Future Generations

Hey again!

Haha sounds like everyone has been keeping pretty busy lately! I'm glad everyone is doing well! Haha and I'm glad that Elder Webster 2 didn't die from too many pupusas :) Haha Elder Webster 2 better learn how to make those. Dad keeps telling me to learn how to cook the food here but...I'm pretty sure you've all eaten pasta and chicken before :) Maybe I'll find something.

Elder Cook and I had a pretty good week this week. We were blessed to be able to have basically double the number of lessons this week than what we had the week before. Fabian is doing well and accepted a baptismal date, Jesús is doing well and committed to live the word of wisdom. So we're pretty excited for both of them. We also met a cool man this week. He stopped us in the street and asked us if we could visit him in his house. We said yes, and pulled out our agendas to write down where he lived, when he turned and opened the door to the house we were outside of and told us to come in. Well, technically it was a garage door, he's renting somebody's garage to live in. Anyway, I won't go into all the details, but he is a war veteran that fought for both the US (in Iraq) and Argentina (Las Malvinas...haha...). He's also got some serious things with his family and is looking for peace. We explained blessings of comfort and he asked for one. He was very thankful and we hope to be able to find him at home again! This week we also had exchanges, which went pretty well. I got to help set a baptismal date with an Elder in Guaymallen, and Elder Cook had his first experience with cocaine addicts...so that was special.

Anyway, verse of the week. Recently during our lunches with the members, we've been asking them what their favorite scriptures are. This past week both the bishop and the wife to the stake patriarch shared 2 Nefi25:26 with us, and I really liked what they said about it. The verse talks about how the people in the Book of Mormon talked, preached, and taught about Jesus Christ so that future generations would know how to be saved. Both the bishop's family and the stake patriarch's family told us that they try to use that scripture as a pattern for raising their own families... it seems like it worked out pretty well. Maybe like 50 years from now when I finally get married, I'll have to give it a try :)

Well I hope you are all doing well. I'm doing as good as always. Have a great week!

Elder Webster

Bom Dia!

Bom dia!

Sounds like everyone had a lot of cool things happen this past week! And I got a letter from Grandma and Grandpa Webster this past week! I think it was a new years letter, but who says that the year has to start in January? March is good too.

This week was pretty good, as always. I'm getting pretty convinced that if you want to have a good week, you'll have a good week. And why would anyone not want to have a good week? We had a lesson with Jesús early this week which went pretty well. The questions he makes to us and the way he responds to our questions make him seem like he has more real intent to know these things than almost anyone I've ever taught...but at the same time, we're struggling to help him keep basic comittments...like..being at home for our appointments. But...baby steps. We also started teaching someone named Fabian this week, which was way cool. He saw a member reading the Book of Mormon on a bus, and it reminded him of some missionaries he had known several years ago. Lately, he's kind of distanced himself from his religion after the passing away of 2 children and his wife. But he gave his phone number to the member on the bus so that she could send missionaries to go talk to him. Haha imagine our surprise when we got to his address, to see that he lives by himself inside of a small apartment complex that is only a fourth of the way built. He works on construction during the day, and when all the other workers leave, he just stays there. Anyway, we had a way good lesson with him and he opened up to us a lot. We're way excited about working with him.

So, verse of the week is something I found while studying about humility. Philippians 2: 3, 5-9. It talks about the Savior's example of humility and obedience, and that we should apply that to our lives. The part that says "..he humbled himself and became obedient unto death.." really jumped out to me. It struck me that it was literally His obedience and humility that led to His suffering and to Him getting lifted up on the cross. So often, we try to obedient or humble, and then get upset or discouraged when we don't receive the blessings that we want--but part of humility and obedience is being willing to do the will of Heavenly Father, no matter the results. Interesting. It also opens a discussion about enduring to the end.

Well I hope you all have an even better week next week than the one you had last week! Sorry if these emails are long.

Love you all,

Elder Webster

All We Can Do Is Keep Trying

Hey!

Haha I never know what to say in response to how all of your weeks went. But I'm guessing that by now you've figured out that I'm basically going to say that "I'm glad you all had a great week!" at the beginning of my email every week haha. So... I'm glad you all had a great week!

This past week was pretty good. We're still having a little trying to find people who are actually at home at the times when they tell us that they will be home but... If I let that bother me I'd have gotten pretty depressed a long, long time ago. So no worries, all we can do is keep trying. Some of the highlights this week included getting to watch The Restoration with Agustin, Facundo and the rest of their family (they showed up towards the end). Haha and of course, we got to have an awesome asado (bbq) with them that night too! I'm pretty sure it was Elder Cook's first asado. Haha he loved it.

On Saturday there was a baptism at church that went well. Sadly it wasn't quite as big of a turn-out as we had hoped...considering it was just the missionaries, the bishop's family, Carlos (the person getting baptized), Carlos (a recent convert, who got to baptize the other Carlos...haha hopefully that made sense). So...yeah. But it was way cool that Carlos got to baptize the other Carlos. I'd talk more about it but...frankly I think this is just going to get very confusing since they have the same name. But, suffice it to say, they were both very happy. They've been friends ever since the first day that the newer Carlos came to church, and I think they carpool to church and everything now. The less-new Carlos even bought his own clothes to do the baptism, because he also wanted to get some clothes that he would be able to bring to the temple someday. haha those two are way funny together. They're the most humble, crazy viejitos ever.

So, as a verse of the week, I was thinking of Alma 19:33, specifically the 2nd half. It talks of how a change of heart caused them to have no more desires to do bad things. A lot of times in the church, thats how we talk about a "change of heart"--that we turn away from bad things of the world. But in reality, the majority of our decisions aren't really between "bad" things and "good" things. Often we are faced with decisions between things that might be "good", "better", or "best". I was thinking a lot this week about how a change of heart can help us not only make good decisions, but the best decisions. I don't think any of us are perfect enough that we couldn't benefit from changing our hearts a little more.

Well I hope you all have another great week! Don't do anything too crazy without me! :)

Elder Webster

Pass Along Cards

Hey!!

Sounds like a pretty awesome rodeo break weekend! And everyone needs to stop getting sick! I hope you're all feeling better. Sorry....this letter is way too long....

This week was pretty good. It was a little disappointing because, like I said last week, we had found a bunch of new people, but this week we didn't manage to get a single lesson with any of the new people we had found. Lots of appointments have been falling through on us. Haha its especially awkward when there is a member there with us...but...oh well. Haha I feel bad for this guy in our ward named Fede, this week he came with us for the 4th or 5th time since I've been here...and we still haven't had an appointment actually work while he's been with me. Haha he was making fun of me a little bit for that but...he leaves on his mission this month to Brazil, so he'll figure out how it is soon enough :)

We did find 1 new investigator this week though, who was way cool. His name is Jesús. He was a reference from someone in our ward. We went there, and he grabbed some chairs and we sat outside with him. Before we even said anything, he pulled out a mormon.org card that had a question on the front that said, "Does it matter to God what I do with my life?". He showed us the card, pointed at the question, and said "I want to know about this." So...we told him. We talked about Heavenly Father's plan for His children and about how our time on earth is a time to prepare to come before God, which we can do by following the teachings of Christ. And then Elder Cook set his very first baptismal date with someone! He promised to come to church, but when we got there he wasn't there...so we walked to his house to find him. He opened his door, and without us saying a word, he said "Just a second". He went inside, got dressed, and then came to church with us. The only downside was that he left right after church, and when we finally got out of the church building about half an hour later, we found him half a block away, drinking with some guys. A little awkward. But we're way excited to work with him.

As a verse of the week (this ones a two-part one), I was thinking of something that I read in Luke 17:1. Christ says that offences are bound to come, but then goes on to explain the importance of forgiveness. It made me think of the countless people I've met on my mission that have distanced themselves from the church because they were offended about things that half of them don't even remember anymore. Then I thought of the example that Christ gave us in Matthew 26:36-44. In these verses, Christ is suffering for the sins of the world in the garden. If there is only 1 person or event that deserves our undying respect and gratitude, that night comes to mind. But in those same verses, we read that some of His closest followers and friends, repeatedly fell asleep during that important time, despite what He had told them to do. Surely, if anyone could be offended for anything, it would have been easy for Him to be offended, that in the very act of paying for the sins of the world, including those of these 3 men, some of His closest friends couldn't even stay awake for it. But He didn't get offended or quit because He thought He deserved more respect or gratitude for what He was doing. He just kept doing what He had to do. Surely we, if we think we deserve any sort of gratitude or respect for what we do, could be a little more patient and forgiving as well, especially since so many of the things that might "offend" us aren't done with that intent. Just a thought..

Anyway, hope you all have a great week! Keep being awesome!

Elder Webster

My comp, Elder Cook, sitting on a throne of Books of Mormon

What it looks like to walk in Dorrego

My book of mormon in quechua...cuz its cool...but no, I don't think I'll be learning that anytime soon

Fishing For Men

Hey!

Sounds like everyone had crazy weeks! Fun stuff though. Its better to be doing tons of stuff than to have nothing to do...right?

This week was pretty good. Agustin came to church! So that was way awesome. Most of the week we've been trying to find new people. Last week I mentioned that we had found somebody while knocking doors, and that later on someone chased us down to talk to us. Well the guy that we found wasn't there for our second appointment, and halfway through our appointment with the guy that chased us down, he told us that he was a less active member. So...yeah. But this past week we found a bunch of other new people! We didn't really change what we were doing at all, but it just...actually worked this week! We found like 7 new people that started listening to us! So that was definitely a blessing. They all seem way nice, but up until now, all of our attempts to have second lessons with them haven't really worked out..so we're still struggling, just with different problems :) haha but no worries. Training Elder Cook keeps me busy enough haha he's got me exhausted. He's like the most energetic, off the wall, crazy person ever. He's way nice but...haha well you guys know me. I'm not exactly the most energetic, off the wall, crazy person ever. We get along, but since he's still coming along with the language, I'm like the only person he can really talk to, so all of his energy and craziness gets directed at me. Haha luckily I'm like the most boring person ever, so we balance out I guess.

So, verse of the week is something a recent convert shared with us this past week. He's a fairly wealthy man, and from I can tell, he inherited a bunch of vineyards or something, and he likes trying to invent things. Anyway, in his words, he told us that when he was younger, he liked to see himself as "el capo grande" (the big stud/awesome guy). He told us about how something had happened and he was humbled, and how now, Psalms 94 reflects how he feels, specifically verse 12. He is extremely grateful that he had been humbled enough to accept the message. It reminded me a little bit of what Elder Cook and I were doing the other day. We chose a random street on our map to go knock doors, and it turned out to be way rich there. Not a single person there accepted us, and from the small things that we were told from people, they don't really seem very happy. Just comments they made about their schedules, their family lives... they didn't seem happy. I don't want that.

Anyway, I'm glad you all had a great week! Things are going well here. They could always go better haha but who am I to complain? It could be worse. I could be.... haha I'm not going to finish that sentence. But I hope you all have a great week! Know that everything is going well here!

Elder Webster

Door Knocking

Hey che!

Well it sounds like everyone had yet another good week! Big surprise :) Thats like 80 good weeks in a row! Good job. Everything is going well here. Good old missionary work in Dorrego.

We had a couple set backs with people we had met that we thought were going to turn into great investigators, but it happens I guess. We were knocking doors on saturday though, and guess what happened! Somebody let us in! haha its been a while since I've actually gotten into a house while knocking doors, in fact its the first time its happened since I got Elder Cook. So when he told us we could come in, I actually asked him to repeat what he had said because I thought I had heard wrong :) Don't get me wrong, I'm not losing my faith or anything, but knocking on doors just hasn't been the most effective thing lately, as far as actually getting into their house on that same day. Later that same day, a man "chased" us down and asked us to explain the Book of Mormon to him. We gave him a copy and we have an appointment with him tonight, so hopefully these new people we've been blessed to meet keep showing the same level of interest :) Their lives kind of depend on it so....

The funny story week would have to be the baptism that the sisters had. Long story short, the font overflowed and flooded half the chapel. Haha luckily they don't really have carpet here, and we were able to clean up pretty quickly. Haha now the floors are all nice and clean :) I also got to do my first baptismal interview, so that was a way cool experience. I learned a lot.

Verse of the week has to do with learning. D&C 88:78-80. I read a quote from Elder Russell M Nelson this week that says "Education is the difference between wanting to help people, and being capable of helping people." I hope that the things that I continue learning will be things that make me more capable of helping others. I guess that explains why Heavenly Father, who knows everything, is so capable of helping us. Interesting.

Sorry, not a lot of time, I feel like I always leave stuff out. But I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Webster