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!

 

Week #44

Hola Familia!

I went on Wednesday to Bahía Blanca and picked up my new companion. There were only 5 Elders that came in this group and 4 of them were latinos. But.. my companion was the only one from the United States. He was born in New York but has lived most of his life in Henderson, Nevada. His  mom lives in Holladay, UT. and his dad lives in New York . His mom´s name is Christina Price.. maybe you know her mom. But my new companion is great! His name is Elder Sisson and he´s 23 years old. I was thinking about it the other day and all of my companions have been 2-5 years older than me haha.

I´ve learned a LOT these last few days. It´s a testimony that God calls us in our weaknesses but doesn´t see our weaknesses. Instead, the Lord sees our potential and who we will become. The Lord didn´t see a young 14 year old when he appeared to Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove, but a instrument in His hands to bring about a marvelous work and a wonder. The same is with us. As I´ve been training, sometimes I think, "it would be easier if.... or we could have more success if..." but the truth is, that isn´t how the Lord works. He doesn´t focus on our weaknesses and neither should we. Instead He has patience with us and lets us struggle until our weaknesses become strong. I´ve learned so much about how to be patient and to see the potential in everyone of His children.

I don´t know if I told you, but Martín Villilobo lives in our area and he´s going to start coming to Caisamar because it´s closer to his house. It´s a miracle because this word has more youth preparing for missions and the bishopric was just changed yesterday. The Bishop is a 37 year old that has a lot of fire about missionary work and he´ll help Martín leave on his mission. It was a testament to me that the Lord provides the ways when we have desires to serve- like Martín does. The Lord´s work is incredible!

Thanks for all the Love and Support. For those of you who are thinking about serving a mission and have doubts- SERVE one. You´ll never regret it.

Love, Elder Bosco II

 

[No pictures this week " I'll send them next week because this computer doesn´t work", but I did find out that his companions mom lives just a few minutes from my parents in Holladay- another new friend for me! I have made a whole new set of friends, here and in other parts of the world, thanks to my children's missions and facebook!]

Week #43

Hola Familia!

These ultimate 3 weeks have been crazy. I got to spend them with Elder Moreno from Columbia and it was an incredible experience. He left yesterday and he´s truly going to be missed as a missionary. He was an incredible example to me. He taught me so much about being dedicated and enduring to the end. He literally gave everything that he had to the Lord. He taught me a lot about how to be a leader and I´m extremely grateful that the Lord gave me to opportunity to serve with him for a short time. I´m definitely a better missionary because of him.

Obviously, I´m staying here in Caisamar, Mar del Plata for the next transfer. Finally I don´t have to pack my bags and leave! haha. My new companion is traveling today and I´m not sure who it is yet. I´m going to Bahía Blanca on Wednesday to pick him up because I´m TRAINING! The truth is, I´m pretty nervious because the trainer truly shapes the mission for the new missionary. I hope that I can help this missionary reach his potential and become the missionary that the Lord expects from him. But just like any responsability, as we rely on the Lord, He will lift and strengthen us in our responsibilities. I´m excited to progress and to learn a lot as a trainer. I´m excited to serve the Lord in this way.

Something cool that will happen May 17 (if that´s a Sunday) is that we get to participate in the Temple Dedication of the Córdoba Temple. All of the churches that day don´t have services and there will be 3 services in the Stake Center. I´m really excited because I haven´t participated in a Temple Dedication in quite some time. Everyone here is excited for the new temple!

Thanks for all the Love and support and prayers. The mission is the best and I´m definitely coming unto Christ more and more everyday.

Love Elder Bosco II

Week #42

Hola Familia!

I love hearing from you mom and everything that is happening at home! The work here is rolling! Being a missionary is one of the greatest callings in the world! Being able to represent our Savior daily is a blessing that I´ll never be able to explain. You have to experience it yourself to be able to explain it.

This week I went on splits with a new Elder in the district. We were visiting some families in the ward. We knocked on a door and nobody was there so we turned around to go to the next and an older lady was walking by us, so we talked to her. She was a little shaken up because her son is in rehab for drugs. We explained the hope that comes from the Savior´s atonement and the Restoration of the gospel. We told her of the first vision and she started crying. The power of the Spirit was incredible. The elders in the area told me that she went to church this Sunday! They showed her the baptismal font and she wants to be baptized!! She said that she wants a Restoration in her own life. I´ve never thought of it that way, but people are truly prepared to receive a restoration in their own lives!

Also, Diego was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He´s doing great! He fasted on Sunday and even paid his tithing. That was incredible!! especially because he recently found work and he´s been without work for months. The blessings that will come to him are incredible, I just know it! I gave him one of my white shirts and Elder Moreno gave him a tie. He´s looking goood! I´ll send a picture of him with his church clothes on.

Thanks for all the love, support, and prayers. I love you all so much and I know that this is the work of the Lord.

Love Elder Bosco II

 Diego Gomez before he was confirmed and was given the gift of the Holy Ghost

                      HAHAHA working out in the morning. We have to find weight somewhere...