Discursar, Viajar, Planear, Giving a Talk, Traveling, Planning

This week was quite the fun ride.  Elder Thuber and I have been growing well together and really figuring out a lot of things in many different phases of the work.  This Elder is different than me, but I have learned so much from him and have had many great experiences.  Elder Thurber is an Elder that is very intelligent and is what some may call a "history buff" I can basically bring up any point of church history or background information on a figurehead of the church, and he will know most of what there is to know.  He is a lover of classical music and will comment on the great composers that he had listened to before his mission occasionally, and I am finding that there are much more that just Mozart and Beethoven.  He has an amazing testimony of the gospel and together we have had powerful lessons and have enjoyed working hard in a ward that used to be covered by 6.  Hopefully that other companionship comes in next transfer, there is much work to be had.

This past week we have been traveling around looking for new investigators and less active members in the prospect to find more opportunities to bring souls once again unto Christ.  We have been having success in finding many members and there are many prospects for possible investigators.  The work continues on.  The two main families we are working on to get baptized are Karina y Manuel Aguero and Sergio Alvarez.  Sergio has a date for the 13 of December and he, along with about 3-5 other families ranging from investigators to part member families to recent converts, will be going to the Mesa Temple Visitors center this Saturday.  Pray that they will all be able to go.  The ones that will really benefit are the Aguero familiy, Sergio and Magda Lopez. 

Magda has a husband that was baptized about 6 months ago, and she is absolutely in love with most of the things about the church.  She watches general conference talks and last week was getting excited about the prospect of talking to some new neighbors they got and inviting them to church with her husband.  The only thing that has kept her from making the decision to be baptized is due to the fact that she feels like she is being pressured into it.  So we've been patient and with keeping the Spirit in the home, hopefully she decides soon to be baptized.

This past Sunday I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting. (which was kinda cool because now I have given a talk in every ward I've served in and a missionary hasn't "discursado" in a good while in this ward, so it was a fun experience.) I was speaking in on the topic of fasting and fast offerings. I had found out Wednesday and had to speak that following Sunday.  When I was preparing for the talk, it caught me off guard how shallow my knowledge of this commandment was.  However, after giving it about 2 hours a day I was able to find some really cool things about fasting that I never really had given much thought to before. As I continued to pray and receive revelation, all the way up to as I was walking up onto the stand, I found that I was only two-thirds of the way through what I was considering to share when my 15 minutes were up.  I found it a neat experience to see how preparation, meditation, and careful consideration, revelation is by no means lacking in respect to what God can give to us.

I want to leave a little invitation that might just revamp your studies.  This is just a fun idea to try occasionally.  Come up with one or two questions you have on a gospel principle, question someone has had, or something you just want to dive into.  After you have your topic, spend that whole week trying to find as many things as you can on that topic.  At the end of the week, maybe last two days, compile everything and place it all together as you would a talk.  Then you get to see how everything starts to slide into place and you get much more out of what you studied. (and now you have a ready to go talk and a great set of notes to refer to in the future.)

I love being a missionary.  There is no other place I would rather be. 

Elder Benson

So this is what they call riñón from a pig (basically a kidney) that is what I suspected, but I didn't look it up for the fear of not finishing it after knowing what it is. But it was darn good! (Always tortillas)

Eleazar Carrillo, a member from my first area, had made a whole bunch of really good sweet empanadas with a filling that is similar to pumpkin pie, but so much more delicious.  As he made a bunch of these, he remembered that I loved them, so he called my last area and figured out where I was and he gave me and Elder Sperry about 20 each! We will be eating like kings!!