too bad) especially since it stormed last night. I’m so glad it’s over. I was getting a little tired of hearing so much propaganda, music and such.

On Saturday night we were planning, and this big flying cockroach flew through our window and started running all around. It ran across my bed, and Elder Gonzales and I started freaking out! I know it’s nothing like other parts of the world where bugs are like pretty much your carpet, but still... We had to move EVERYTHING in the apartment to find it again, and when we did, the hunt was on. I finally killed him with my planner. He was feisty.
SCORE Misioneros 1 Cucaracha 0
Well, that was my adventure for the week. I know it wasn’t much, but there you have it.

I can’t believe how much the Lord has blessed us while we’ve been here. I haven’t counted a day when we didn’t see at least one miracle, whether it be finding someone who gave us all their information to pass by later, a VERY spiritual lesson, having the spirit teach ALL of us, the list goes on. I know that this is where I need to be. Though I haven’t had a baptism yet, I know that it doesn’t matter. I just need to keep doing what the Lord wants me to do, and follow His commandments. I was happy to hear at the zone conference last week that many of the people we taught in our last area are making plans to join the Church and follow Christ. I’m soooooooooooo happy for them. I LOVE doing this! I am so blessed. I have learned so much about myself and others, and I hope I never forget.

THANKFUL

2009-12-20T14:51:00.000-08:00

November 23, 2009

This past week has been a little bumpy and rough, we’ve hit some hitches and snags, but still I feel blessed to be here. I’m still getting accustomed to life in the city. It’s so loud and noisy here, it’s hard to focus sometimes and listen to the spirit. I’ve come to treasure those moments I have in the morning to study and focus on bettering myself through reading the scriptures and reflecting on their message.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve came and spoke to us at a joint conference of the two Uruguay missions. There were about 400 missionaries, and the spirit truly POURED out of the heavens as all of us learned and were taught by the spirit.

I’m truly thankful for all of you, my family. As I said, this week was a little tough, but truly I feel your love and support. Thank you so much! I am so blessed to be here, to have these covenants that have brought me even closer to know my Heavenly Father and His son. Also, to have all of you as my eternal family, I wonder sometimes WHY? Why am I so blessed? What thing do I have not to be thankful for? I better give it my all this week, and the rest of the weeks that follow. But ESPECIALLY this week of Thanksgiving.

Good things happening in Coroñas

2009-11-16T22:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I can’t really put into words how special and insightful this past week has been. It’s been a change, but I now know this is where the Lord wants me to be. I have felt such a comforting peace during my one week here and I am sure that something special is about to happen. I LOVE the ward here! They are so caring and so organized. They all are busy about the work. We sat in a meeting for the ward mission coordination. They had representatives from everyone, and coordinated who needed to be visited and gave us some families we needed to pass by. It made me so very happy to see them concerned for those who had gone astray. I LOVE it! We had some very awesome lessons in church as well, which ended the very tiring but spiritually filled week.

My companion Elder Gonzales is from La Serena Chile. He is such a stud! We have been getting to know each other really well, and my Spanish is improving in leaps and bounds because of him. I rarely speak in English, (I need to help him learn English as well) so it’s kind of nice to help each other out. We have had some really awesome and powerful spiritual experiences. He has such a great knowledge of the scriptures and is such an insightful person. And he likes to have fun. That’s important too!

Things are going very well here. We’ve found new people to teach and lots of friendly faces. Like I said, it was a weary week (lots of walking) which was hilarious when we didn’t have a map or know who the bishop was. We had to wait till Sunday to meet the majority of the members, but they were all calling us and helping us out. It really is like a big family here. I can’t wait till next week to tell you more. I have never felt more guided by the spirit in my life. I can feel His influence every day comforting me and guiding me.

A Surprise

2009-11-16T22:06:00.000-08:00

November 10

We had a surprise change yesterday morning. I left Las Piedras and came to Coroñas in Montevideo which is pretty close to the neighborhood where the temple and offices are. It was really short notice. The assistants came and picked me up, and we got to our house finally, after some other quick stops, and we had to pick up my companion. Yes, it’s a white wash. (Meaning both of us are new.) And to top it all off, I have my first companion from South America. His name is Elder Gonzales from Chile. The house is really small and cozy. I was going to tell you all about Las Piedras yesterday, but oh well. I’ll go where He wants me to go. As most of you know, that’s just the mission for you. Never a dull moment. So now, we’re just going to go home, eat, and...well... do some contacts. I’m so excited. This is going to be such an adventure!

Leaving Melo

2009-11-16T21:55:00.000-08:00

November 3

Well, these past few weeks, it seems like the work has been exploding. We have met so many wonderful people ready and willing to listen to the gospel and changing their lives in small ways. I wish I could tell you about each and every one of these experiences!

I'm in Montevideo right now in the bus terminal waiting to meet my new companion and to head to my new area, Las Piedras just 45 minutes or so north of Montevideo. His name is Elder Hoffling. I don't know anything about him yet.

It was REALLY hard to leave Melo. We passed by a lot of our dearest friends before we left and took some pictures and taught some nice lessons. I'm so excited for them. Even though I didn’t get to see them continue all the way to baptism, I’m glad to have at least played a part in their journey and to have been a tool in the hands of the Lord to extend the good news of the gospel of Christ. There are a few couples who I know will eventually continue on and seal their families in the temple. I can’t wait to hear about it!I feel like I left part of my heart and soul back there, and I guess that means I’m doing my job.

The owner of our house Sonia (I’ve told you about her, abuela) always cries when a missionary leaves. She has only been a member for a year, but I think she understands what it means to be a disciple of Christ more than most people. She ALWAYS had a smile and was ALWAYS giving food to the missionaries. I'll never forget her either.

Sheesh, it was just that hard leaving an area. I'm going to have to get used to it! It's tough to have to leave it in someone else’s care, but really it isn’t. They are always in the care of the Lord. We are just the Laborers in the vineyard. I love this wonderful gospel. I love the light and hope it brings into our lives. Each time I bear testimony of Eternal Families and how it was made possible through Christ, my love and appreciation for you and what you have done for me grows and grows. I’m sorry if I was ever ungrateful for anything. It’s funny. We never truly appreciate how much we truly treasure something until it’s taken away from us. The beautiful thing is that through Christ and the power of His gospel, everything will be restored to us. I am so thankful to be here sharing things I've known since I was a little child in Primary, but with a whole new understanding and appreciation. Well, I love you all. No doubt I’m going to be telling you all kinds of interesting and amazing stories about Las Piedras. Elder Painter was there before he came to Melo. He told me it was just as hard for him to leave there as it was for me to leave Melo. Pretty ironic.

Whew! What a week!

2009-10-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

As the title implies, we had quite a rough week this past week, and kind of humorous. It started off great. We had lots of lessons, and we have been starting to see some people who finally might be willing to make the changes in their lives to find out the truth that Heavenly Father wants to give them. Anyways, as we were about doing this, I got a little sick, but it wasn't too bad and I was getting better.

We had a zone conference on Wednesday with Presidente and Hermana Da Silva. They gave some GREAT talks and comments. Here is where we made our booboo. We had lunch together. The Zone had ordered these giant hamburger like things called bauros. They were very tasty and we continued with our week. However, my companion the day after got REALLY sick. He had diarrhea and everything. We stayed in the next day and I took care of him. We soon found out that our zone was getting sick and dropping like flies! The next day I wasn't feeling to well. I was working with another companion while mine and his were recuperating. We worked, and I started to feel bad. I got the bug, but not as bad as my companion. We had told some of the people we visited that some of the missionaries were sick. We began to think it was the food we ate on Wednesday. When we told them, they freaked out and said. "No No, you can’t order food from there. They put on old ingredients. It's not clean." So, this week almost our entire zone was sick from eating a couple of bad bauros. But don't worry. We're all feeling a whole lot better. We drank lots of water, and are now cleaning up after things piled up to do around the house, and we are going to work twice as hard to catch up for lost time.

OH one more funny story! It rained REALLY hard again yesterday. The holes in our roof were really bad and my companion-s bed got all wet. Thankfully my side didn’t have as many leaks. It was pretty frustrating, but also a fun reminder that the mission really is an adventure. Thankfully we don-t have any giant bugs like an Indiana Jones movie.....yet. Anyways, It-s hard to believe I’ve been here almost two months already! I have been growing a lot since I’ve been here. I am so thankful to be out here, though it gets really hard. I recently brushed over the verses in ´Doctrine and Covenants 89 about the oath and covenant of the priesthood. I-m going to work as hard as I can to magnify my calling and develop true Christ like love for everyone, even though it can be hard sometimes. At times, I still get a little homesick, but when this happens, I just work and remember why I-m out here.

COVENANTS

2009-10-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

My new companion is Elder Painter from Texas. He has about a year, and he speaks the language VERY WELL. It's been really nice and I have to be careful not to rely on him too much when we teach. However, I have been improving a lot on understanding, which was a challenge for me at first. Now comes the next step. I can teach basic things, I just need to work harder on grammar so I can convey my feelings a little more clearly. Elder Painter is very knowledgeable in the scriptures, and though at first it was a little intimidating, we have had some really interesting discussions.

I gave my first talk in Sacrament meeting about baptismal covenants. I talked about what a covenant was and cited scriptures in Doctrine and Covenants. It talks about how blessed are those who keep the covenants they have made with the Lord. As I have been out here, I have come to realize little by little the importance of these covenants. They literally bind us to our Heavenly Father in the sense that we receive blessings in this life and have the opportunity to live with Him in the eternities. Elder Bowen in the last conference told us to ask those we talk to the "disturbing question" or "questions of the soul." Disturbing in the sense that they lead us to have a thirst to satisfy and answer the question that is burning within our soul. Who am I? What is my purpose here? Those are just some of the cliche examples, but really I think we take for granted sometimes how much comfort we have in knowing the answers to these questions. No matter what happens, we ALWAYS have a loving Father in Heaven, bound to us by our covenants and promises we have made with Him. I love that talk that Elder Christofferson gave last general conference about the comfort that our covenants give us. They are truly more powerful than we can imagine, made by the same power that created worlds without number.

An Awesome Goal

2009-10-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

Guess what? We have our first confirmed baptism date set up! October 11. His name is Willington, and he is I think about 21 years old. He’s really awesome and has already come to church! He still has a lot to do before the baptism, one of which is quitting smoking, but we told he and his wife that if they read and pray, Heavenly Father will help them to quit. He is so cool. He loves to talk with us about home, and about gospel things. For instance, I showed him the pages in the back of the scriptures where all the pictures are. I showed him the ones of Jerusalem and of the sacred grove. He liked it and kept asking questions about where all these things happened. We’re so excited and continue to pray for him that he will follow through on this wonderful decision.
We had an awesome Zone Conference last week in Treinta y Tres with Elder Bowen of the Seventy. I don’t know if I have told you this, but we have a goal in the mission to baptize weekly. It is really bold. Presidente Da Silva shared his thoughts with us as well and shared D&C 4 with us. "The field is white, already to harvest". That seems an appropriate theme, especially since I have been studying about the Savior’s Parables. I find it amazing how much the world truly can be used as a symbol of the Kingdom to come. The simple truths of the Gospel can be compared to the simple truths of nature. I love the Savior. I love His teachings. It’s sad when we find those who are so overwhelmingly confused by how much the world has changed His simple pure doctrine. I am so happy to be here spreading His pure doctrine and gospel to fill the earth. I just love it! It is profoundly and deeply simple. It has been a little discouraging to try and start this trend, but the more I get into the work, the more I realize how possible and tangible this goal is. It’s not just a goal, it is a miracle. I know that if we continue to pray and work diligently, that we will find those ready and willing to accept the pure and simple message of joy and eternal peace.

Sleeping on the ....bus?

2009-09-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well, It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been in the mission field for a whole month! I’ve been on a mission for three months! Time has really started to fly and I can already tell that I’m REALLY going to take Elder Holland’s advice to heart and enjoy every moment. I love this area, though at times of course it can be a Little frustrating. We have met some awesome new investigators this week, and continue to hope and pray for them to feel the spirit and come to Christ.

Anyways, now for the funny part. Some pretty funny stuff happened this week. As I have explained earlier to you all, we have an extension that is about an hour bus ride out of Melo towards the Brazil frontera. It’s only like 15 minutes from Brazil, so the people talk in a kind of Portuñol mix sometimes (Oh by the way, we met this guy on the street one day from Italy, and he spoke in like a mix of Italian and Spanish. It was pretty funny). ANYWAYS, we were on the bus, and of course as usual we were pretty tired. I was reading “Jesus the Christ” and my comp was trying to study, and well as usual, we fell asleep. This usually happens no matter how hard we try, but we usually wake up before Noblia. However, this time we missed our stop and Continued on to Aceguà. The good thing is that the bus attendant helped us out a ton and a bus was headed back the other direction and after a quick change we were headed back to Noblia. So yeah, that was pretty funny!

Also, I ate some pretty new and interesting things this week. We went to member/investigators house and ate something that was close to a Cow’s intestine and Hígado con arroz. I felt like Doug from that old cartoon Tyler and I used to watch! It was actually pretty tasty and I still consider myself fortunate that they usually eat pretty well here as opposed to the chicken feet Nate had to stomach. Especially since we eat every night at Abuela’s. She cooks the BEST food. Alfajores, Arroz con leche, pollo, etc… We’re going to make Gnochis today. I’m SO EXCITED!

My first change is already almost over (next Wednesday not this one). I have learned so much, and continue to learn a whole lot more. Keep the faith, and don’t forget to do your part to spread the good news.

Spring has Sprung

2009-09-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it's getting pretty hot now. Winter is over, and spring is here, and it is very very humid! Seriously, like around 90 percent humidity. So, it's only like 80 degrees, but it's hotter than blazes!
Anyways, where to begin. I guess I'll start with that a lot of the mission reality has set in a little bit lately. A lot of our new investigators from last week flaked and they are kind of scared to talk to us again, so we are kind of back to where we started. However, throughout the course of the week we found a lot of cool new people who were actually very nice and open minded. We're going to try harder this next week to try to get our investigators to come to church and keep their commitments. That's the hardest thing to do. I guess we just have to show them why. Anyways, I've been learning a lot, and we even set a baptismal date for two people, a mom and a daughter named Ilaria and Mariana! They are awesome and they go to church when they can. She has another son who is mentally handicapped and has to get someone to watch him. Luckily, her daughter and her husband are members, and they have come with us a couple of times to teach them. We had an awesome spiritual experience committing them to baptism, but they think they need a little more time. We visited them again one day just to remind them to go to church, and I could just feel this peaceful spirit in their little dark cement home. They are awesome, and we continue to pray for them.

Let’s see, what else happened this week? Oh yeah! We went to Noblia last Saturday and we had to bring a box to the children’s activity, but we left it on the bus that goes to Aceguà! We had to wait for like two hours for it to come back to get it out (because we asked people for the times the bus came back and we got like three different answers…) Anyways, we got it back and no one found out, though we kind of still felt stupid… Oh well!

We visited a woman in Noblia whose name is Marisa. She has been a member for a while, but she had been a little inactive. When I came, she had started to go back to church a little more frequently. Over time, as we came back, she seemed a lot happier, and our discussions more focused on spiritual things. This last visit, she had been going to church every week, praying, and even, reading her scriptures. I was going to share a thought when she said, “I have a question, what does the spirit feel like?” My comp shared the scripture in Corinthians where it talks about the gifts of the spirit. She commented that she had read, and just felt happier. We told her that this was a gift of the spirit. It was neat. We talked for about 20 more minutes about it. The simple little commandments truly are the support for the larger things the Lord asks us to do. Those little “primary/seminary” answers like read, pray, go to church. It’s so easy. I only regret not finding this out earlier! Oh well, better late than never right? I am so happy. This has already been such a learning experience for me.

Hello from Melo!

2009-08-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

It’s been a long first few days, but they have been some of the coolest I’ve ever had and I look forward of course to experiencing many more. I have an awesome trainer named Elder Castillo from Sacramento. He has been very patient with me and I have been trying my best to keep up with him and all the members and investigators names. It’s kind of overwhelming, but I know I just have to be patient. My Spanish is still improving little by little. The people of this area are a little harder to understand because they speak in kind of a Portuguese accent, but I think I’m getting the hang of it. I just got to “keep swimming”.

In addition to having an area in Melo, which is pretty big and takes a while to get from place to place, we have an extension in a little town only 20 minutes away from the Brazil border called Noblia. We go to church there every other Sunday and went there this past Sunday. It’s a small little farm town, but there are 100 members. However, they are all for the most part inactive or want nothing more to do with the church. There are about 20 more or less who come, and there are only about 15 that are there on a given day. It was a very interesting Sunday yesterday, but it was really awesome! We met and had the Sacrament regardless of how many people there were. It’s hard, but we are always trying to encourage the people to go back to church. I guess we’ll just have to keep at it!

Melo has a lot more regular members and about 4 wards. The chapel we meet in here is HUGE! It’s really nice, but it’s in the middle of this really poor neighborhood. It has been really humbling to see the way people live here. Though they still have what they need and I know there are plenty of people in the world less well off than them. It is amazing to see how they cope with what they have. I am so excited to get to know all the members a lot better.

One of the members is our landlady. We live in an extension of her house, and she cooks dinner for us , which is AWESOME! She is a recent convert, and she is so stalwart in her faith. Her name is Sonia, but everyone just calls her Abuela. She has the funniest attitude.

My feet have never been so sore, but I don’t even care! I’m so happy to be here! I’ve never been happier than right now. Thanks for all the prayers, they have helped A LOT!

Hello from Uruguay!

2009-08-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

President and Sister Da Silva

Well, I’m here, and I don’t really know where to start. First off I guess, I’m safe and have a trainer. His name is Elder Castillo from California. He actually lives near Sacramento, which is kind of cool.

We’re in the bus station right now in Montevideo waiting for the bus that will take us to Melo, my first area, which is about 6 hours away… its really far out there! I’m so excited! Just a quick description of my area that my trainer told me. Lots and lots of cows (vacas). It is in the country side and it looks like its really gonna be pretty. The past few days have been very spiritually uplifting and I have grown so much in my testimony. I am so excited. I was so ready to leave the MTC, and now I am so ready to get to work.

3 More Weeks

2009-07-23T22:38:00.000-07:00

I just want to get OUT OF HERE and TEACH! I’m soooo happy I only have 3 more weeks here. Don’t get me wrong, this place is amazing and I have learned so much, and definitely need to learn much more, but I just can’t wait! I’m soo excited! I’ve been finishing Alma this week, and that book is just filled to the brim with so many awesome missionary experiences and testimonies that it just makes me want to explode out of here and talk to the first person I see. I guess I say that now, but when the time comes I’ll be dead scared. Nah, it’ll be fine.

I have a testimony of My Savior. I love Him, and I hope that we can all just go out and tell the world how much he loves them.

A typical day at the MTC

2009-07-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

Since we couldn’t go proselyting last weekend and wont be able to in the foreseeable future (meaning this weekend as well) due to the swine flu, I thought I’d let you know how a usual day goes at the MTC, or the CCM.

Regular days start with, of course, waking up at 6:30

Next comes breakfast at 7:25, which is ALWAYS cereal, a roll, fruit, and maybe some over salted eggs if we get lucky... maybe. Nah I like it, don’t worry!

Then we have a nap, I mean personal study time. No for real this is one of my favorite times of the day. I’m currently trying to finish the Book of Mormon by next Monday. I’m in the middle of Alma, but I think I might make it. I’ve just been so into reading the doctrine though, so I guess that’s important as well. Well, or course it is!Then we have companion study at 9 and then comes district\class. For 2 hours and fifteen minutes we either cram Preach My Gospel or Spanish into our heads, or use the computers for TALL (Technology Assisted Language Learning). Which consists of very distinct voices screaming words at you like you are five years old. It’s like watching Sesame Street all over again! I love it!

Then we have lunch at 12:15, which is meat, meat, and more meat plus a salad.

Then we have class again, then exercise time for about 1 and a half hours, in which we run around like maniacs playing ultimate Frisbee or running because we are so sick of being inside.

Then comes an hour of language study time, or PAC. This we use at our own discretion, though of course you have to be glued to your companion at the hip. Then, more class, dinner at 6:45, which is MEAT, more class, planning at 9, appointments with other missionary companions to practice at 9:30, then to bed at 10:30.

As our district leader Elder George cleverly put it, “It’s basically like a more righteous concentration camp..." And though it gets a little tedious sometimes, I have learned more here about the gospel then I ever could have anywhere else, so far as I know. I am starting to cherish my scriptures more than anything I own and I hope to continue learning and growing so I can better teach the gospel and bring people to "this great and marvelous work."

I was reading about Ammon and the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi today. Now there are a people who had perspective. I don’t have time to tell you the whole story since I only have 5 minutes left, but please read it, especially what Mormon says about how the Lord works to bring about his people to righteousness. It really touched my heart. They were willing to suffer, even to death, willingly, for what they had learned and what they knew. Again, I also encourage you to share this gospel. I know it is true. It’s not even a question! I love it! Please share it with those who you hold dear to your hearts! Show them you love them! Teach! Open your mouths, and the Lord has promised us that they will be filled! I love you all, and pray for you every day. Keep the faith, and hold to Christ. There is no other way to be truly happy.

"Si, es suyo, es suyo!"

2009-07-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we finally went out proselyting for the full 7 hours in Buenos Aires. We went to a very humble part of the city, where most of the roads were wide mud avenues and the sewage poured into the hand dug gutters and dogs were everywhere. And I could not have been happier. There were many willing to listen to what little I was able to teach. I don’t think a single person angrily turned us away. Everyone just seemed so happy and content, no matter what conditions they lived in. Some had a little more than others, but everyone just kind of smiled or politely told you they had no time. (I know that’s usually code for I don’t want to hear your message, but even then they gave us their name and address to come by later!) As we began, me and my companion Elder Wally were very nervous. We started walking down a paved avenue looking for people, knocking on doors. We finally came to this little shop where there was a guy about in his thirties leaning up against the wall smiling. We came up to him and started talking and introduced ourselves. As we got to know him, we found out his name was Pablo and he was Catholic and had a family. He was very happy, and gladly listened to our message. He listened intently and was fascinated with what we had to tell him, especially when we shared with him Joseph Smith’s first vision and testimony. We handed him a pamphlet. But the best and most wonderful part was when we pulled out a Book of Mormon. His eyes just opened wide, and his mouth dropped. It was like he was saying, "There’s more?" He took it into his hands. Then he began to ask us, "It’s for me?" Then we happily replied "Sí, es suyo, es suyo!" It’s yours! We told him what it was, and how it was another testament of the reality of Gods love for us. You know what, I’m not really sure I can remember much of what I really said, but I will never forget that look on his face as we handed him the Book of Mormon. We committed him to reading 3 Nephi 11 with his family and read to him Moroni´s promise. He gladly accepted it and he said he would read it with his family. As we parted, he thanked us and we thanked him and kept on walking....Well, I can tell you right now that I had never been happier in my life then when we handed him that wonderful book. As I have been reading it lately, I can testify that it truly is the word of God, that every word was inspired, and that there truly have been so many testimonies of the reality of God’s plan for us and our Savior’s mission, and the unending love they have for each of us. I will never forget that moment, and I hope to enjoy many more like it and see the smiles this book can bring to people’s faces.

Know that I am well, the Lord is with me, and my stomach is full of cow intestines from today’s very interesting lunch. I am so happy though it is still hard.

It's tough but I'm doing great.

2009-07-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

"I have learned so much in just these few weeks. I love the scriptures and I hope to continue learning more and more! Anyways, as you can see, things have been going great. Tough, but great. I have definitely settled into the schedule here at the MTC, or in Spanish, the CCM. The first group of Latinos and the oldest North Americans left last week and new ones have come today to fill in. They are mostly going to Paraguay and some to Uruguay. Sorry Joey, I can’t remember that Italian Elder’s name. He was really cool though. Everyone is cool here!

Its hilarious, the new North Americans came today, and I already feel like I’m a little seasoned. I can still remember how I felt when I walked in the door that first day. I should hope so since it was only three weeks ago. Still, you learn so much so fast here that it feels like I’ve been here for weeks. I am already kind of anxious to get out. Oh well, at least we get to go proselyting every Saturday. This weekend we start going for 7 hours I think. We're pretty much going to be out all day. This past Saturday went better. We knew a little bit more Spanish, though we still sounded like we were two years old. We had lots of people say they didn’t have any time, but allowed us to write their names and address down for other missionaries to come back later. Only a few people rejected us, the others just didn’t even answer the door, or weren’t awake or home. But the scariest part was that we were brought into someone’s house for the first time. I was really anxious, and to make matters worse, I could hardly understand the young guy because he was mumbling so much. They have a different dialect here called Castillano, which is a little more fluid than Central American Spanish. The words REALLY run together and you have to do all you can to make sure you aren’t smiling if they are telling you a tragic story, like a family member who dies. I was pretty much just looking into his eyes and smiling the whole time. We began to read the lesson, when he stopped us because he had run out of time. We had just started talking about Christ. I would have just went right to the Restoration had I known that he had so little time. His brother walked in, and we asked if other missionaries could come back another time. They agreed and we took down their name and address and gave it to the front desk at the MTC. While we were teaching, I had been holding a Book of Mormon. I had a prompting while no one was looking to just leave it on the table and walk away. They didn’t notice. I then said to my companion, ¨"just keep walking, don’t look back," hoping that he wouldn’t notice and rush after us to give us back the book. It was kind of funny. During our reptor, the president comically told us “that doesn’t count as a placement..." Ha-ha, I wonder if he’ll even look at it. Who knows?

I have had some rejections, but I just keep remembering what it says in Preach My Gospel about rejection, that if you share the message in any capacity and with real intent, no matter how broken the language may be, it is up to them to recieve it. If they are not ready, they aren´t ready. I hope to remember this my whole mission. If someone really wants to listen to this wonderful news, they will make the time, or have the patience to listen to our broken spanish, that will improve over time. "

Ready or not here I come!

2009-06-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some excerpts from K.C.'s latest email.

"Two weeks have come and gone, and I feel exhausted. Thank goodness for P-day! (Preparation Day) We get to go to the temple every Thursday, and it’s wonderful to catch my breath and take my time thinking to myself instead of worrying how to conjugate verbs and say a prayer in another language. Nah, it’s all been great and very rewarding."

"There are about 75 or so missionaries from the US and South and Central America here at the MTC. There is one guy even from Italy!"

"I have never felt the power of the Atonement and the love that Heavenly Father has for me more than now! As I write this, I feel truly blessed to have this knowledge, and more than ever, I want to share it with others, even if they can’t quite understand me yet."

"We had the opportunity last Saturday to go and teach in the surrounding neighborhoods for two hours. The tracting was really scary at first, especially since we know very little Spanish. We had to clap at their front gates to get them to come out and talk to us, and even then some of them just open their windows and yell at us, then slam them shut. They must be REALLY tired of missionaries almost every Saturday. We met some nice people though, and we found a member who invited us to her porch. We shared our testimonies in nervous Spanish, and she thanked us and we went on our way. I think another woman wanted us to come back another time. I’m not sure, but she gave me her name so I wrote it down and wrote down her address so we can stop by this coming Saturday. We’ll see."

My First Week at the MTC

2009-06-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

The Buenos Aires Temple grounds. The Missionary Training Center is ajacent to it.

"Well, It's been one week since my arrival and I already feel like I've learned so much about myself and the way things kinda work around here. ....I have never experienced anything so hard, yet so rewarding as the time I've already spent here, and this has just been the beginning."

He says the few years of spanish he had in high school is coming back to him and that he is learning the language "little by little". There is so much to learn in just a short amount of time and he says "this experience has been one of the biggest trials of patience I have had, especially with myself." Even though it's challenging he loves it there at the MTC.

"I just want you to know that I feel close to the Lord and I know that he loves me."

K.C.'s companion is Elder Wally from Roy Utah. He says he is a cool guy and he looks forward to studying and working hard with him for the next few months.

Where in the world is Uruguay?

2009-06-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

The Church in Uruguay
Uruguay’s first contact with the Church occurred at the 1940 South American basketball championship game held in Montevideo. One of Argentina’s star players, Rolf Larson, served as a missionary for the Church in Argentina and brought publicity to the Church as a team member.
In 1944, the first congregation was organized for North Americans working in Uruguay. By the end of 1948, a mission and 14 congregations were organized. By 1957, nearly 500 converts joined annually. Church membership in Uruguay has increased 80 percent in the past five years.
Here are a few facts about the Church today in Uruguay:

Membership 90,292

Missions 2

Temples 1

Wards & Branches 162

Family History Centers 21

Adios Elder Boyce !

2009-06-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

After a long plane ride, including a 4 hour delay in Dallas due to bad weather and a tornado warning,
K. C. has safely arrived at the Buenos Aires,
Argentina Missionary Training Center. He will be there for several months learning the language and studying, then off to Uruguay.

He says, "I am nervous and they really immerse you in the language here. Starting next Saturday, we will be going into the city and teaching! I guess I'll have to learn the language fast! Just know that I am safe and in the Lord's hands. I know he will help me to be the best missionary I can."

We know you will be.