Week #48

Hola Familia,

First off, I have to thank the Squires Family. That was seriously such a big blessing and a miracle. We had a great time with them and it gave me so much more motivation to keep working hard and to give the Lord everything that I´ve got. I was really grateful that they took the time to look for me. Brother Squires gave us some good thoughts of how big of a blessing it is to return to his daughter´s areas and to see all of the people that she has touched from her service. Thank you Squires Family!!

This week was a great week and I learned a lot. First of all, I learned a lot from Pres Hinckley´s words when he said that every new member needs a responsibility. Diego, who got baptized two months ago, was given the responsibility to welcome people into the Gospel Principles class, to conduct, and to assign a pray, etc. We taught him how to do it and we told him of the importance of having a smile on his face, having a lot of energy, and being early to church so that he can great people. He felt so special having been given a responsibility to  help others. He showed up to church 15 minutes early and he was greeting everything with a LOT of energy. We told him to help one of our investigators and he did it with a lot of happiness. He sat by him, he led him to the classes, he explained things to him, and after the Sacrament Meeting, he gave me the big thumbs up that the investigator had a great experience. This responsibility gave Diego a new light and a purpose to be in church. I honestly think that his testimony and Spirit doubled yesterday. And for me, it was a testimony of the inspired words of prophets. Let me tell you, prophets know what they´re talking about. If you want to have success- follow them.

The investigator that was at church today was Mario. He´s about 70 years old and he is READY. It was a referral from a member so we visited him and we started talking about the Book of Mormon. He told us that he had one that someone had left him as a taxi driver years ago and he loved reading it- he told us that he already knows that it´s true. He stopped reading it because he had a stroke and he´s still recovering but he can´t read now because he lost part of his vision. He brought out a black book and I thought it was the bible, but it was a Book of Mormon from 1979. I´m not going to lie, it´s really cool. We read to him 3 Nephi 11 and by the end, he was basically asking us when he could get baptized. The Spirit was really strong and he knows that the gospel is true. We get to teach him now and we read the Book of Mormon to him out loud. I can´t wait to see him enter the waters of baptism. He´s definitely ready. He loved church on Sunday and he told us that he was filled with a feeling of peace and happiness, as if is insides were expanding. And thanks to Diego and his fellowshipping, Mario is progressing well haha.

Thanks for all the love and support. I can´t believe I´m turning 19 this week. I can´t imagine my life if I would have left as a 19 year old. I´m so grateful to have left as an 18 year old because I wouldn´t trade these experiences for anything!

Love Elder Bosco II

 Squires family

Eating Ice Cream with the Squires Family

We ran to the ocean in the morning. The pictures are bad because it´s so dark. But it was lots of fun!

 By the Ocean

 Pedro  and Mabel. They were the first baptismal interviews that I was able to give and I was able to visit them this week. What a blessing!

Week #47

Hola Familia!

I´m not going to lie mom, it was pretty cool. After the dedication, a member told me that there was someone on the phone that wanted to talk to me. I answered the phone and I was really confused to who it was. I remember the Squires but I couldn´t remember the last name. The truth is, I was thinking about them the other day! They called me and we got to talk for a few minutes. They´re going to take us to lunch today for P-Day. I´m really excited to see them!

More than anything else that happened this week, I want to tell you about the temple dedication of the Córdoba Temple. It was such a cool experience. On Saturday we watched a preview where all of the Provinces in Argentina were represented by their special dances. It reminded me of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. It was really cool. Then a family sang the Primary Song that Families are of God. It was so cool to see all the Argentines super happy and blessed to have the temple. I thought a lot about how much I truly love the people here who I have served. I am so grateful that the Lord blessed them with another Temple!! 

 

The dedication was Sunday and it was incredible. I can´t explain it in words. I was so happy to see the rooms of the temples that I´ve missed so much here on the mission. The Spirit was really strong and raised my motivation to serve more diligently so that more families can enter the Lord´s house together. Elder Uchtdorf spoke in english and the translator stood by him translating the inspired words. It was cool to realize that I understood both languages and the Spirit was there no matter what language was understood. President Uchtdorf talked about how the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement would all be a huge waste if it weren´t for temples and the sealing power that is found therein. Families truly are sealed to never be separated again. An Elder from the 70 spoke and said, [Everything that we do in the church leads us to the temples, and everything we do in the temples lead us to Jesus Christ. I know that that is true. The temples on the earth are filled with the Spirit and love of the Lord. They are on the earth to bless us. Every time a temple is built, Godliness is strengthened and the power of Satan is weakened. I´m extremely grateful for the promise of eternal families. This is the work and glory of the Lord.

Thanks for all the love, support, and prayers. Good luck Ellie on the mission! Argentina is the greatest!!

Love Elder Bosco II

 

[Our friends, Janie and Dennis Squires, took their daughter Cydnee back to Bahia Blanca where she served a few years ago. They were there to see the dedication of the Cordoba Temple. They found Wesley and took him to lunch. Thank You Squires!]

Cydnee, Dennis, Elder Bosco, Elder Sissan

Elders Sissan and Bosco, Dennis and Janie Squires

Elders Bosco and Sissan

Good Luck to Sis. Ellie Holt as she embarks for Buenos Aires South Argentina this week.

Week #46

Hola Familia!

Mother´s day is the greatest! Seeing and talking to you guys was incredible. I miss you guys so much, but more than anything, I realized just how blessed I am to have a family that loves and supports me. It´s truly a blessing that I take for granted too often. But just like any other day, we got back to work. Work, work, work. There is no other way for the Lord. Missionary work is incredible!

On Saturday, Daniel Damian Díaz got baptized! It was a miracle how we found him. It was actually a reference that we received from the Bishop. The ward helped out a lot with the baptism and it was incredible. If you are reading this, please keep Daniel in your prayers. I want him to stay faithful in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just like every convert, he needs a stronger testimony and more faith in the gospel. We´re going to work with him a lot and I hope that the Spirit will guide his thoughts and actions.

I´ve been thinking a lot about how the Spirit must guide our every thought and action. We should never do anything unless we are guided by the inspiration of the Spirit. It´s something that I´ve been focusing on, and it has helped me prepare myself for the random moments when I am asked to exercise the Sacred Priesthood of God. Just like Elder Eyring said in the Priesthood Session of General Conference, we should act in the way that the Savior would act if He were here. I know that as we all strive to be a little better at following the Spirit in our lives, our relationships will increase in love and the Spirit of the gospel will fill our lives.

Sorry it´s a little short today.. I love you all and I´m extremely grateful for the love, support, and prayers!

Love Elder Bosco II

Week #45

Hola Familia!

The truth is mom, there is May Day in Argentina. Their Primero de Mayo is equal to cinco de Mayo to Mexico in the sense that nobody has work and everyone parties. It felt a lot like Thanksgiving to me to be honest. We ate a big meal and we were stuffed all day- we were receiving food all over the place! I´m going to celebrate May 1 every year now.

We had a miracle this week! After a meeting, we were talking with the Bishop and he told us to visit a house because a relative of his lives their now and he might be a baptism! References don´t come often so we went the next day and started teaching him the Restoration. He has had a past full of drugs and cigarettes and alcohol and the last year, the evangelical church changed him. Reading and studying the bible changed his attitude and now he lives a clean life.... but he´s never been baptized. We invited him to be baptized and he accepted! And because he has been to the LDS church twice before, he´s able to get baptized on May 9! He came to church and he loved it! When we taught him the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. He accepted all of it and was teaching US the importance of living those commandments. It truly was a miracle and we´re going to keep helping him endure to the end.

As we walked into Doctrine Principles class this Sunday, it was full. With recent converts, investigators, and a less active member that we´ve been visiting. I sat down and I said a prayer of gratitude in my heart and I felt tears in my eyes. It was incredible the love and the happiness that I felt at that moment. During the Sacrament I thought about that same feeling when I saw my family in the temple, and I thought about the moment when our Savior Jesus Christ will welcome us in the mansions of our Father one day. How great shall be the joy of our Savior, who has suffered everything, to see His lost brothers in the presence of our Heavenly Father. We don´t understand this joy now, but we can experience just a part of it in the Lord´s house, the temple. I know that God lives and this is His work.

Thanks for all the love and support and I´m excited to talk to you next week!

Love, Elder Bosco II

 

 Restaurant called Krip!

Centro in Mar del Plata (_Downtown)

Elder Sisson from Nevada!