tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71136859079514289632024-02-19T07:23:39.670-06:00Elder Austin SteeleArgentina, Buenos Aires North MissionElder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-54439530162012506172017-06-19T14:11:00.001-05:002017-06-20T15:23:44.384-05:00Welcome Home, Elder Steele!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Elder Austin Taylor Steele returned home with honor on June 13, 2017. It was a glorious day to be together again, as a "Party of Five." Austin addressed the congregation of the Allen 1st Ward, Allen, Texas on Father's Day, June 18, 2017. The talk is included in this final post. Thank you to everyone who supported Austin with your positive thoughts and prayers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"...Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." Matthew 25:23</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fathers of
the Book of Mormon<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I speak to you tonight on the subject of
worthy fathers, worthy sons. The Book of Mormon was meant for us. It was
written for our day. Its scriptures are to be likened unto ourselves.” This is
how Ezra Taft Benson started his 1985 October General Conference address. And
it’s how I start mine. But what does the Book of Mormon have to do with
fathers? While I know there really are no handbooks that have all the secrets
to be a dad, I also know that the Book of Mormon can guide us in the right
direction. We do not need to go very far in the Book of Mormon to find the
first great example. It’s probably the most read verse “I, Nephi, having been
born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of
my father” Like I said, we’ve all read it every single we’ve tried to get back
into a habit of reading the scriptures daily, but let’s take a moment to
analyze. Nephi recognized the blessings that were his parents and we can give
some credit to them because they taught Nephi, and Nephi was able to experience
or live those teachings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>President
Benson also had something to say about this verse, “Good fathers teach their
sons, and good sons listen and obey. Teaching is done by precept and example,
and by word and deed. A good model is the best teacher. Therefore, a father’s
first responsibility is to set the proper example.” Now how does he do that? By
learning. How does he learn? Well there are many ways, and one of those answers
is… the Book of Mormon. Lehi had a testimony and lived what he taught so that’s
why Nephi trusted in his father, evidence is found in 1 Nephi 3:7 “I will go
and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord
giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way
for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” Nephi
had been taught by his father to trust in God. Lehi had to set the example and
Nephi had to listen to him. By the end of their experiences in leaving
Jerusalem, Nephi had grown in faith because he trusted in God, and he trusted
in God first because he followed the example of his father. <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But it doesn’t stop there. If we
look at the story of the Book of Mormon, one of the big running themes is
fathers teaching their sons. Like Mormon comforting his son Moroni that “may Christ
lift thee up” (Moroni 9:25). Or Lehi again encouraging his sons, this time to
“arise from the dust and be men.” In Mosiah (27:14) we learn of what to do if
as a parent we are struggling with a child “And again, the angel said: Behold,
the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his
servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning
thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore,
for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of
God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their
faith.” Alma was constantly praying for his son because there was not much more
he could do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And then there is the story of Enos. Most of the
time we focus on how long he prayed and how he was able to repent, but I what
leads him to pray is also worth noting. “Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos,
knowing my father that he was a just man—for he taught me in his language, and
also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my
God for it—And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I
received a remission of my sins. Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests;
and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life,
and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.” (Enos 1:1-3). Enos didn’t
wake up that day and decide he was going to pray, but instead it was the
culmination of all that he had been taught by his father Jacob being brought
back to his remembrance at the exact time he needed it. Or in other words,
Jacob was a light for Enos. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Jose A Texeira, an area 70, recounted an experience
he had while camping with his 2 sons. “We first went to the store to buy
supplies” he said “and even though it was a 1 night trip, we had bought enough
food to last us a whole week and then we went to a fast food restaurant for
dinner on the way.” His younger son was very excited and shouted “Wow Dad. Look
at all that food. It’s just for us!” They arrived at the campsite and got
everything set up. Then they decided to go exploring around the campsite and
enjoy time together. Then the night came and Elder Texeira realized… he didn’t
bring a flashlight. “There we were. With all this food waiting for us back in
the tent but we had no light to get us back. Not even 1 little match.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Being a father is much more than just providing food
for your children, it’s being a light to guide them for when the dark comes.
Because it will come. Now how can we get this light to guide us? “And now, my
sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is
Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil
shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when
all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power
over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the
rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon
if men build they cannot fall. (Helaman 5:12)”Or in other words; The Book of
Mormon! There is so much power in the Book of Mormon. Not only in the words and
teachings, but also because it’s purpose is to bring us closer to Jesus Christ.
And there in lies the solution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Now at this point y'all are thinking, hey, isn’t he
supposed to be giving a report on his mission. Where are the stories? And well,
one of the biggest lessons I learned is all centered upon the power of the Book
of Mormon. Especially in my last 3 areas I really came to experience how
reading and following the principles of the Book of Mormon can bring miracles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: 0.5in;">First,
let’s go to Maquinista Savio. It’s a small town (almost) in the middle of
nowhere up in the northern part of the provincia of Buenos Aires. The first 10
months of my mission I had basically been in the heart of the city of Buenos
Aires in the Villas, or ghettos. Everything was crammed, loud, and dangerous
city living. Then I got the call to Savio. I didn’t even have the slightest
idea of where that was, no elder had ever talked about there. Later I found out
my trainer had been there, but he had never told me before. So there I was in
(almost) the middle of nowhere and I DID NOT LIKE IT AT ALL! I had to ride a
broken dumpster bike through mud every day. The members couldn’t give us lunch
most of the time, and due to inflation we had to be very conscious of how we
spent our money. They were constant rolling blackouts which meant no hot water
or power for our little heater in the middle of winter. I had never been so
cold and hungry in my life. And to top it all off, the ward wasn’t that great
either. We started the transfer with a baptism and then got left with 0. We
couldn’t find anyone willing to teach. We had already passed by all the members
everyday. We were out of ideas. Then as I was reading the Book of Mormon, I
began to note how the great missionaries of that time were able to do so much
good. Of those things were: their incredible faith that there were people
prepared, the prayers they offered so that hearts would be opened, their
diligence, and their patience through suffering and afflictions. I had
afflictions so I was already on my way. It struck me that there were people
prepared; we just had to ask. One of our biggest challenges was at night. It
was too dangerous in most of our area so we had to stay and work closer to the
apartment, but the issue was that there were almost no members nor old
investigators. We then received counsel to specifically ask for something to do
at night. Then we prayed and fasted for a family to teach at 8pm close to the
apartment. And we kept doing it and still nothing. And in the meantime, ward
attendance was dropping. Then, the other companionship was cleaning out their
apartment and happened upon a piece of paper that said “My Family has read the
Book of Mormon” and it was a daily reading calendar. He told us about it and
how they felt we should try it out with the ward. Then “Operation Jesus Christ
at home” went into action. We challenged every family to read the Book of
Mormon every day as a family even if it was 5 minutes and we were able to
promise big blessings. Things started to change. The ward “woke up” and changed
in how they acted. They really started to worry and work to help those who
weren’t coming by organizing better the home and visiting teaching programs.
The ward started to do more activities and overall they were just happier. The
ward all had renewed desires to grow and they all did their part. There was
more love and a different spirit. The ward was ready to welcome whatever
investigator we would bring. One day we did divisions as a zone and I left the
area for the day while my companion stayed back. As a zone we were to send
messages when a miracle happened. It was about 7:30pm and a message came that
said “Miracle woman. Married. 7 kids. Accepted baptism date first contact.
#miracleinsavio” I couldn’t believe it! 2 days later we went back and we taught
Cecilia and her family at 8pm at their home, which was located near the
apartment. We were truly blessed those 3 months to baptize her and her family
and find many people through her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My faith was almost unbreakable, I seriously felt
like I could face head on any challenge with God’s help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I got sent to Villa Urquiza. It’s in a
zone called Belgrano. It’s the wealthiest zone of Buenos Aires and also known
for being the most difficult. Urquiza hadn’t had a baptism for more than a
year. My first few days I was really excited and ready to change everything.
But like with most things in life, as time goes on it gets harder and we lose
the fire we started out with. All day everyday we would just walk around
cleaning out the member list because there was almost nobody in the streets nor
did we have any records of old investigators. And the ward had just been divided
so we lost a good number of members and those who stayed started to burn out.
So what did we do? Got them to read the Book of Mormon! With the same reading
calendar from Savio, we committed every family to read the Book of Mormon. Then
we had a new initiative to share 30 copies of the Book of Mormon per week in
contacts, which meant we had to talk to A LOT of people about the Book of
Mormon. As the ward started to take their reading seriously and as my companion
and I did our best to share the Book of Mormon with everyone, things started to
change. Again, the ward grew and was happier. Members were more willing to talk
to their friends and also reach out to those who had fallen away. Then to top
it off, near Christmas time we as a district went to every area singing and
contacting with the Book of Mormon. While we were in Urquiza 2 people went up
to a companionship of sister missionaries and asked if they could talk to their
mom. We went, and as we talked to her, we were able to see how God through trials
had prepared her. Livia accepted everything trusting in God and was able to get
baptized. And again, it was a large part due to the Book of Mormon. (There was
also the time when right after doing emergency divisions, we left the apartment
and the other elder stopped a lady on the street and asked if we could share a
book with her. Susana and her Husband were baptized 3 weeks later.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And then there was Nueva Pompeya. When I arrived,
there were rumors that the stake was going to make some changes and were going
to divide some wards and redraw boundaries. The stake president and the bishop
asked us if we would work outside the villa. The villa is where the elders had
always worked and where the majority of the members lived. After receiving a
spiritual confirmation, we went to work. We didn’t do it alone though, of
course we had the Book of Mormon! We were able to share the Book of Mormon with
so many people it was incredible. The ward saw us working and that we were
dedicated to sharing the gospel, which made them trust us more. The ward
started reading the Book of Mormon and the bishop changed the ward mission plan
to “Share the Book of Mormon” The youth organized activities to go out to share
it with everyone they could (in 4 hours they shared 55 copies). The members
were having incredible experiences in their homes and the Lord was truly
blessing them for their desires to grow closer to him. The ward also put a lot
of emphasis in reaching out to those who were not attending because we all
began to miss their presence. My last Sunday, working all together, the ward
was able to bring 30 less active/inactive members to church. All because the
members, through the Book of Mormon, recognized what they could do and the
blessings that come from it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Brothers and Sisters, I testify of the Book of
Mormon. It is powerful and it is true. It tells us what we need to do to have
peace in this life and salvation in the life to come. Reading the Book of
Mormon changes lives. Fathers read the Book of Mormon personally and as a
family. Children, listen to your fathers. We all have a loving Heavenly Father who
wants us to return to be with Him, and the Book of Mormon is one of the many
blessings we have to make that possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;">(If it goes too short, talk
about obedience. How the Book of Mormon teaches us what to do, Mosiah 2:41,
obedience stories)</span></div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-6433156629248387482017-06-05T19:57:00.000-05:002017-06-20T14:21:36.278-05:00Osgood, More Like OsBAD Schlatters<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 6/5/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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This week was more of the same heat my back, take medicine, stretch, heat my back, stretch, ice my knees and rest. And our official unprofessional diagnosis is Osgood Schlatters disease, which basically has to do with your quad muscles and knee joint and its not complicated to treat, but it requires not walking a lot (something hard here) and rest and ice. The good news is that it won´t be long term.<br />
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It was frustrating because the ward really needs us. In the past few weeks, attendance has dropped down and the few who are there are losing their "fire" too. We have an amazing bishop and ward mission leader who are trying to do everything possible, and we want so bad to be able to help, but we have been really limited.<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">But even though we stayed home most of the week, we were still able to see some miracles. </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_92468356" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); font-size: 12.8px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">On Tuesday</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> for the first time </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_92468357" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); font-size: 12.8px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">in 6 weeks</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">, someone was home when they said they would be and they read their Book of Mormon! We were able to teach and at the end said "Of course I´ll get baptized when I find out it´s true" so finally after everything we have someone to teach! </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_92468358" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); font-size: 12.8px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">On Thursday</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">, as I went to ice my knees, I looked out the balcony at the park that´s in front of our building. And like always there were people doing parkour, smoking (not always cigarettes) and some couples on dates. I didn't really think anything of it. Then I called the nurse a little later to ask what else I could do for my knee, and she gave me a few more ideas. We then went downstairs to visit the other elders to ask their opinions and I looked out on their balcony and recognized one of the guys who was with a girl.... It was Agustin!!! After a month and trying to get in touch with him, he just happens to be hanging out at the park right in front of our building! To make sure it was him, we called. And he answered! He said he had been working and studying but would come to church </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_92468359" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); font-size: 12.8px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Sunday</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">. Then we realized he didn't have the best group of friends at the park and we could tell he didn't want to be with them. So then we had some of the members who are his friends send him uplifting messages. We watched as he read them and looked at his friends, explained something, and then got up AND LEFT!! He turned away from temptation!!! We were so happy to watch him make the right decision.</span><br />
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<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_92468360" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">On Sunday</span></span> the Bishop decided to "call on the powers of heaven" to help the ward progress again. And right as we said amen, an inactive family walked by the classroom! We had spent almost 6 months looking for this family and then a week and a half ago, we visited them for not even 10 minutes basically telling them to read the Book of Mormon. And following behind them was another less active recent convert who has been impossible to contact. The bishop was so happy and he looked at us and said "The miracles have already begun Elders!" And they have. Even though we didn't baptize in the month of May and it was filled to the brim of challenges and problems. it was still a month of growth! I realized sitting in sacrament meeting that if I learn from and find humor in what has happened, it will grow closer to Christ and have a valuable experience to learn from.<br />
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Something else very special is that during testimony meeting a member who after 13 years, became an official again, got up to share his testimony. When he got up he just stood there for a second feeling the pulpit and looking at everyone and he realized that it was something real for him to be able to bear his testimony again. It was so simple. He bore his testimony of the restoration, the Book of Mormon, and of Jesus Christ. And that´s what it all boils down to. A testimony of God and his plan of salvation for all of us and a testimony of the role of Jesus Christ changes our lives. I know that God loves all of us and that there really is a plan. I know Jesus Christ lives and is our savior. I know the Book of Mormon is true.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">-Elder Steele</span></div>
Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-13895313093619513942017-05-29T20:56:00.004-05:002017-06-20T14:21:51.326-05:00Turn Around<b><i><u>Email written: 5/29/17</u></i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWg3AU03vUhn3cbyhUpJ1ZjsRGZkWllpERKnXVpCv1Qz5mFshZanY0-NsNkWpUBr9dw-Y56NxYRG4TOi9RMaj1j6ii4Nl4URp4zNsoKNHK_f712x7mMA5p-82mqE3zQOuo3_Fz4R4znQ/s1600/book-of-mormon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="381" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWg3AU03vUhn3cbyhUpJ1ZjsRGZkWllpERKnXVpCv1Qz5mFshZanY0-NsNkWpUBr9dw-Y56NxYRG4TOi9RMaj1j6ii4Nl4URp4zNsoKNHK_f712x7mMA5p-82mqE3zQOuo3_Fz4R4znQ/s320/book-of-mormon.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Well this week we just decided to keep going because there really is no other option................<br />
And things started to turn around!</div>
<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1574235776" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Monday</span></span> night we went to follow up on a contact we made, and the first miracle is that THEY WERE HOME (this has been something that has not happened to us this month) and she said she read what we left her (and a little bit more) and she said she liked it, partly because "it says in the beginning that it is true and no other book says that so I want to learn more" So we set up another time to go by. That time she wasn't home, but our back up plan was to visit an old investigator and she answered the door and said she wants to learn more, but because of her work and study schedule, it was hard, but now she has more time! That night we were looking for a part member family to visit, but they weren't home, but we remembered about and old investigator and when he answered the door he said "Hey I thought you forgot about me or something what happened?" He then explained his hours got changed, and even though he works as a taxi driver, he was going to be able to come to church because he really wanted to. <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1574235777" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">On Saturday</span></span> the ward got together again to share the Book of Mormon and they were really successful, and then the best part was that we also had a teaching appointment. We weren't really that optimistic that they would be home, but we went anyway. They were home and they had read and wanted to have us explain more! We haven´t found families of 10 people who want to get baptized, we haven´t had crazy scary stories, we haven´t changed the world (yet), but what we have managed to do is learn how to just keep going. We know there is still a lot to do, but we´ve learned not to get down on ourselves and that things do and will get better.</div>
Something very interesting that helped us a lot this week was a scripture I found in Doctrine and Covenants 124:49 "<span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-verse-number m_-5132941238990260705gmail-verse"><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-id-63231028" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510000"></span></span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510001">Verily, </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510002">verily, </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510003">I </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510004">say </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510005">unto </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510006">you, </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510007">that </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510008">when </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510009">I </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510010">give </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510011">a </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510012">commandment </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510013">to </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510014">any </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510015">of </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510016">the </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510017">sons </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510018">of </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510019">men </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510020">to </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510021">do </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510022">a </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510023">work </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510024">unto</span><br />
<span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510027" style="font-size: 12.8px;">my name and </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510028" style="font-size: 12.8px;">those </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510029" style="font-size: 12.8px;">sons </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510030" style="font-size: 12.8px;">of </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510031" style="font-size: 12.8px;">men </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510032" style="font-size: 12.8px;">go </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510033" style="font-size: 12.8px;">with </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510034" style="font-size: 12.8px;">all </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510035" style="font-size: 12.8px;">their </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510036" style="font-size: 12.8px;">might </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510037" style="font-size: 12.8px;">and </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510038" style="font-size: 12.8px;">with </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-page-break" style="font-size: 12.8px;"></span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510039" style="font-size: 12.8px;">all </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510040" style="font-size: 12.8px;">they </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510041" style="font-size: 12.8px;">have </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510042" style="font-size: 12.8px;">to </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510043" style="font-size: 12.8px;">perform </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510044" style="font-size: 12.8px;">that </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510045" style="font-size: 12.8px;">work, </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510046" style="font-size: 12.8px;">and </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510047" style="font-size: 12.8px;">cease </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510048" style="font-size: 12.8px;">not </span><br />
<span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510049" style="font-size: 12.8px;">their </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510050" style="font-size: 12.8px;">diligence</span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510051" style="font-size: 12.8px;">, </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510052" style="font-size: 12.8px;">and </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510053" style="font-size: 12.8px;">their </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510054" style="font-size: 12.8px;">enemies </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510055" style="font-size: 12.8px;">come </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510056" style="font-size: 12.8px;">upon </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510057" style="font-size: 12.8px;">them </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510058" style="font-size: 12.8px;">and </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510059" style="font-size: 12.8px;">hinder</span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510060" style="font-size: 12.8px;"> them </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510061" style="font-size: 12.8px;">from </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510062" style="font-size: 12.8px;">performing </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510063" style="font-size: 12.8px;">that </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510064" style="font-size: 12.8px;">work, </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510065" style="font-size: 12.8px;">behold, </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510066" style="font-size: 12.8px;">it </span><br />
<span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510067">behooveth </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510068">me </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510069">to </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510070">require</span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510071"> that </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510072">work </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510073">no </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510074">more </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510075">at </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510076">the </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510077">hands </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510078">of </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510079">those </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510080">sons </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510081">of </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510082">men, </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510083">but </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510084">to </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510085">accept </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510086">of </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510087">their </span><span class="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-green m_-5132941238990260705gmail-16452218575116034614 m_-5132941238990260705gmail-hl-id-63231028" id="m_-5132941238990260705gmail-chunk510088">offerings" </span></div>
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-Elder Steele</div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-33277387817209585682017-05-22T19:25:00.002-05:002017-06-20T14:22:01.949-05:00When Life Knocks You on Your Back<b><i><u>Email written: 5/22/17</u></i></b><br />
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This week we were able to work all day everyday as my back was feeling better, but like the subject says, it was not easy. We were so excited to get back to the routine of finding but even with our best efforts, nothing happened. We kept getting what we started calling "almost miracles" Like for example we got 20 references from the church offices and other missionaries and NONE of them existed. We said "oh well" and kept going. Then we had a zone conference and the whole zone with president and his wife went out to share books and the majority were in our area! only 1 of the 14 was willing for us to pass by again. We are lost and we don´t really know where to go from here. The only thing that has given us hope is Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21 "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." Obedience brings blessings, but sometimes we have to wait for them. We can´t give up even if no one wants to even look at us in the street. </div>
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One of the reasons why we didn't want to give up was a street contact we did a few days ago. It was getting late, people were being very openly opposed to us and we were getting frustrated and everything. I said a prayer that was basically "we´re trying so hard and you know it. why has it been almost 3 weeks with nothing?" and then I saw a lady walking and I thought "You have nothing to lose, just do it" and we did. It was one of the most powerful contacts ever. She started crying and saying how hard life had gotten and how she needed something like this, and we could feel God´s love so strong in those few minutes. It made that hard day worth it.</div>
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Something that I have been thinking about all week was something that my uncle mentioned about the principle of agency. It´s our ability to choose and it´s the only thing God can't take away from us. Even if we do our best to help some one, in the end it´s on them. We can´t change some one´s mind, but we can do our best to make them feel the desires to change.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">pic- from the balcony of the other elder´s apartment, I could see 3 of my areas (the far right Parque Avellaneda, in the middle is Nueva Pompeya, and the far left back Soldati)</span><br />
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-43189455310277374482017-05-15T19:54:00.006-05:002017-06-20T14:22:23.271-05:00This Week Took My Breath Away<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 5/15/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXHMhzdojeQHF0Qhuu_LVOnbWv_PnEF2tP1EpPiJ3sT8MqvRkLU-QE8mI35oTY-rXme8ixQyKnzQcM83crgI9wqghBW-cFr1FmJ8twh7-jL_9WNMNcb4QN689MWgnQxYorQPIVDZQNBU/s1600/DSC09622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXHMhzdojeQHF0Qhuu_LVOnbWv_PnEF2tP1EpPiJ3sT8MqvRkLU-QE8mI35oTY-rXme8ixQyKnzQcM83crgI9wqghBW-cFr1FmJ8twh7-jL_9WNMNcb4QN689MWgnQxYorQPIVDZQNBU/s320/DSC09622.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Literally. So to start last week, I slipped in the rain and fell right on my back (and got winded so I lost my breath for about 30 seconds) so the rest of the week was me trying not to hurt my back more. Luckily my companion had a home made heating pad, which he made out of sewing 2 socks together filled with rice and then we heat up in the microwave. Because I´m basically an expert in back pain already thanks to the mission, I knew kind of what to do (and not to do) so we took it slow this week. We still were able to leave and go out, but only to the appointments we had already set up since last week. It was frustrating because the whole zone is growing and finding more people to teach and baptize and we got stuck with nothing. As I was laying there, I was asking "Why? Why now? I just want to end well. I´m doing my best to stay focused on the mission and not think about the end. I´m working harder than ever before and there is so much to be done, but I have to stay in bed. Why has everything that could go wrong these past few weeks gone wrong?" and I didn't really get an answer for awhile. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Then on Sunday</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">, it was another week of people telling us they'd come to church and then not come and it was kind of sad to see almost no one in the gospel principles class. But at the same time I kept thinking "We've already committed this much to work outside the villa, why would we just give up?" and then I just felt good. I felt at peace that what we're doing is going to pay off, and even though I not might see it, the ward will, and that´s what´s important. Whether we have 10 or 0 baptisms, we've worked so hard and will continue, and some very valuable lessons have been learned, and will continue being learned.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Most of the time we focus on the destination or the end goal, like for example on a road trip from Utah to Canada. It was easy for me to only think about getting to Canada to take the cruise and enjoy the vacation that I was starting to not be able to appreciate all the points in between, from the amazing scenery to the conversations with my family and grandparents. At one point my grandpa even took a detour to have a more scenic drive, at first I got impatient then I realized the lesson that he was trying to teach. That's how life can end up, we can focus on the destination being heaven and we forget that we came here to get experience and to learn to prepare us for the destination, not just show up and get to the destination as quickly as possible.</span></span><br />
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I came here to baptize, that is my commission, but more than that it is to invite others to come unto Christ and that very much involves helping others on a journey of change and that's where the lessons are learned and the joy is felt. It has taken me 21 years to figure that out, that life is just made up of a bunch of experiences and how we enjoy them will determine how much we get out of life. We´re still going to work hard to do out part to baptize, but this week has given me peace in my efforts and I know that nothing is wasted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Pics- Soccer, dinner, and the homemade heating pad</span></div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-84430373901654889442017-05-08T19:31:00.006-05:002017-06-20T14:22:39.391-05:00Count Your Blessings<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 5/8/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well, at least we're alive (Don't worry Mom, nothing scary happened) that's about all we can say this week. This week was brutal. Elder Comp and I are staying together here in Pompeya and we were ready to keep working and see miracles. We were all set up to have 2 or 3 baptisms this week but they all fell through and then we lost every other investigator. We were so confused because we had been doing everything we were supposed to do following the counsels of President Smith along with talking to literally everyone, fasting, praying, and focusing on being obedient to make us worthy of miracles and in the end.... nothing. Like for example, Franklin. The kid who by miracle showed up and is so ready for baptism. His parents had changed their minds so we made a plan, fasted and prepared so much. We even filled the baptismal font and set up as if we were going to have a baptism to show our faith and desires. We had the best lesson planned and when we showed up, that plan went out the window and it did not go how we planned. They said they want to wait a year to baptize Franklin and then we invited them to be baptized and they didn't give us a clear yes or no and it was so frustrating. I was frustrated because we had done everything to show God we were ready for a miracle, and to get nothing was really hard on us. <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1677402174" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">On Saturday</span></span> we went to the youth activity to teach a lesson and they asked me to give a spiritual thought (I was not in the mood to do it) then as I thought about what to share, the youth theme this year is James 1:5 which basically says that if we want to ask something from God, He will answer. That at first bugged me because we had been asking and we didn't receive but then I was reminded of the example of Christ found in<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/26?lang%3Deng&source=gmail&ust=1494375925021000&usg=AFQjCNF2hSPd71RhJ2GZz0iKPT3AoY3b1g" href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/26?lang=eng" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"> matthew 26:39 </a>and how even He was asking for something that he didn't receive. That made me realize something. It´s not that we're not going to see a miracle, it's that God has something a lot better and bigger planned for us and we'´re only going to get it if we keep up our efforts. Yesterday during testimony time, a few members gave incredible testimonies and the ward just seemed happier. Then one pointed out it was that they've all started reading the Book of Mormon as a family. One sister got up and was crying tears of gratitude for our challenge in having them read the Book of Mormon. While it's not technically what we were working for this week, it was rewarding to see that we are still doing good. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Yesterday in Gospel Principles we talked about Fatih (in Spanish it´s Fe). One of the members made a joke because Fe on the periodic table is iron. That made me think a lot about how our faith can be. Iron is a metal, which means it´s strong and pretty hard to break, but at the same time it can be heated up and bent and twisted and reshaped. We need to be firm in our faith but also allow God to put us through the heat to purify and reshape us. We have no idea why last week was so discouraging, but we know something is going to change soon enough. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Pics- My belt finally broke, and the inside of my agenda <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/39?lang%3Deng&source=gmail&ust=1494375925021000&usg=AFQjCNEVROoVwDAIKZfvlfuB76TLFqBo0A" href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/39?lang=eng" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">(to help keep me focused) </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">-Elder Steele</span></div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-59765632371230337232017-05-01T19:20:00.003-05:002017-06-20T14:23:01.229-05:00What Storybook?<b><i><u>Email written: 5/1/17</u></i></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">This week started out as one of the greatest ever! Saturday </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">we had interviews with President and it was an awesome interview. President Smith really helped me understand a lot of things and it was the best. This week we also had the new idea from President to leave every morning at 10 until lunch to focus on sharing the Book of Mormon and finding new people. We worked hard trusting that we would see miracles and they started to come. The ward is so excited in sharing the Book of Mormon and they are now so willing to help us (we're eating so much more now haha). We really do have the best members and bishop here. We have found a lot of people and we realized that we can start baptizing more and we were so pumped.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">On Friday </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">we had the baptism interview of Franklin (the kid who just showed up and asked to be baptized) and things looked good. The baptism was at 5:00 </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">and at 5:20 </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">his family still didn't show up. We called and his dad said that they changed their minds. I was mad. The bishop was with us and he told us to stay calm and he called the ward mission leader to come in with us and the 4 of us made a plan of how we were going to teach and baptize not only Franklin, but the whole family.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Then just like they say "as one door closes another opens" a member who we helped come back to church showed up with her daughter and told us we need to teach her because she had just moved from Bolivia to study.</span><br />
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We started teaching but because we were so excited we kind of overwhelmed her and then we worried we blew that miracle too. Then on Sunday of the 7 investigators we were waiting for, none of them showed up and that was just another hit. I was frustrated and asked God "Why don´t I ever get the storybook ending. Why don´t things ever turn out" and then the question came to me "well, who's writing the book?" and that made me think a whole lot. I'm going to be honest, I don't know why a lot of things happen, but I realize I have to just trust and keep going so we can still achieve great things. </div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-85483541807144961862017-04-24T19:08:00.002-05:002017-06-20T14:23:12.603-05:00Way Up, I Feel Blessed<b><i><u>Email written: 4/24/17</u></i></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">This week started out as a learning one. We did divisions and the zone leaders were talking about how the whole zone could end up baptizing this week and we had 2 possibilities. We haven´t really taught them for their lack of time but they've come to church for the past 2 months. And we got permission from their parents and everything seemed good. Then as we realized that neither of them were ready, but we felt a lot of pressure to do everything possible to get them baptized. I kept feeling that we should wait but everyone else was telling us it was ok. I thought a lot and prayed a lot about what to do. 2 things helped me: this </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.lds.org/blog/sometimes-the-answer-is-simply-peace?cid%3DHP_WE_12-4-2017_dOCS_fBLOG_xLIDyL2-2_&source=gmail&ust=1493164735389000&usg=AFQjCNE3aRN0vamBCyrkhCmzkxKqnPTaBQ" href="https://www.lds.org/blog/sometimes-the-answer-is-simply-peace?cid=HP_WE_12-4-2017_dOCS_fBLOG_xLIDyL2-2_" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">article</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"> which talks about sometimes the answers we get are just feelings of peace and this </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/which-way-do-you-face?lang%3Deng&source=gmail&ust=1493164735389000&usg=AFQjCNFXhG5PVLT0H_1s5DdsJ4NTrKlA-Q" href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/which-way-do-you-face?lang=eng" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">talk </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">which asks the question "which way do you face?" (in referring to if we try to please God or people first). We made the decision that we were going to wait, they both felt happier and we felt at peace. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim_ye-9fqCMg1ATvTdhuUHh6Hqlty9K1Z0CUkzh0PtBc44dgtdpvLsI-QNA_P3o_TUnTsNFQFijWJkYuGaVElbX8uPa3q4VQIy1IqLTdBrBf1kzlH5dJhL_EiTRA8p2B2iIIHwGYz5O64/s1600/DSC09587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim_ye-9fqCMg1ATvTdhuUHh6Hqlty9K1Z0CUkzh0PtBc44dgtdpvLsI-QNA_P3o_TUnTsNFQFijWJkYuGaVElbX8uPa3q4VQIy1IqLTdBrBf1kzlH5dJhL_EiTRA8p2B2iIIHwGYz5O64/s400/DSC09587.JPG" width="400" /></a>We still weren't 100% confident in our decision until <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1147619424" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Saturday</span></span> morning. We were going to have an activity with the youth to go out and share the Book of Mormon, and as we were waiting a kid showed up asking about the other ward. He then saw the other Elders cleaning the baptismal font and asked what they were doing. He talked about how it´s where we do baptisms and he said he only got baptized by having water sprinkled on his head as a baby and asked if he could get baptized that very moment. He said he´d been coming to church for the past 4 months and really likes it. We figured he was from the other ward, but then he said where he lived... OUR AREA! We then talked to him about meeting his family and last night we met his mom and brother and they are an awesome family! Then the activity started and the youth gave out 25 copies of the Book of Mormon and now we have a lot of people to visit this week. <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1147619425" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">On Sunday</span></span> another member brought her friend for the 2nd time and we are going to start teaching her too. The bishop´s wife then asked us if we eat dinner and we said we can but no one ever gives us dinner. So then she said she put a new goal to serve every day <br />
and said that every night we could pass by for a tupperware of food (the best part is that they live half a block from us). So now we have 4 great people to teach and a ward that loves us and is so excited about missionary work! </div>
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Pics- we made zone shirts (zone Chacabuco + baptism = Chacabaps) </div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-62157062097383933182017-04-17T18:50:00.001-05:002017-06-20T14:23:41.391-05:00Better Than An Easter Egg Hunt<b><i><u>Email written: 4/17/17</u></i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0F7W-EYVnwJ0eTm6ypZ1uvU3S2_PMIpR2-Od5pQv6WqPr6-Z3-P_KQlTAjjGW8H2vjvVO-jL47nI7Sc6QlIENEOfz-Ld0JZHE3tFv_rA72qRDvBj6h0ntap_6I-9rHal3reWWyhcyiOI/s1600/DSC09577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0F7W-EYVnwJ0eTm6ypZ1uvU3S2_PMIpR2-Od5pQv6WqPr6-Z3-P_KQlTAjjGW8H2vjvVO-jL47nI7Sc6QlIENEOfz-Ld0JZHE3tFv_rA72qRDvBj6h0ntap_6I-9rHal3reWWyhcyiOI/s400/DSC09577.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">These past few days were just the greatest. So like I had talked about the miracle last week about finding Agustin </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">in the street, he got baptized on Saturday</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">! It was such an amazing moment, and the ward was so happy! The best part was Agustin, we can already start to see changes in his life. He is a lot happier and recently figured out better what he wants to do with his life. And the ward has been very supportive. It´s still hard to believe how great a miracle could happen. We knew we were working but we hadn't seen the results we wanted until recently. Our faith and patience were tested and all the work we put in, in part paid off. Now we just have to keep going! This Sunday after Agustin was confirmed, 3 young men received the Aaronic Priesthood. This made me think and remember about what happened 4 months ago. When Elder Howard and I started we had talked about putting goals towards baptizing priesthood and youth outside the villa. And we hadn't seen a lot of results until this Sunday. Agustin, and these 3 young men (who's family we had visited and invited back to church and they just started coming back) were us reaching our goal. And it was a great lesson to me about goal setting and work. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08g8mWBITRrqj7M9iBcGf0aF1HvkE2yJ-gVDtkdTG8Hxl6xTc-qGTBRQCwfa4BVaFTADmhXaSOGLRXAgDPzdRhRDE2xd95oXieovqLkucp-pJnFQ68wTTFodeTD7EiC90SDZWqG4uLKk/s1600/DSC09576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08g8mWBITRrqj7M9iBcGf0aF1HvkE2yJ-gVDtkdTG8Hxl6xTc-qGTBRQCwfa4BVaFTADmhXaSOGLRXAgDPzdRhRDE2xd95oXieovqLkucp-pJnFQ68wTTFodeTD7EiC90SDZWqG4uLKk/s400/DSC09576.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">This morning we had the opportunity to have a meeting with President Nelson and 3 other general authorities (Elders Texeira, Bragg and Packer) and it was incredible. Everyone and their wives spoke and there was so much I learned. Some of the things I really liked were how there was a focus on our premortal existence and how truly great each and every one of us is and the potential we have. They also talked about how to get wisdom we need experience and to get experience we have to act, and that has inspired me to keep working even harder to have these experiences that are waiting. President Nelson also encouraged us to do our family history work, but not just from familysearch but also in studying our patriarchal blessings and the Abrahamic Covenant and he said that as we learn more about who we are and where we come from our lives will change and in turn we will help change the lives of others. </span></div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-81529106753801685042017-04-10T17:57:00.002-05:002017-06-20T14:23:50.099-05:00This is no April Fool's Joke<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 4/10/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTcHKrozSuvWG04L96Tsp8IoIBh1gG0dqJhTxD3wLKg30t3o2EUgfgd2FxVZBSUsqGDW09D4_OZfndtcJQSrVvopmWBuPgXmsJFKs8W3ZbMI9QFCtqIvYk31iD-CVgiNPJZBprrbWFIE/s1600/argentina-flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTcHKrozSuvWG04L96Tsp8IoIBh1gG0dqJhTxD3wLKg30t3o2EUgfgd2FxVZBSUsqGDW09D4_OZfndtcJQSrVvopmWBuPgXmsJFKs8W3ZbMI9QFCtqIvYk31iD-CVgiNPJZBprrbWFIE/s320/argentina-flag.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This week after being built up spiritually after conference we were so ready to work. But as the week went on I was just exhausted. We had been walking around and talking to everyone non stop and even though we are so happy, it drained us. After lunch I was just like "Can I get a miracle today? Just something to give us more energy" So we set out to our first appointment, who didn't answer. We kept on and we felt impressed to talk to someone outside their house. About halfway in the contact I saw someone walking on the other side of the street and then recognized the hat. It was Agustin! He was our investigator in February who almost got baptized and then moved to Bolivia. He came back last week and he said he was ready to come back to church! I seriously wanted to cry I was so happy. And then <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_838907939" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Thursday</span></span> there was a nation wide strike so there was no public transportation and we had to walk everywhere and of course it was the day we had appointments all over the place, but then we realized the opportunity that we had to find basically everyone in their homes. So then we went to some old investigators and the member with us invited them to be baptized! The work is exploding here in Nueva Pompeya and it´s incredible to me because we haven´t really done anything different than before.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This week the senior couple missionaries told us they would come to inspect our apartment so we made extra sure to keep it clean and every time it got a little dirty I would stress out. There came to a point where I just said, "Forget it, there's not point in cleaning because we are going to make it dirty again" and then my companion said "That's silly. Just think of it like repentance. We always need to do it." and that really stuck with me (and not only to keep cleaning the apartment). We always need to repent and it is always a blessing to do it! </span><br />
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-40046321382741050532017-04-03T19:57:00.000-05:002017-06-20T14:24:06.372-05:00Can't See The Haters<b><i><u>Email written: 4/3/17</u></i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68KxNCu_2rEEAPhv5sPRvrYNdXobEpv1Ta_FoI4aByR_hPJQ2oCCIEYamnuyfqjOIQLIjoKj8zyz1MjjWKgdRihm7lFmfgMpZaSf6b66eRdI7AgmNyYtR7KjnpzY19WUAw6Wp8zsBghg/s1600/DSC09567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68KxNCu_2rEEAPhv5sPRvrYNdXobEpv1Ta_FoI4aByR_hPJQ2oCCIEYamnuyfqjOIQLIjoKj8zyz1MjjWKgdRihm7lFmfgMpZaSf6b66eRdI7AgmNyYtR7KjnpzY19WUAw6Wp8zsBghg/s400/DSC09567.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">So this week started out pretty interesting; I was attacked (still don't know if on purpose or if it was an accident) by </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">a blind guy on the bus. He was walking around and then started swinging his fists, and my stomach caught one of the blows, then a minute later he swung his cane around and luckily my shoulder protected my face. And that's when we knew this week would be very fun. On the brighter side, Elder Comp and I have been learning how to cook better and have created an amazing dish that combines Peruvian, Mexican, and American food (picture attached). </span><br />
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But even with the fun this week, we learned quite a bit this week. One day this week we got a dinner from one of the members and she gave it to us in a glass bowl with a glass lid. The next morning while getting ready to leave, my companion accidentally bumped it and it fell on the ground and broke in half (it was a miracle that it didn't shatter). We didn't know what to do because it was obviously not cheap. So after buying super glue and some time of putting it back together, we got it fixed. The other elders who live below us came up to help and one of them said "Well you could give it back and tell her that she had plastic wrap on top of the bowl and not a lid" We thought about, because we knew she would be made and complain to the other members of the ward, but we decided to fix it, tell her the truth and offer to replace it. So that night we went to her house, a little scared, and gave her her bowl. She just laughed and said "Elders, do you know how many of these I've broken. Don´t worry!" We were so relived! Another very important lesson I learned this week was doing splits with members of the ward. I went with David, who recently got his mission call to Mexico. We were going down the street and he was telling me how hard it is to do contacts. We kept going and talking then a little bit later he stopped and looked at me and said "Hey man, I feel really bad. I feel like I am rejecting Christ because I´m scared to talk to these people." He then talked about Luke <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1854971285" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">9:26 </span></span>"For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels." And it made me think a lot about what I was doing and we made a goal to talk to every single person and by the end we felt so good. </div>
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This weekend was general conference, where the prophet and apostles spoke, and it was amazing. This was the 1st time that all the questions I had found answers! One of the things that I liked most was how many of the talks mentioned the importance of reading the Book of Mormon as a family every day, and it fit right in with what we are doing with the ward here. It was a confirmation to me that the plans we had made for this ward are what we are supposed to do and that we are close to seeing miracles! </div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-48810237716025562122017-03-27T18:34:00.003-05:002017-06-20T14:29:12.570-05:00The New Nueva Pompeya<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 3/27/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWg3AU03vUhn3cbyhUpJ1ZjsRGZkWllpERKnXVpCv1Qz5mFshZanY0-NsNkWpUBr9dw-Y56NxYRG4TOi9RMaj1j6ii4Nl4URp4zNsoKNHK_f712x7mMA5p-82mqE3zQOuo3_Fz4R4znQ/s1600/book-of-mormon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWg3AU03vUhn3cbyhUpJ1ZjsRGZkWllpERKnXVpCv1Qz5mFshZanY0-NsNkWpUBr9dw-Y56NxYRG4TOi9RMaj1j6ii4Nl4URp4zNsoKNHK_f712x7mMA5p-82mqE3zQOuo3_Fz4R4znQ/s320/book-of-mormon.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Last week were transfers, and I´m staying here in Nueva Pompeya and this time with Elder Comp from Utah and we did some hard work this week! At the beginning of this month we had a meeting with all of the leaders in the Chacabuco Stake and they talked about how they are creating 2 new wards and how they are going to change all the ward boundaries and explained how due to the heavy concentration of members in the villas, they had to make some interesting changes. This led them to ask us to start to work outside the Villa and help grow the parts normally forgotten by the missionaries. So that was our goal and then we realized something. We are basically opening up a new area. There are very few families outside the villa and almost no old investigators. We started sharing out desires to work with the members and all of them were surprised. One family told us that we were in for some hard work because we are going to be"pioneers" for the ward. We talked to everybody and gave out a ton of copies of the Book of Mormon in parts that we are sure the missionaries hadn't been to in a very long time. We had never felt so satisfied with out work and then Sunday </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">have nothing to show for it. Nobody came to church and then our numbers looked low, but our week was more than that. We had so many small miracles happen. One of the most noteworthy was with our efforts to help the ward. When we had the zone conference with the 70 Elder Levrino, he said we have to start asking more "how can I help my ward" and a lot less of "what can the ward to do help us?" So that´s what we've done. We have come up with a ton of ideas to help bring this ward back up and Saturday </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">we had an unplanned meeting with the bishop and the youth presidents and we got to planning. As we left we hoped that it wouldn't have just been all talk and then Sunday </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">the bishop started to talk about our plans and a lot of the members loved it and a lot more of them invited us to visit them and we are working more closely with the home teachers to help them get their visits done. This task is not going to be easy and there is no way we are going to be able to do it alone. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Not only do we have God´s help (because in the end this is His work) we also have a lot of help from the Book of Mormon. We have been encouraging all the families to get better at their reading of the Book of Mormon so that they all personally could get blessed. Elder Comp explained it like this "Imagine that every morning, God came to your room and gave you 2 minutes to talk to Him and then He talked to you for 5 minutes. How incredible would that be? We can have that opportunity as we pray to Him and then read His words." Some of the greatest blessings we can receive will come from the Book of Mormon. One verse I really like is Mormon 8:35 "Behold, I speak unto you as if were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I </span><span class="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk m_6254492839321876995gmail-hl-id-76289025" id="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk20058" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span class="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk" id="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk360027" style="font-size: 12.8px;">know </span><span class="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk" id="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk360028" style="font-size: 12.8px;">your d</span><span class="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk m_6254492839321876995gmail-hl-id-49067035" id="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk360029" style="font-size: 12.8px;">oing." because it helps me understand that everything in this Book was put to help us in our day. Just because the world is going downhill doesn't mean we have to go with it. I add my testimony of the Book of Mormon that it is true and contains the words of Christ and "tells man what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in </span><span class="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk" id="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk20055" style="font-size: 12.8px;">the </span><span class="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk" id="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk20056" style="font-size: 12.8px;">life </span><span class="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk" id="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk20057" style="font-size: 12.8px;">to </span><span class="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk m_6254492839321876995gmail-hl-id-76289025" id="m_6254492839321876995gmail-chunk20058" style="font-size: 12.8px;">come." </span></span></span><br />
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-55805751753567574242017-03-20T18:22:00.001-05:002017-06-20T14:31:09.135-05:00Bob the Baptizer<b><i><u>Email written: 3/20/17</u></i></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">This week was a very interesting one. It was one of the craziest weeks ever. Wednesday</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"> Elder Marcum was sick and couldn't leave his bed. Elder Juzga stayed with him while I went out for a little bit to work and then we switched while Juzga went out to check up on the investigators we had. Then on Thursday</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"> we got up at 4:45am </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">to take Elder Juzga to the offices (a 2 hour trip, and yes Elder Marcum was still sick.) and then I did divisions in Soldati so we could have our baptism interviews. The Elder who stayed in our apartment broke the dresser and made a huge mess. So we decided to remodel the apartment because we also got a new dresser, but we had to put it together and the best part was, we didn't have any tools or instructions! Saturday</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"> we had the baptisms of Florencia and Gonzalo! It was so rewarding to see them both be so happy because they were people who really wanted to repent and change their lives. </span><br />
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So like I said, we had to put together a really big dresser without tools or instructions. It took us forever to try to figure out what to do and it stressed us out a lot. It made me think a lot about how it's like the Great Apostasy. After the death of Jesus Christ, the world went in to darkness and the full truth was lost and people were confused and didn't know what to do to get back to God. Its just like putting together that dresser without tools (the priesthood authority) and instructions (revelation from a prophet) We knew how it should have turned out, but we didn't have how to do it. Luckily we don't have to build our lives without tools or instructions. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored on this Earth and thats what we share with everyone! Just like my brother now is going to be going to Sweden in July to share this same message that I'm sharing here in Argentina. I'm so excited for him and I'm so thankful for the opportunity that I have to come to love all of South America so much! </div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-83506700613091872102017-03-13T19:16:00.000-05:002017-06-20T14:31:20.479-05:00History Repeats Itself<b><i><u>Email written: 3/13/17</u></i></b><br />
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Well, last week as you could see from how short the email was, that it was a tough week. This week didn't slow down either between both me and Elder Howard being sick and not being able to work a lot and then <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2096474125" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Thursday</span></span> Elder Howard finished his mission which meant that I´m in a trio (yet again) and for the second time one of my companions is Elder Juzga! So until next week I am going to be with Elder Juzga and Elder Marcum in an area called Almagro. We basically spend all day traveling in bus and subway because it´s a really big area and almost no one actually lives there so it´s very interesting to work. </div>
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Last week after I had finished writing and was kind of down, I was on the Church´s website and found a quote that said:<br />
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That made me think a lot and I really tried hard to not think about being sick or that fact that I was going to be without a companion for a week but instead on really truly helping the people here in Nueva Pompeya (and now Almagro). One example of how this changed my week this week was <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2096474126" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Friday</span></span> night we had planned a Family Home Evening, but we had planned it all and I almost couldn't get out of bed. I kept thinking how easy it would be to cancel. I was sick, I had to be in Almagro, we didn't have much time to prepare, but for some reason I kept feeling that I had to find a way to make it work. Even though we showed up 25 minutes late and there was still no one there and then we had technical difficulties, we pulled it off! The message was focused on the atonement of Christ and to show it we had a member do push ups. For every 5 pushups, someone else got candy. Now the first few were easy but after the 10th person he was struggling a whole lot and everyone started to say that they didn't want the candy so he didn't have to suffer, but he still did it. Then we talked about how it´s just like Christ and He suffered for all of us, and it´s up to us to accept what He did. Then we bore our testimonies of Christ and the Spirit was so strong and it was the best message I've ever shared in a family home evening. </div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-11041836058177932792017-03-06T20:56:00.001-06:002017-06-20T14:31:37.417-05:00The Benefit of Councils<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 3/6/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This week started off great with the baptism of Micaela! There were a ton of members and investigators and the ward was really excited. This baptism was just a blessing that came out of nowhere thanks to ward council. The best part was that her mom, who is not a member, opened up more and talked seriously about baptism and what holds her back from doing it. The sad thing is that they are moving to Cordoba this week so we won't be able to keep helping them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Another council that really helped us with our work was yesterday in a meeting with the stake presidency, bishoprics, and missionaries. They talked about the vision of the stake and we all really got excited and captured a new vision of how we should work and we came out of that meeting with a lot of new ideas and we are so ready to work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The last council was that me and Elder Howard had pretty much everyday. A lot of interesting interactions and visits with people really made us think about a lot of things and helped us put higher and greater goals for the mission and life. We realized how important it is to make it to the Celestial Kingdom and it's a constant effort to do it, and the great thing is that´s what we get to do as missionaries. Help others find their purpose in life and help them change their lives.</span><br />
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<br />Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-88581179589945242442017-02-27T19:45:00.002-06:002017-06-20T14:33:37.043-05:00Just Go With It<b><i><u>Email written: 2/27/17</u></i></b><br />
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This week we learned to just go with it.<br />
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When it´s 100 degrees and humid, just go with it.</div>
When out of nowhere it starts to pour rain, just go with it. </div>
When ward council tells you that you have a baptism ready for next week, just go with it.</div>
So that was basically our week. Wacky weather and amazing miracles. <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_751523812" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">On Tuesday</span></span> I got to go back to Soldati and do divisions and after sweating for the first half of the day, a storm came out of nowhere and we got soaked (a member saw us in the street and took a picture) but it was still a great time and we found some great people to teach all because we focus on bearing our testimonies. <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_751523813" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">On Wednesday</span></span> Elder Levrino from the Seventy came to our zone conference and changed the game! He talked a lot about the missionary handbook and how the smallest details make the biggest differences. While we never considered ourselves or tried to be disobedient, we realized some small things that we could change to be more consecrated (or dedicated to serving God). And WOW. The next day after the meeting we saw too many miracles. The families we found were all incredible and we just seemed to be working better. Then the best part came was ward council told us that there was a family that has a daughter who wants to get baptized on her birthday <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_751523814" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Tuesday the 28th</span></span> and that we needed to go see them. We went and started teaching the first lesson, but in the end she taught us. She was already prepared. So we had the baptism interview and <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_751523815" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">tomorrow</span></span> we have a baptism! It was great also because jsut an hour before we had to say goodbye to our investigator Agustin because in the end he had to move to Bolivia, but we know our efforts in helping him weren't wasted. </div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Two other interesting points that Elder Levrino taught us was about the commandments and weekly church attendance. He pointed out to us that God almost never gives a "why" with His commandments. Yes He mentions blessings, but almost never explains exactly why the commandment exists. So instead of trying to find a why, we act with faith to live the commandment and then see the blessings. Then to end, he talked about weekly church attendance and the importance of the sacrament. I loved how he summed it up "It´s simple. Partaking of the sacrament purifies me for the coming week. If I don't take it one week, I have to go that week impure. And what would happen if I were to die? Nothing impure can enter into God´s presence. I take the sacrament because I love Christ and because I want to go back to live with Him and God" I know that it is necessary to obey to be able to obtain salvation. While it is not complicated, it might not always be hard, but it is always worth it. </span><br />
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-25702321112152736272017-02-20T18:21:00.003-06:002017-06-20T14:34:20.378-05:00The Rain Stopped but the Blessings Didn't<b><i><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 2/20/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Photographic evidence that he</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">finally got his birthday cards and new suit!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So this week after 5 days of rain, the sun finally came back and it was a good week. Our investigator Agustin was doing alright, but when we called him the first time he said that he couldn't come for the lesson and didn't know if he could meet with us this week. Our hearts dropped because he was going to be an awesome convert, but we waited it out (with prayer) to see what would happen. He came <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2137030366" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Thursday</span></span> and told us that even though he received his answer that he should stay here instead of going to Bolivia, his dad said that he has to go with him and there was no way around it. We didn't know how to help him and we kept praying during the lesson and tried to help him and the spirit took over and just let us know that whatever happens, it was going to be the best for him. He couldn't come to church yesterday and we are waiting to see him this week. We were still kind of bummed and we didn't know what to do because we just can´t seem to find the right people. The thing about getting near the end (what´s happening to me and my companion) you tend to reflect back and think "am I even that good. Has what I've done been worth it?" well this week we learned that yes because when one door closes, more get opened. The Brazilian family couldn't be there, but their neighbor could and she is just the sweetest old lady and she loved the Book of Mormon and our little visit and then she even risked a heart attack to come to church. But seriously! She has to take heart medicine every few hours and she didn't bring it with her because we didn't tell her how long church was (we didn't even think she would come) and she said she wanted to stay and was willing to run the risk. But that´s not all. Somehow we had 6 other investigators show up! From the whole week thinking that Agustin would be our only possibility for a baptism, we were immensely blessed with people coming to church and it just showed us how much there is to do in our area. The coolest part is that none of them are in the villa (something that almost never happens!).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The other event that happened that helped me see why it's worth the hard work is about my brother, Collin. He had the opportunity to baptize his best friend, Jack! As a brother (and a missionary) I couldn't be more proud that Collin could have the opportunity and blessing to take part in something like that. I might not be baptizing right now, but I'm just so happy to know that my family is doing alright and that it's worth it for me to work hard and be obedient. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">pics: <span style="color: black; font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Obelisco de Buenos Aires</span></span><br />
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-47035516901714989752017-02-13T18:19:00.000-06:002017-06-20T14:34:29.363-05:00Adam Fell (And Got Back Up)<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 2/13/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So this week we had to rely a lot on 2 Nephi 2:25</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">(Adam fell that men</span><span class="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk" id="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk240004" style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span><span class="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk" id="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk240005" style="font-size: 12.8px;">might </span><span class="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk" id="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk240006" style="font-size: 12.8px;">be; </span><span class="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk" id="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk240007" style="font-size: 12.8px;">and </span><span class="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk" id="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk240008" style="font-size: 12.8px;">men </span><span class="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk" id="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk240009" style="font-size: 12.8px;">are</span><span class="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk" id="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk240010" style="font-size: 12.8px;">, </span><span class="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk" id="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk240011" style="font-size: 12.8px;">that </span><span class="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk" id="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk240012" style="font-size: 12.8px;">they </span><span class="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk" id="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk240013" style="font-size: 12.8px;">might </span><span class="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk" id="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk240014" style="font-size: 12.8px;">have </span><span class="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk" id="m_-2641891228061239387gmail-chunk240015" style="font-size: 12.8px;">joy</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">) </span></span><br />
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to keep us going. It seemed like anything that could go wrong went wrong. From losing lunches without notice to unexpected downpours to 13 appointments</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1537940238" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">in 1 day</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">all falling through, this week was not easy. It could have been easy for us to complain or get mad but we made a commitment to enjoy every day and thats what we did. But things did get better. Like for example Agustin, our miracle investigator showed up to church last week is doing good. We saw him again in the week and the first lesson he didn't really talk a lot and we left him quite a number of commitments (more than we normally do) and then</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1537940239" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Friday</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">we taught him again and he had kept every single one! This almost never happens the first time. He really liked the Book of Mormon and got a prayer answered because he didn't know if he should go back to Bolivia with his dad or finish studying here and he said he's staying and he wants to change his life and get baptized! Then he came to our English class and went with the young single adults in the ward to a stake dance and he liked it.</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Another thing that helped us this week were references. The sisters live in our area and this past week sent us a ton of references from people they talked to and it was a big help to be able to work outside the villa. While a lot weren't home when we went, there was one that didn't even exist but we still talked to the person who answered the door and it turns out she's going through a lot in her life and she was really thankful we came by and then she said there was a Brazilian family who lived above her and then right then her neighbor showed up and I told her I really like Portuguese and asked if we could come by to practice and talk to them and she told us to come back next week! </span></div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-21681094333554523772017-02-06T19:19:00.004-06:002017-06-20T14:34:38.247-05:0021 Miracles<b><i><u>Email written: 2/6/17</u></i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivUNXlFLRfBbkxquJD2Ilnzpg6f3KhAqV-UIevch2VsghIPeB5P2-oXzzl2uVoTa6hNCcIyX9WUoE2_VpXXFwDBQn4F3oHguUNNZ64Vd6hWJo8aFXu1Ae_Vlw5vNsLN0ZW74_a0H8WamM/s1600/SAM_0516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivUNXlFLRfBbkxquJD2Ilnzpg6f3KhAqV-UIevch2VsghIPeB5P2-oXzzl2uVoTa6hNCcIyX9WUoE2_VpXXFwDBQn4F3oHguUNNZ64Vd6hWJo8aFXu1Ae_Vlw5vNsLN0ZW74_a0H8WamM/s400/SAM_0516.JPG" width="400" /></a>So this week was pretty special and I feel just overall grateful for this week and this transfer and I was able to reflect on a lot of good that had happened. From the a/c in our apartment, to the fact we get lunch everyday and that I get along really well with my companion plenty of miracles have happened. About 2 weeks ago we did service for a family in the ward where we demolished a brick wall and it was pretty fun. We didn't think much of it until last Wednesday when the sister called us and told us "Elders. meet me outside the villa <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1974474899" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">in 20 minutes</span></span>" so we went and she said she was going to present us to her friend Milagros (which is Spanish for Miracles!). The member told us that she saw Milagros a few days before and had remembered her from years ago and felt like she had to go talk to her and so she did and Milagros agreed to have us come by. We taught 2 really good lessons and she was all set to come to church. But she had to move without warning so she couldn't come. The good part is she is going to move to another part of the villa even closer to members. </div>
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So <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1974474900" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday</span></span> came and I was feeling a little sick and Milagros wasn't coming and we showed up to the first class and saw someone we didn't recognize. Turns out a member had brought not 1 but 2 friends to church because they want change in their lives! And he said he is going to bring his 3 other brothers to church next week too! </div>
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As for my birthday it went pretty well. Got tacos for lunch and a lot of members made cakes (and also the elders who live below us). </div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-30202517780678184882017-01-30T22:55:00.001-06:002017-06-20T14:34:48.950-05:00They Say<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 1/30/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They say that in the zone of Belgrano you go to suffer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They say that Belgrano is only for sister missionaries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They say that in the zone of Belgrano you don´t baptize. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They say that you don´t baptize in a "sister´s area" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They say that Villa Urquiza has gone more than a year without a baptism</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They say it´s too hard so why even try.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Those were some of the things I heard when I went to Urquiza, while I was there, and even now that I've left. But today I ran into Elder Spurling and he told me that our old investigator Livia finally got baptized! After more than a year Urquiza had a baptism! I can remember all the work we put in and how we kept waiting for a miracle and now almost <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2065127861" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">3 months later</span></span> the hard work of a lot of us has payed off and the ward of Urquiza just got a huge blessing. It just makes me happy to know that my efforts weren't wasted there in Urquiza and that it´s always worth it to keep doing what´s right even when you don´t see the results. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As for us in Nueva Pompeya we focused on sharing our testimonies about Christ and the Book of Mormon and it really changed how our contacts went. The spirit was a lot stronger and we felt really good as we did it. Even though not a lot more chose to listen, we still found some amazing people. The sad part is all of our possibilities and miracles we had couldn't come to church. One, without warning, had to go back to Perú and the other one has to move to another part of Argentina for work. We felt good knowing the type of "seed" we had planted and hope the missionaries over there can find and teach them. </span></div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-38652823535812361072017-01-23T18:49:00.001-06:002017-06-20T14:35:06.489-05:00Keep Rolling On<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 1/23/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.8px;">So last Pday we went bowling. Now for those of you who know me, I'm not the best at it and I usually end up losing, but this time after a rough start I was competing to take 1st. It was the last frame and I needed a spare to have a chance for the win, and I don'´t know how, but I got it! I started to celebrate and I thought I had already won and it didn't matter how many pins I had to knock down so I got careless and after walking back to see the score I had lost by 1 point. 1 point! I was so close. Then I thought how great of a lesson I could learn from that. It doesn't just matter how we start or how we do in the middle, but we also have to finish well. We have to be able to endure to the end and be consistent in everything that we do. This went perfectly with my talk that I had to give Sunday, a</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.8px;">bout eternal marriage (yes, I being a missionary had to give a talk about eternal marriage) in how we always need to do what's right and not let up. This also applies a lot because in these past few weeks along with our efforts to find, we have been looking for those members who may have fallen away and stopped attending church. After talking to a lot, Elder Howard and I realized how easily someone can lose their chance at salvation for the smallest things. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_502559969" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">On Saturday</span></span> night we received a reference of someone in the villa and the elders told us that they set an appointment with her for <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_502559970" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday</span></span> at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_502559971" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">6:30pm</span></span>. We knew the general area of where it was, but the thing with the villa is that they are grouped in blocks and have a ton of passageways inside and it´s really hard to find a direction. We entered about 7 passageways and we just couldn't find the house. We had put the goal to give out 6 copies of the Book of Mormon and we felt even more committed to do it, and one of the miracles in trying to look for this house, we were able to give out 5 books to some really special people (including some from a group of guys that "run the villa" and even though they haven´t made the best choices in life we felt God´s love really strong for them). We were about to give up looking for the direction and started to find an exit out of the passage and as we were leaving we saw the house number and even though the person wasn't home, her neighbors were and they accepted the Book of Mormon and had a ton of questions that we could answer using the Book and they accepted a challenge to be baptized, but couldn't accept a date because they go to Perú for vacation until April, but we planted some good seeds. It amazed me how many miracles we saw <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_502559972" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday</span></span> just for the mere fact that we kept going and didn't want to give up. </span></div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-51113142982537988162017-01-16T21:11:00.003-06:002017-06-20T14:36:23.320-05:00Raining Blessings<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 1/16/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well the inevitable happened, and a lot quicker than I thought it would. Being so close to Soldati I knew that I would end up getting to do divisions back in the Monoblocks. <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1343614958" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">On Monday</span></span> night the zone leaders called me and told me that they wanted me to go back to Soldati to teach the new elder the Monoblocks because after I left the area became larger and the elders had stopped working in the blocks. So after 14 months I got to work back in Soldati. I was such a cool experience to be able to go back to where I started and all those memories came flooding back of my first few days with Elder Hatch. I was surprised with how much I remembered and we had a pretty solid day in helping him get to know the members and my old investigators. I was just really thankful for my time in Soldati and know that I was able to do my best there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So when I was in Soldati and Elder Howard stayed in our area, he along with the other elder were able to see a women who we had contacted 2 weeks ago. And after 3 appointments falling through, they finally got in to her house and she asked them "so what´s up with this baptism thing. how does it work?" that is the question we love to hear. She and her son accepted a date (but couldn't go yesterday) and also she lives with her 3 brothers and their families so we think we just found a ton of people to help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So Sandra our investigator wasn't going to be able to go, and neither were any of our other possibilities so <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1343614959" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Saturday</span></span> night we were kind of bummed and I just remember praying "please just bless us with some small miracle <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1343614960" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">tomorrow</span></span>. That someone will show up. Just something to keep us going" and as the first hour started (we start with the classes first) there was almost no one, but near the end a man walked in and sat down behind us and we thought he was a member. We talked to him after and he said he used to come to church but couldn't be baptized because he was working and studying too much. Now he´s a cop and works every other day and he already knows a ton of people in the ward. It was a huge miracle and just what we needed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The last big thing I learned this week was the importance of doing visits as a home or visiting teacher. It´s something that almost never gets done here and it´s a challenge for the members. We convinced the bishop to go with us to visit a family and they were so grateful for the visit and they showed up to <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1343614961" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday</span></span> after many months of not going. All it took was a 15 minute visit! </span></div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-45203450825737816172017-01-09T19:29:00.000-06:002017-06-20T14:36:32.616-05:00Moving Day<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 1/9/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well this week was pretty eventful because we got to move! Apparently mold and humidity damage are things you shouldn't have in your house, who knew? We had to take almost 3 days to move and to clean up the old apartment and everything so we didn't have the whole week to find. We had 14 people we were teaching and none of them came to church, so we've felt that we need to start working outside the villa, and it's perfect because where we moved the elders almost never worked and almost all of the leaders live over there. We are ready for the new challenge in finding priesthood men because the ward really needs it, and we want to help our ward here. And this week I talked to some of the Elders who were in Savio after I was and they were talking about how successful it's gotten and now everyone knows about the area, and I remembered when the 4 of us back when I got there told the bishop we'd put Savio on the map and all the days of praying, fasting, and working to help that ward. Now we couldn't do it all, but we were part of a big chain of events that helped, and that's what we're going to do here in Pompeya now.</span></div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-36679671013171897882017-01-02T19:39:00.004-06:002017-06-20T14:36:56.107-05:00Feeling Like Nephi<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 1/2/17</span></u></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"And it came to pass that he spake unto me, saying: Behold I have dreamed a dream, in the which the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brethren shall return to (Chacabuco)" 1 Nephi 3:2. Like Nephi I don't know why I've returned here to Chacabuco, but in following his example, all I'm going to do is trust that I'm here for a purpose and it´s going to be an amazing next few months. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the things that I really focused on this week came from the zone meeting we had where we talked about attitude versus aptitude. Aptitude is how well you do something and it's something that can be learned, where on the other hand attitude is something that comes from within and is a lot harder to change. That was the goal I put for the rest of my mission was to have the best attitude possible always (and of course always trying to improve my aptitudes also). And this week it made a difference. Like when we had talked to a ton of people and had 15 appointments over 2 days with families to teach and not a single one was there. We could have either complained and given up (also because it was very hot and humid the past few days) but we decided that something was going to go our way and things did. Like one day my companion remembered about a member who lived close to an investigator that he didn´t know so we went by and her mother in law really wanted a Book of Mormon and liked talking with us. Then yesterday, even though we only had 37 church attendance because of New Years, we still had a surprise investigator show up and when we passed by later he committed to give up smoking and even ripped up his cigarettes in front of us. The Lord will always be willing to work miralcles, we just need the attitude (which also has to do with faith and hope) to be able to look for the opportunities. </span></div>
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113685907951428963.post-27694532741410898522016-12-26T18:32:00.003-06:002017-06-20T14:37:23.474-05:00Christmas Came A Little Late<b><i><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Email written: 12/26/16</span></u></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So Christmas came and went by really fast and it was a little hard to feel the "Christmas spirit" as I'm normally used to. Even though it was my second one here it still felt weird that it´s summer down here. But I was able to enjoy my Christmas because I did my best to focus on Christ. Being able to bear my testimony of Him this Christmas season was very special because I was really able to feel close to Him this month.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Just minutes ago I got the call and I´m leaving Urquiza and going to Neuva Pompeya. The thing is, it´s right next to Soldati. I´m even going to be living in the same apartment that I was in a year ago. It´s so weird to think that my time here has passed. I knew from the beginning that it was not going to be easy and it never was. I came to Urquiza with the hopes of doing big things and changing everything, but in the end I couldn't. I´ve learned that God has a bigger plan for each of us and that if we let Him, all the experiences we have, He will teach us and help us grow. I'm thankful for the trials I had in Urquiza and am ready for the next chapter in Pompeya!! </span><br />
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Elder Collin Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216083290813851707noreply@blogger.com0