Week 12: 3 Months as a Missionary!! 7/25/2002

Hola everybody! How are you all doing? I hope all is well back home, and I continue to pray for you all every day!

Well we are already one week into the new transfer! Crazy right? Time flies when you are a missionary! I know it doesn´t fly at all back home for ya´ll, but when you're the missionary it does! You are just so busy all the time!

Well this past week was pretty eventful! 2 days of it was spent in Córdoba to handle all of my migration forms and what not, so now I am legal hahah. I took some pictures in Córdoba that I will send in the email! But we stayed at another companionships house. Elder Reidhead and Elder Lewis. They are ZL´s for that area and are some great missionaries! We got there and they had two matresses set out on the floor for us and that night when we went to bed all Elder Scott and I could smell was pee! We were like, why does it smell like pee?? Come to find out those Elders had a cat that lived in that apartment that was peeing all over the mattresses! Gross right?? I know, I slept on a pee covered matress haha but welcome to the life as a missionary in Argentina! If you aren't doing anything gross here, you ain't living right haha!

After Córdoba, we came back and had a district council meeting the next day! We have a new district leader, and another new missionary! Our district is so strong!! It was such a good district council meeting full of good goals and the spirit! 

As far as missionary work goes it has been hard. If we counted numbers, we aren't doing so hot ahah but we got a great text from our zone leaders this morning that made me and Elder Scott feel great. It said: 

  "Good morning my dear Elders. I had a thought this morning for Elder Weese and you as well Elder Scott. Always remember that our numbers as a missionary do not gauge our success as missionaries. Our success is measured by our commitment to the Lord to give Him everything we've got. I can confidently say you two are some of the most dedicated missionaries I have met in my 16 months of service. Which in turn means you are some of the most successful missionaries never forget that. Love you have a good day!"

That text made a lot of those hard times easy. SUCCESS IS NOT DETERMINED BY OUR NUMBERS, IT IS DETERMINED BY OUR DEDICATION! I can confidently say that all the missionaries that I have on this email list are determined missionaries! So in that way, you are successful missionaries!

Anyways I love you all and I have many pictures for you all! Stay safe this week and love one another!

Love, Elder Weese

Pictures:

Week 11: Transfers!! 7/18/2022

Hola todos! Cómo está? Well this transfer is now over, and I am on number 2 now! Wow I can't believe how fast this transfer went by hahah! Well lots of changes now, but I am happy to say me and Elder Scott are together still in Catamarca for another transfer! The sad news is we had to say goodbye to one of the best persons I have ever met in my life, and that is Elder Thorpe! Elder Thorpe completed his mission, and we dropped him off last night at the terminal to send him home. That was HARD! Hahah but it is okay, he is a Utah boy too so I will bug him when I get home hahah. The other SAD news is that Elder Marshall, our district leader, moved up to be the zone leader so we had to say goodbye to him. The good part of it is that he is our zone leader so we will still see him, just not as much. He is another one of those people that has to be the best I have ever met!

Well last week, not a whole lot happened other than that! Elder Scott and I never take our foot off the gas pedal, we just grind and grind and grind! 

I will have more pictures this time though haha! Sorry I haven't been all that great at that, but I promise I will get better!

I love you all and hope that all is well back home! Stay safe please! I will write ya'll again next week! Chow!

Love, Elder Weese

Week 10: Another Week!! 7/11/2022

Hello everyone! Another week has flown by out here in Catamarca! It has been really hot this week so I am a sweatin awayyyy! This last week was pretty good! Elder Scott and I have been grinding on following the council from our APs and talking to everyone! It was hard but it was good for me to be a better missionary for the Lord! 

Well not a whole lot of news to put on here! We had to stop teaching a few people which is always hard to do! It is hard to have people keep commitments out here. But I know the Lords timing is always perfect so they will have another chance with things.

I went on exchanges again this week with Elder Gonzales! He is from Mendoza and doesn't really speak much English so I got some good practice with the Spanish with him hahah. 

Elder Thorpe is about to leave which makes me SAD! He is another Elder that lives in my house and we have been getting along so well so it will be very hard to see him go! 

It is crazy how fast time flies by! I have been out in Argentina for a month already! I still feel like the stupid greeny (which I am) But it is way cool to think about all the new guys who will be coming in next week because this transfer is already almost over!

Well I got a spiritual thought that I want to throw in this email. For me, the mentality of staying happy has been a hard concept to grasp. Being depressed and hard on myself has been a struggle for me, but I have something I want to add in this for ya'll. Hang on. Hang on to every belief that you have, even if it is small because that is what gets me through the hard times, the struggles, and the disappointments. Here are some of mine. 

I know that we have a Savior who LIVES! I have seen it out here because I have seen people CHANGE and there is no possible way to do that other than through the miraculous atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know it because it has pulled me out of those dark holes and has filled that heart break with hope. I know that we have a prophet who leads and guides this church today along with his apostles. I know that they love all of us too. They know how hard life is, how much Satan breaks hearts, but even better they know how to help us out of that. 

With that being said I have a challenge for you. Whenever it gets hard, whenever you want to quit, whenever you think you are not good enough. STOP and think, would the Savior ever want me to think that way of myself? I have the answer for you and it is NO! The Savior loves you! The Savior knows you because He knows how you feel. He went through everything that you are going through and he didn't have too. He did it because He loves you. Please hang on for me! 

D&C 6:36 Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not.

I love all of you! Your prayers are felt and I cannot thank you all enough for everything! Stay happy! Stay positive!

I will talk to ya'll soon!

Love, Elder Weese

Week 9: BOOOOORNNNNNN IN THE USA 7/4/2022

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYBODY!! How are y'all doin!? Todo bien?? This week FLEEEEEWWWW lemme tell ya! It's been fun though!

Well for the update, I am out of the boot! The toe is feelin good! I threw the hey dudes on today and they have never felt better! I am feelin healthy now! 

Well on the work side of things, Elder Scott and I have been killing it on making contacts! We have been trying our best to talk to everybody that we come in contact with! It has been helping my Spanish, it also has been helping the work because people think my accent is funny since I am still pretty new haha! It has been great though! The gift of tongues has been working in me so I owe all of that to Heavenly Father! We now have a new goal this week on finds! We are going to make sure we focus on groups of people on the street rather than just individuals. It is a little nerve racking, but the chances are even better because you can convert multiple people in just 10 minutes! So pray for me and my companion on this one!

On Saturday, I got to see my first baptism here! There were actually two and they combined them! The Elders in Ancasti and Ambato both had the baptisms, and it was really cool to watch! They baptized two kids that were both 11 years old! After the baptism, we had our English class! English classes are just so fun honestly haha! All that we do basically, is we just sit and have conversations in English for an hour. We talked about the UFC, the xbox, and we played a little game called 2 truths and a lie. It feels good to be able to speak English for a little while since I speak Spanish all the time now hahah!

I also went on my first exchange this week with my district leader, Elder Marshall! I traveled up to Ancasti and met him there! Elder Marshall is a cool guy! He loves hunting, fishing, and anything outdoors sooooo as you could guess, yes we got along pretty dang well! He has google photos on his phone so I got to see a lot of the stuff he has shot and lemme tell ya, he has killed some freaks! 2020, he killed a buck that scored 226 I want to say. He also has a lot of the kill shots on his phone so it was fun watching all that haha. But we also did some missionary work while we were at it! So we didn't only just talk about our bows, guns, rods, and what not haha! One of the visits we had was the baptismal interview questions for one of the boys that was baptized on Saturday! The kid didn't like to talk much but when he did, he was pretty smart!

I can't remember if I told ya what I did last week, but we went to a place called Rodeo for a hike! I think my mom sent the pictures for me (thanks momma love ya) but yes I did hike with the good old boot on my foot haha! It was a good time! We rode on a bus for about 45 minutes, the bus ride was way pretty too! We got there and ate some lunch at a little restaurant. We ate some Empanadas and they we muuuyyyy ricaaaa! Rodeo is wayyy cool! It is a very quiet place in the mountains of Argentina so I enjoyed it very much ahah! I am so used to living in Centro Catamarca where it is just way loud! After we ate we went on the hike! We hiked up to the Christus, I have no idea how to spell anymore but I think that is right, anyways the hike was way fun! On the way up the mountain there were pictures along the way which described the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It was pretty powerful! Christ went through a lot! Aren't we just so lucky to have Him? 

When you get to the top, that's where the Christus was. It is a pretty big statue! Me and Elder Marshall could hear turkeys gobbling when we got to the top and it made me just have the ITCH man!

Anyways that's basically it! I love ya'll! I hope ya'll have a good time today and enjoy the freedoms that you have in the USA! I can be one to tell you that we are very lucky to have what we have, believe me, I have been living in South America so it is different haha! 

I love ya'll! Have a great week! 

Love, Elder Weese

Week 8: RIP my big toe!! 6/27/2022

Hola everybody! Elder Weese here again with another email about how fast time flies out here. We'll I have been in Argentina for 3 weeks now! Ain't that crazy?? I have been a missionary for over 2 and a half months too!! Well folks as you can see by the title, I had a rough week haha. 

Last pday I was playing soccer with some Argentines and you all probably know how that went for me haha. To make the story short, I jacked up my big toe and now I am in a boot! But all is well haha, the work goes on!

Well throughout the week, we were just super busy figuring out how to help out my situation and find some people, but we got er done!! Hospitals here are a little but different than what they are like in the US haha! 

I had some good food this week! These people here know how to cook lemme tell ya!

Well that basically sums up the week! This was a short email haha, and we are about to leave to go in the mountains so I don't have much time! 

I love you all! Stay safe, don't play to much soccer! 

Love, Elder Weese

P.S I FORGOT MY CAMERA AGAIN!!! SORRYYYYYYY, ILL TRY TO SEND PICTURES LATER!

Week 7: Anotha Week another dollar!! 6/20/2022

Hola everybody! I can't believe I have reached another Pday out here in Catamarca! Time flies when you are staying busy lemme tell ya! This last week, Elder Scott and I went above our goal on finds so we are very happy about that! Unfortunately none of those finds came to church on Sunday. Church is weird over here haha! There were 33 people in total, last week there were 40. It is very difficult to keep people committed here, there are a lot of inactives. We have on record 750 people that should be coming to church, and the most we usually have is 40. Elder Scott and I have been finding new people, but now we really want to keep our focus on the ward and figure out how to light that spark for them again. Lemme tell ya it is so hard! It gets very discouraging but I know I am in the Lord's hands and He will help me gather His sheep! That is why I am here!!

I can honestly say the food here never disappoints! It is so good! I might be gaining a little weight already but I have no idea yet so I don't want to jinx myself! I have a gross food experience that I will share with ya´ll! If you guys really know me well and I am sure most of you do this, but when it comes to hair in my food it just completely RUINS my day! We were eating at a member's house and when we eat member meals, they just put all of their effort into that meal they serve you and it is good! Anyways she handed me my plate and I started eating, a few bites into it I looked down and I saw this hair that is at least 40 feet long. I FROZE! I am thinking what the crap do I do? I can´t stop eating this because that will be rude, but I don't want to eat the hair and I can't just pull the hair out for all of them to see! But don´t worry, I was pretty sneaky about pulling the hair out of the food ahah. I finished that plate of food and I got seconds like a MAN! Don´t worry folks I am getting tougher out here!

Well there was a lot that happened! I said goodbye to my mission president🙁 He isn´t home yet, but we had a conference as a whole mission and that is where we said our goodbyes! But don 't worry, he is from Manti Utah and he is a farmer so I told him I would help out when I get home! But needless to say I am looking forward to meeting the new president! I have only seen a picture and a little video of him and his wife. He has a beautiful family as well! In the video he and his wife just talked about not to worry, they are nervous too! It will be a good time with them though! But all together that conference was great because I got to meet all of the mission for the first time in person!! I have an awesome mission, it is the best mission in the world ain't nothin to it!!

After the conference we just got back to the grind! Countless phone calls, facebook friend requests, and hours on the street just looking for those who will listen to our message! I have seen the blessings in my mission call unfold out here! We have found people who are interested and want to know more! But there are also people out here who are STUBBORN! When you talk with them it is usually, ¨I am catholic and I will NEVER change¨ As all of you may know, the majority of people out here are catholic. It is funny because not a whole lot of them practice it still, they just say they are catholic because their family is but they don´t go to church at all. But I do have some faith in them! We are teaching many catholics right now who are having that change of heart, so pray for them all please!

I think one of the biggest blessings about a mission is that the people out here turn into your family. You laugh with them when they are happy, you cry with them when they have challenges, and you just feel so proud when they progress. This is my holy ground ya´ll! I have only been here for 2 weeks and have already developed this indescribable love for these people!

Well folks that is all I have in me for this email! I love you all and pray for you all! Your prayers are felt out here and I cannot thank you all enough for all that you do! Stay safe! Stay righteous, and let God prevail! 

Love, Elder Weese

P.S- I totally forgot my camera so there won´t be a whole lot of pictures! Perdón😢

1.  My FANTASTIC Mission President, Presidente Hintze!!

Week 6: My First P-Day in Argentina 6/13/2022

Howdy folks cómo están?! ¿Cómo fueron sus semanas? Well I can´t believe how it has already been a week for me out here in Argentina! So much has happened it is crazy!! Well I left the CCM at 6 AM! Our flight left at 10 and it was 9 hours long to Buenos Aires!! It wasn't too bad though because I had a missionary opportunity on the plane ride over! I was sitting next to this guy named Christian. Christian is from México City, he is 44 years old and has a daughter. I got to know who he was really well! He is a really cool guy! He likes to travel a lot, and he told me about all the places he has been in the world. His favorite place ever is Japan! He knows everything about Japan and enjoyed telling me about it haha. Well onto the missionary side of things, he looked at me and all the other missionaries that were sitting by me and was asking why we were all in suits. I told him how we are missionaries for La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días, and we like to share messages about Jesus Christ and his restored gospel! I taught him a little bit more about our church and what we are all about. Well at the end of the flight I had the feeling to give him a little note that had my testimony on it that I wrote in one of my classes in Mexico. He found me in the airport again and shook my hand and thanked me for the note. I am super grateful for the opportunity I had to do that, I know that the spirit touched his heart.

Well after making it through the airport we were wondering who was going to pick us up and take us to the hotel we were gonna hang out in for a little bit. Me and all the boys from Mexico got out of everything and there was a guy who saw us and just immediately took us to his van. As we were walking we were so confused hoping that we weren't going to be kidnapped because everytime we asked him about who he was and where we were going he really didn't have too much of an answer. But to make a long story short we made it to the hotel at 10:45 at night. We got our rooms all situated and then they told us how we have free dinner so we went to the place where they serve it and it was FANCY FOOD! We had empinadas, steaks, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and a chocolate dessert! Oh my it was so good! We were up there until midnight eating haha, which wasn't too bad because we were all leaving way early anyways. We all left at different times and it was really sad saying goodbye to everybody because we all got so close!

I left at 2:45 AM soooo yes I had no sleep at all ahha. I left with 4 other missionaries who came from the Brazil MTC and they spoke no English at all soooo it was really funny trying to figure out what they were saying to me, and how I was supposed to communicate with them. I was able to speak with them for a little bit, but I didn't know much Spanish at all!

Well we flew from Buenos Aires to Córdoba and I was OUT the entire plane ride haha, I was sooo tired! Part of me still feels like I am recovering from that jet lag that I had ahha. We made it to Córdoba and that is where I met my mission President and his wife, President and Sister Hintze. I LOVE THEM WITH MY ENTIRE HEART! They have to be the nicest people I have ever met! They asked me how my spanish was with the people I rode the plane with and laughed when I told them I had nooo idea what the crap was going on! It is sad because they are only here for 2 more weeks so I won't get to have them for so long. But they live in Utah so I will be reconnecting with them when I get home ahaha! Well we got to the mission home where I met a bunch of other missionaries and we all ate empinadas together and drank some pritty. Pritty is a really good drink here! Eventually in that home, I figured out who my companion was! My companion is Elder Scott and he is from Washington DC. I truly lucked out with him because WOW talk about a FANTASTIC MISSIONARY! He has been so patient with me adjusting to this place especially with my spanish haha! I love that guy so much! 

After we figured out who our companions were we then figured out our areas. I am serving in Catamarca which is a 6 hour bus ride from Córdoba. We hopped on a midnight bus ride and got to Catamarca at 6 AM where I unpacked everything and met the other missionaries who live in our apartment. Their names are Elder Thorpe and Elder Weston and they are truly the best! Elder Thorpe is just about ready to go home, this is his last transfer here so I will miss that guy a lot when he leaves. Luckily he lives in Utah so I will be seeing him again!

Well this week was great! Getting adjusted and getting to work! There are lots of street dogs out here, literally everywhere! Elder Scott and I pretty much have one as a pet because when he sees us he recognizes us and follows us wherever we walk to! We named him Mateo and I took some pictures of him that you will get to see ahah. I have seen miracles this week, TRUE miracles from God. I want to share one in particular from yesterday. Elder Scott and I were doing some street contact and we took turns picking who we talked to. Well this time was my turn, I looked up and saw this guy sitting outside at a restaurant and on his phone with earbuds in. Truly not the ideal person right because it is hard to get them to listen to our message. Well I got the feeling of GO TALK TO HIM. I said Elder Scott how about him, so we walked up and immediately he said please sit down I want to listen. We told him who we were and he immediately told us how his wife died 4 days ago. We then taught him about the plan of salvation and had the opportunity to tell him where his wife is right now. We gave him a book of mormon, a pamphlet about the plan of salvation, and he gave us his phone number. What an incredible experience that was! 

Well that basically sums up the week, there was a lot happening but I don't want to make this email wayyy long aha. Anyways I love you guys and I pray for ya´ll everyday! Jesus loves you and KNOWS you personally. All of you are worthy of God's love. God needs all of us to assist in the work of gathering Israel! Have a wonderful week!

 

Love, Elder Weese

1.  The PLAZA!!

2.  Mateo the street dog!! Mí amigo!!

3.  The GIANT Cathedral

4.  Goodbye Mexico City

5-11.  Meeting President & Sister Hintze and the other missionaries in Córdoba

12.  President & Sister Hintze 

13.  Elder Thorpe

14.  Garbage Cans in Argentina

15.  Mí compañero Elder Scott

16.  Hola!!