Week #40

Hola Familia!!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mom and Collin!!!!! I´m writing today so that I could write you on your birthday!! haha. Just kidding. Yesterday we had a leadership meeting in Bahía Blanca, so we travelled all night, had the meeting, and returned. We didn´t have time to write, but today I do! I´ll send some pictures next week but I don´t have my camera with me. I saw some of my best friends in Bahía! Elder White was there! Elder Swanson from the MTC. It´s so fun to see everyone. Especially the companions that I´ve learned to love so much! I also saw Elder Fullmer from John Thomas´ ward. I´ll send the pictures next week.

Elder Kropelnicki left me! We had Emergency Transfers and he left to Santa Rosa and Elder Moreno is my companion now. The same Elder Moreno that I had splits with a few weeks ago. He was a zone leader, a district leader, and now for his last 3 weeks on the mission, I get the chance to serve with him. He´s from Columbia and he´s such a hard worker. The Lord knows what he´s doing and knows exactly what I need in order to grow as a leader. I´ve already learned so much from him!

Today we contacted a 15 year old on the street and he let us in their gate and we started talking to him and his little brother and his mom. We introduced ourselves and he started telling us that he struggles with drugs. His mom seemed to be super disappointed in him and has stressed over him a lot in her life. Their relationship didn´t seem too strong and she wants to see change in her life. The cool thing too is that the 15 year old, Kalil, wants change in his life to. 

 

We taught them the doctrine of Jesus Christ, the most profound and sacred doctrine that there is. We taught about the power of the Atonement and repentance. You could feel their desire for change. They accepted the invitation to be baptized and to attend General Conference, but the miracle was about to come. Kalil said the closing prayer. It was one of the most sincere prayers that I´ve heard on the mission. Tears filled his eyes and he could hardly speak. Imagine a 15 year old being choked up by the Spirit because he wants change in his life. He pleaded for help from our Heavenly Father. He told us that he wants to change but it´s extremely difficult. I´ll be honest, I left the lesson changed. To see a teenager want the Atonement so strongly in his life made me so happy that I´ve understood the Atonement my entire life. The power of the Atonement is incredible and we must never go a day in our lives without thanking our Heavenly Father for sending His son Jesus Christ to the world to suffer and die for us. My testimony of the Atonement grew and I´m extremely grateful for being able to see this miracle.

Thanks for all the love and support. Listen to and apply the teachings from the prophets and apostles this weekend. They are truly sent from God.

Love Elder Bosco II

 

 

Pulled these pictures off of facebook. Thanks Elder Yeates for the pics of regular life in the mission.

Week #39

Hola Familia!

I´ve got great news!! Today in my personal study I finished the Book of Mormon for the first time in Spanish. I made a goal to read a little every day because I study a lot of others things and topics, and I made it. I started reading it a little before the mission and I didn´t understand hardly anything-- I finished the last page understanding basically everything. What a blessing. I can speak a new language now! I took Moroni´s challenge to heart and I kneeled down in humility and I thanked Heavenly Father for giving me the Book of Mormon to help me learn Spanish. I thanked the Lord for sending Moroni, Joseph Smith, and other prophets to the earth that were courageous so that we can be blessed with the words of Jesus Christ. I asked Heavenly Father if the Book of Mormon was true and if it was, how I could use it more powerfully in my life to help others come unto Christ. I´m not trying to copy the words in the scriptures, but I literally felt a burning in my bosom. My body was filled with a fire and a warmth that is hard to explain. Not just that, but also a happiness that filled my body with warmth. If you have taken the time to read this letter, I want you to know that I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I have no doubt that it testifies of Jesus Christ and I know that it contains the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Yesterday we had two investigators in Church. Sandra came with her daughter Abril. Earlier in her life she overcame an addiction of cocaine and is now helping others (mostly youth) do the same. She´s incredible. She asked us since we were born in the church, if we´ve ever had temptations with things like that. I told her that I´ve never struggled with drugs, but that I struggled with anxiety, which is an addiction in its own manera. I shared Ether 12:27 with her and told her how I gained my own testimony of the gospel. The truth is, she used the same method to overcome her addiction. She was amazed at the power of the scripture. Yesterday she was deciding if she should come to church and she prayed and thought of the Bible. Her knowledge of the bible answered her questions and she came. Please keep her in your prayers. She´s incredible but she has many doubts.

In this ward that I´m in, there are about 80 members that attend every week and there are 4 elders. And we all live with each other. It´s a lot of fun!

Thanks for all the prayers, love, and support. And have fun in the sun! It´s starting to get a little chilly here! Thank goodness haha.

Love Elder Bosco II

Week #38

My new companion Elder Kropelnicki. He´s from Seattle Washington. Everyone thinks we´re twins! hahaha

 

 

 

Hola Familia!

What a week we had! It was my first in Caisamar and we worked hard! My hand was almost bitten off by a dog and an old man started threatening us with a metal pipe because we offered his wife help, but what are you gonna do... it´s the mission! haha

 

I had the opportunity to go on splits with an Elder from Columbia- Elder Moreno. He´s about to finish his mission this transfer and he´s a great missionary. He taught me a lot about how to be a leader on the mission by his example. We worked really hard that day and we ran a lot. While we were waiting for the bus to return to our areas, I asked him a few things about the mission. He told me something that has stuck to my mind for a while now. He told me that the Lord expects more out of us. Isn´t that the truth. Sometimes we get too comfortable with what we are doing and many times when that happens, we go through the motion. We all need to ask ourselves. What is it that the Lord expects of me. I don´t know about you guys, but he definitely expects a lot more from me. The Savior has given us everything and has set a perfect path before us. We need to give him more of us- and part of that is helping others give more of themselves.

 

I was thinking about my life the other day on the mission. I noticed how many of my weaknesses that I´ve found in my life from the mission. Ether 12:27 came to my mind. If we come unto Christ, He will show us our weaknesses. If we are finding weaknesses in our lives and we have the humility to make them strengths in our lives through the Savior´s Atonement, then we are living right. It means that we are coming unto Christ. The weaknesses we have are to let us grow. We must have patience with ourselves and others because just like Brother Tyler´s mother always says, Eternal Things Grow Slowly. 

 

Remember that we are eternal children of God which means that our growth process is slow. Thank goodness the Atonement is eternal.

Thanks for all the love, support, and prayers. I hope everyone is preparing for General Conference in a few weeks. 

I can´t wait!! Love you all!

Love Elder Bosco II

 

Week #37

Hola Familia!

What a surprise! Elder Fallentine and I had a great week of work. I love it in Pehuajó. I feel like the Lord is helping us see our labors in this city. I thought for sure that because we arrived blind in this area, we´d both stay for transfers. I felt that there was still a lot for me to do in Pehuajó and a lot for me to learn. I prayed for a few nights that I would be able to stay and learn more-- but only if it was the will of the Lord. And well, it wasn´t the will of the Lord. I got transferred again! The same Wesley that has never liked a lot of change in his life has been transferred to 3 different places in 3 months. Yes I´m getting good at packing my bags, and yes I´m good at lugging them around. haha. The truth is the Lord has better things for me to learn in my new area.

I got transferred to Mar del Plata! I get to return! But this time I´m in a city called Caisamar. It´s like Provo/Orem to Pompeya. I´ve already been on splits in this area and I know some of the members from Stake activities. It´s so crazy to be back in a ward again. And the great news is, I´ll get to see everyone from Pompeya during stake activities! My new companion is Elder Kropelnicki (What an awesome name!) He´s from a small city close to Seattle, Washington. I already know him from the MTC and from Necochea. I´m so excited to work with him! I´ll send a picture of us two another week. I was also named District Leader here in Caisamar. I´m not really sure what to do and yes I feel inadequate, but gratefully the Lord knows what I need to do and how I need to lead. I´m extremely grateful for this opportunity to put more trust in the Lord and learn from Him.

This week in Pehuajó, we talked to an investigator and he told us that he loves talking to us, but he doesn´t want to change his life because it´s the only life that he knows. He says it´s hard for him. And the truth is-- it is hard. To let something go that is comfortable to you was, is, and will always be super hard. But sometimes we have to let go of our rust so that the Lord can polish us into the Golden person that he knows that we can become. He´s not going to force us to change. He gave us agency so that we will let Him change us. I´ve seen it on my mission. The mission changes missionaries. It´s incredible.

Thanks for all the love and support. P.S. mom- unfortunately we don´t get the chance to go to the temple during the mission. It really is tough. But at least we can prepare others and their families to go!! I love you all!

Love, Elder Bosco II

 

 Bye Bye Pejuajó!

 The Vila Fam

The Vila Family! (I gave them the ties you guys sent and for the picture, I wore the small one hahaha)

 Pres. Suarez and his family from Pehuajó

 

Week #36

Hola Familia!

This week was a good one! I learned a lot of things that will definitely help me for the rest of my life. The thing that I love most about the mission, is that the scriptures are ALIVE in the mission field. Let me explain myself haha. I´ve always loved the scriptures and they´ve always been a comfort for me to read them. The counsel, the stories, the prophets. They´re all incredible. I truly know the Book of Mormon is true. 

This week especially, I noticed that the scriptures have a whole different meaning when you´re living them! I´ve seen situations in family life, situations with people´s beliefs, trials that people have, whatever it may be-- there seems to always be an answer and/or a story in the Book of Mormon to compliment it.

We met a man named Ricardo who was smoking outside of his house and he let us in. He gave him a Book of Mormon and testified of its truthfulness. He´s really interested and he has a lot of questions about life and religion. We visited him the other day and we talked a lot about the book of mormon. With everything we talked about, we were able to use a scripture from the Book of Mormon to testify of the principle. Thanks to the guide of the Holy Spirit, we were able to answer a lot of his questions. After about the third question answered, he stared at the Book of Mormon like it was some type of magic book. Then he looked at us and asked us how we knew the answers to all of these questions. As if we´ve been studying our whole lives! We testified that the Book of Mormon has the answers to EVERYTHING that we need answers to. He truly was in awe with the book. It was incredible to see the Book of Mormon come ALIVE in someone´s life.

Unfortunately, he didn´t come to church because he was out late with some of his friends... I mean really early in the morning haha. But when we visited him after church, he told us that he feels a lot better talking with us and it´s really hard for him to let go of some of his old habits. He told us to be patient with him, and that we´ll do. Heavenly Father shows perfect patience and he is definitely helping Ricardo.

I know that the Book of Mormon is true. There is no doubt in my life. Each verse-even each word- has purpose and meaning in our lives. As we study and learn and pray about the words that are contained in this book, we WILL come to know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. There is no greater knowledge that we can gain.

Thanks for all the love, prayers, and support. I´m extremely grateful for everyone´s example. And good luck Provo High Baseball! I can´t believe the season is already starting!!

P.S. Alejandro Vila blessed the Sacrament for the first time this week, Vanesa (His spouse) bore her testimony in church, and they both fasted without being reminded. They are incredible and extremely faithful to the Lord. What a blessing!

Love Elder Bosco II