Week 34: Feliz Navidad 12/26/2022

Howdy everybody!!! How are things going back up north!? Ya'll still feeling the Christmas spirit up there? I must say it is hard to feel like it is Christmas without any snow haha, but life goes on I guess!!

 

Well this past week was slow!! We are still inside a lot due to my companion getting a concussion. But he has been getting better and better so we have been able to go out more!! I remember we were planning our day one morning and he said, "Elder let's go out this morning." We were both stoked about that because usually it has been we are in the house all day and then in the night when we have some lessons we will go out!

 

With all that being said I must say that it has been weird getting back into the groove of talking to people outside! It us almost like Satan wants to shut your mouth when everything inside of you is telling you to open it!! But if there is anything that I have learned it is that when I am talking to people, with our without rejection I am happy! But if I ignore people as they walk past me, I don't feel to stoked about being a missionary. It is very important to "Hablar con todos"

 

This past week we did have some miracles happen!! One that has been on my mind ever since it had happened was when we had a lesson with our friend Julio Quitero who will be getting baptized here in a couple of weeks!! Anyways for a lot of time we have been trying to get a lesson in with him but he us just been so busy with work and what not, so we were worried! Anyways just one day out of the blue he calls us. He said hey guys how are ya and we were chatting for a bit but then he said, can you guys come over right now? So we got up and out so fast it is crazy!! Anyways we went to his dad's house and there we met his dad, his niece, his mom, and his nephew!! A really down to earth, good family! We taught all of them and focused on the power of prayer, at the end of the lesson we looked at Julio and asked him if he wanted to say a prayer. At first he was hesitant, but he offered one of the most simple heart felt prayers and when he was done, I asked him how he felt. After that moment he couldn't speak, he just had a big smile on his face and with tear filled eyes he nodded! Truly a day that I will never forget. It is powerful to be able to witness the Holy Ghost touch the soul of somebody who has never felt it before!! 

 

After the lesson he had to slaughter some pigs and asked if I wanted to help, but sadly we didn't have time but my goodness I wanted to so bad!!!

 

Christmas is a little different here in Argentina! Especially in Aimogasta, giving gifts and having a tree isn't really a thing. They start their Christmas on Christmas eve at about 11 at night, and finish at about 7 in the morning. In that they drink and party, that's about it! So, being missionaries we could participate in the parties full of alcohol sadly, nah I'm just teasin haha! But what Elder Krupp and I did was we had dinner with the group leader and his family on Christmas Eve, then on Christmas day we just ate a lot of food, and hung around the house because the President didn't want us outside!

 

Anyways sorry for the long email! If you made it down this far I'll take you deer huntin! Well I love you all and am mindful of yall daily!! Never forget the divine potential you have and the immense amount of love that Heavenly Father has for you!! No matter what everybody else says to ya, no matter where you are on the covenant path, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you just as much as they love President Nelson😊 

Have a fantastic week!

Love, Elder Weese

Pics:

1. Things are cooling down a bit!!

2. Opening up Christmas presents.

3. Me and my boy Gordon Ramsey eating some french toast.

4. The Christmas tree

5. Adiòs Jerry!!

6. The Zone

Week 33: A Week in Córdoba. 12/19/2022

Howdy everybody!!! How are things goin’ up North!? I see that there is a bit of snow now hahah!!! 

Well my week was very interesting haha!! So basically the whole week was spent in Córdoba, I'll explain why. So on Tuesday my companion got a concussion, because we were walking down the street and he hit his head on an AC unit outside of somebody's house! So we finished up the morning and just came back into a dark room to where he could rest. That night we hopped on a bus to Córdoba for a mission conference!! Well, at least half the mission haha they split it up into two!

The mission conference was great!! We talked a lot about the things we sacrificed to come on a mission, and how we can seek ways to sacrifice more. I remember watching a video of the birth of christ (you can find it on gospel library, it is really good!) It is a called, "The Christ Child" I'll never forget the spirit that was felt as we watched it. The one part that hit me the most was when the wise men finally met Jesus. We all know, that the wise men traveled for many years to find Jesus. Jesus wasn't a little baby when they saw him! But the reaction of the wise men, of how they cried and bowed down to him will forever be in my heart. They knew, that their Savior was born, the one who would take upon himself the sins of the world and do all of that out of love.

After the conference was over, I had to say goodbye to an absolute legend in our district who went home, Elder Lewis. Man, that was hard doing that!! I look forward to seeing how the Lord is going to bless the life of that returned missionary because not only did he just come on the mission, he served.

On the way back to the terminal to head for home, we got a call from Hermana Zanni telling us to come back to the mission home because of Elder Krupp and his concussion. She said we need to go too the hospital! So that's what we did!! And that is why we were there for a week because we needed the go ahead to be able to get on an 8 hour bus ride back up to Aimogasta! But that week was one of the best weeks that I have had on the mission!!

I got to know the Zannis in a way that I never thought I would. It is easy to say that I would do anything for that family. They have blessed my life and have helped me feel like I am worth something in a way that nobody else has. We were able to eat dinner with their family, go to Carlos Paz (which is another area in the mission) and look at the scenery over there (and buy me a Sombrero because hermana Zanni is not happy that I have been letting the sun beat down on me) and go to the temple to end the week!! I'll throw all the pictures in this email of the adventure!!

We did have something crazy happen to us on the bus ride back to Aimogasta!! So about an hour in the ride we hear two explosions in the bus. Come to find out that two huge rocks were thrown in the bus, one just missing a lady and the other hitting a boy right in the mouth! The bus stopped and everybody screamed KEEP GOING!! So that's what we did! We stopped about another 25 minutes or so on the way back to switch buses after waiting another hour for a bus to come. Now, I'll tell ya why everybody wanted to keep going. 

The rocks were thrown at the window because that is how they rob people here. They throw rocks at the bus and wait for it to stop to where they can come in with guns, and rob everybody! Crazy right!? Don't worry, I'm okay haha!!

Argentina also won the world cup so we are champions baby!!! 🏆

Well that is about it for ya!! This week was great!! I hope all is well back home and if you need me, feel free to reach out at anytime!! Love yall, and be safe this week!!

Love, Elder Weese

Week 32: Flirt to Convert 12/12/2022

Howdy everybody!!! How yall doing!? I hope this email finds you all safe and enjoying the snow!!! 

Well let's get started with how the week went! It started off with Elder Krupp and I in La Rioja because we spent the pday with the missionaries there, and I had a couple ingrown toenails removed. Ya it sucked hahah!!! They handle it a little different here in Argentina, they don't numb the toe and they make a lot of cuts. After she pulled one of them out she told me how she needed to cut the skin to prevent it from coming back so she grabbed her scissors and cut the skin off the side of my toe! Sorry I am going into description here hahah but yes there was A LOT of blood!

Well after that party, we finally made it back to Aimogasta! The work has been going well! We have been finding some good people to teach!!! One of them is a family we found because we were walking down the street and a guy asked us if we wanted some water, so we said heck yes!!! We walked up to his house and he had his wife and 2 kids outside!! Later on his cousin came! We took the opportunity to teach them and they had a lot of solid questions, such as "Where were we before everything?" and "Where are we going?" So we ended up teaching a fire plan of salvation lesson to them!!! I have a lot of faith in these people!! 

This weekend was also a big holiday for all the catholic believers here, it was "Día de Virgen de la valle" which is a way for them to celebrate Mary, Jesus's mom. There is a big cathedral next to our house and there were tons of people outside and they were all giving us weird looks haha!

Ok now I'll explain the title of this email!! So we have a baptism date and his name is Julio Quitero, some guy that me and my last companion found a while back. Anyways he has been coming to church and there is this girl in the ward that really likes him. She texted us on Sunday morning and told us how she texted and asked Julio to pick her up for church! They come to church together, Julio is dressed up all nice and has the biggest smile on his face! I look at him and said, "Dang you look good!!!" And the girl looked at us and nodded her head haha!! So I am pretty happy she pulled chapter 14 of preach my gospel, "flirt to convert"

Well that was my week! I hope you are all spending lots of time with the family during this season!!! Always remember why we celebrate it!!! I love yall and will see ya next week!!!

Love, Elder Weese

Week 31: Baptism Week!! 12/5/2022

Hola a todos!!! Cómo están? Espero que están emocionados por la Navidad que va a venir en un ratito!!!

This week went super well! I had exchanges in another area called Chilecito!! I paired up with a missionary named Elder Lewis, who only has a few days left in the mission. He is also from St George so I will for sure be hanging out with him when I get home!!!

Exchanges went so well! I learned so much, I got to see a lot of miracles happen and there is one that I want to talk about. So when we first got to chilecito, we were figuring out what we wanted to do for lunch. Elder Lewis sent a text to one of the members and they said yes! We went over, had a really good lunch and then we shared a message. During the message, the mom of the house told us, "Elders, I'm not going to lie. I didn't have any money to buy food today, and I was really scared about not being able to feed my family. I went to the ATM to go pull money and I had nothing. I then got your text and I couldnt say no, so I went again and then the money was there."

I remember walking out of the house just in awe for a while. Truly I feel like I have changed so much just because of that experience that Elder Lewis and I had. We made sure to take pictures in that exchange so I will be sending some your way!!!

Well this Sunday we baptized our friend, AKA my grandma here on the mission, Luciana!! I was lucky enough to be able to baptize her! It went so well! I will never forget the joy that she felt after. Right after I asked how do you feel? She told me that she didn't want to leave the water! So awesome!!!

Well I love you all! I want you to always remember that!! God loves you, so much. Trust me, if God loves an imperfect person like me, He loves you! Have a wonderful week!!!

Love, Elder Weese