The March Madness Won't Stop

Email written: 3/28/16

Just when I was getting comfortable and starting to work in the trio I got a call from the assistants telling me that I was going to receive a new companion that night. It´s Elder Nina from Bolivia. So, this week was the week where we opened the Villa Oculta, and when you open an area you have to start from 0 and spend the first bit really working with members. It helped that I know a handful but we really had to work a lot this week. And because we focused a lot on members we didn't really find any new investigators. But we have seen small blessings in working with the members. First of all we have started to better the relationship between the missionaries and the ward (something happened in the past, and for that the ward has been kind of cold to missionaries even though us 6 haven´t done anything). Another blessing that we saw was that we received a few references without even asking. On Friday there was a ward activity and a family from our area brought their friend who was an old investigator. She wants to get baptized but her Dad is hesitant to give permission. 

This week got harder when we went to see a "golden family" that I found on divisions. They were a miracle and a really amazing family of 7, and almost all accepted baptism. But in these weeks they´ve been sick, and when we finally passed by the mom told us that they prefer the other elder. That one hurt because I had been so happy to find them and then praying and preparing for them so much, and to be told they just want the other elder was a big bummer. It´s been hard being in this Villa so long without a baptism and I don´t really know what I´m supposed to learn from all of this. But I've got to keep going.

Recently I've been reading in Ether and something that called my attention was that it says multiple times "and [this person] did that which was good in the sight of the Lord and[received this blessing]" I understand the importance of my call and know that what I am doing is "good in the sight of the Lord" and therefore (not to sound selfish) I will be blessed. Whether it be now, after the mission, or after this life. I just have to do my part to the best of my ability. I am grateful for this Easter time and for my Savior, Jesus Christ. 

-Elder Steele

We Found Jesús!

Email written: 3/21/16

This week was one that did not go according to plan at all. First of all President had said I should expect a new companion this week, but he still hasn't received the revelation of who to send so now I am officially in a new area with not 1 but 2 new companions! So I´m still in Parque Avellaneda but now I´m in another part of it with Elder Sherman and De Avila (the elders who were living with us in the pension). Being in a trio is fun because we can enter whatever house we need to and I like this area because it´s in Soldati. To get to this area we either have to cross through the Monoblocks of Soldati (my old area!!) or the Villa Soldati so almost everyday I run into somebody from Soldati and it makes my day. On Thursday I ran into Guadalupe and I just felt really good. 

But this week has been pretty rough in teaching and finding. Almost everyday the member that we would set up to go out with us would cancel about 20 minutes before and then we were stuck. All the plans that we made just didn't work out. We had some moments where we found people (including a kid named Jesus) but by Sunday we didn't have anybody progressing.  The ward situation has given us some hope because we got a new mission leader and he just finished serving his mission so we are going to really start to be able to work with the ward starting today. 

I have learned 2 big lessons this week. The first is that we normally talk about faith without works is dead, but the inverse is also true. Works without faith is also dead. And we realized that some days we are just going out to work without the faith that we are going to find. It is so important to maintain faith and a positive atitude. The other lesson I learend in talking with Elder Sherman is about success here in the mission. Elder Sherman although only has 3 months here already has a large vision and we both realized that true sucess here comes through diligence and obedience not titles or numbers (Elder Sherman is also a fan of Steve Nash so we used him as our example of true success). We both have realized that the transfers when we put in work and didn´t worry about numbers were the ones where we felt more successful. We both share that our greatest fear is getting home and realizing that we didn´t do everything we could have done and that has been our motivation to try to work and get better everyday. 

-Elder Steele

Adios Mi Parcero

Email written: 3/14/16

Parcero is slang in Colombia for best friend.

On Monday after I wrote we went to the pension and the assistants packed up Elder Troya and we said goodbye and then I got put in a trio with the other 2 elders who live with us (Elder Sherman and Elder De Avila). Yesterday after Stake conference I talked to President and he showed me the email he got from Elder Troya and that he made it home alright and is going to start treatments today. 

With me being in a trio, that means that the Villa Oculta is now a closed area. Yes that´s right. I am the Elder that closed the Villa Oculta. One of the most successful areas in the history of the mission is now closed. So add that to my list of why everyone knows me (throwback to October when I baptized the member). And I talked to President yesterday and he still doesn´t know who he is going to send to be my companion. 

It´s been kind of difficult with all the changes this week because I have done a lot of divisions with Elders in the zone and members so I don´t really feel like a true missionary because I´m just kind of floating around. On Wednesday night at 10:28 Elder Bustos (zone leader) called me and said he felt like we needed to do divisions the next day and that I needed good plans. I was really stressed because I have not planned a full day in this area for a month and we have nothing. So with A LOT of prayer and trying to put my faith in that we were going to find something. I planned for a little bit in the morning and after lunch we reviewed the plans and prayed again hoping for something. We left feeling really good and excited that we were going to find someone. For almost 3 hours we couldn´t find a single member, less active, or old investigator. We were losing our excitement but I knew I had to keep at lest a little bit of faith and stop to doubt because we needed to find someone. We had a meeting at 7 and our only set appointment fell through so we kept looking for people. Elder Bustos had read our area book and wrote down a few names and asked me if we could find them. The first one I thought I knew how to find but the house number didn´t exist. We saw a lady and I asked her if she knew where the house would be and she didn´t know. I then felt to just keep talking to her and I asked a really stupid question about the houses and then Elder Bustos gave her a pass along card and we both saw he kids kind of laughing at us, so we asked if we could enter and share with everyone. After teaching for a little bit we left with 4 people with a baptism date! They are such an incredible family. It´s so hard to explain and tell all that has happened with them these past few days, but they are such a miracle. This is where it´s complicated because technically my area is closed but I have permission to keep it alive. It´s going to require a lot to make sure I can visit them between now and when I have a new companion. But now the Villa Oculta has hope when it gets reopened. It was such a testimony that even when it all turned against us, we held on to the tiniest thing of hope that we were going to have a miracle and we ended up having one much greater than we imagined.   -Elder Steele

Pic: We found out how to get up on the roof and we have a good view of the Elefante Blanco! 

Back to Work (Kind of)

Email written: 3/8/16

So this week was another interesting week. Pday was normal and fun but at about 6pm Elder Troya was complaining about having problems again. Tuesday we didn't get to do a whole lot of work. Wednesday we got to go to yet another doctor and got yet another opinion about his back. So finally Thursday morning he got to receive some injections in his back to help the problem, but we couldn't work in the afternoon. Friday he felt better and worked all day and we started getting back into the swing of things. Saturday we kept going good and visited a bunch of less active families with members. Sunday was another hard day and we couldn´t work and today we had to go back to the mission home to talk with President about Elder Troya. Nothing is final, but tomorrow I will have a new companion to be able to work in my area. 

We saw 2 big miracles this week with the ward. The first was on Tuesday we received a call at about 6pm from our ward mission leader and he told us we had our weekly coordination meeting which was a very good thing because just a few days ago he said he had quit. Then on Sunday the ward attendance jumped up from 100 these past few weeks to 170. And even some of the inactive families we visited showed up. We might not have had a lot of time to work or investigators, but we felt so good to see that the ward is progressing in a very good direction. It´s an example of patience, humility, and prayer.   -Elder Steele

We finally took a picture of the 4 of us in the apartment. 

Bednar and More Bedrest

Email written: 2/29/16

So Wednesday we got to finally go back to the pension, but not before we got to have a meeting with Elder Bednar! It was a conference for all the missionaries in South America south area and it was really special. His way of teaching invited the spirit and allowed for an incredible learning environment. After the conference we went to the pension and I got to do divisions to work in my area once again. It wasn´t too hard to adjust back to working, but what was difficult was that this week I could only work 2 or 3 hours a day to accomadate the other elder´s schedules. So we couldn´t really find anyone new, and everyone that we had we lost. Carlos and Lunna relapsed and won't talk to us and Maria threw her Book of Mormon at us. On Saturday our ward mission leader just went up and quit so now its going to be harder than ever to work with the ward. Then to top it all off yesterday not only was Elder Troya in a lot of pain, I too was sick (but I´ve gotten a little better today). 

But even though it´s been pretty brutal these past few weeks and it looks like it´s not going to get a whole lot better this coming week, I don´t want to go home. I don´t want to quit. It´s such a weird feeling because as hard as it is, I still love the mission and wouldn´t have it any other way. There is something that´s keeping me here and I know that eventually the promise in Doctrine and Covenants 122:7 will be fulfilled. And also in reading in Alma and the 2000 young men that learned from their mothers has made me reflect on what my mom has taught me. And she always taught me that "I can do hard things" and to not give up, so that´s what I´m going to do. 

I can´t stop working just because it seems like the world is against me because my purpose and calling are greater. Sister Bednar told us that there will be times when we will say we can´t do it, and in reality it´s true. There are things that we can´t do without humbling ourselves before the Lord and receiving His help.  -Elder Steele

Summer Vacation?

Email written: 2/23/16

So this week was probably the most interesting week that I have had. We started out normal, but then Tuesday after the district meeting, Elder Troya started to complain about some back pain. He's kind of been dealing with it since last Thursday but has kept fighting through it. That is, until Tuesday. I went upstairs to get reimbursed, and another Elder stayed down with Elder Troya, and by the time I went back down, this Elder was on the phone with Sister Ayre (she's basically the mission nurse) and we were told to go to the hospital. But the hospital is in the northeast corner of Buenos Aires, and we are in the southwest corner, so 2 hours later of working through bus and subway systems we got to the hospital and they checked him out and told us to come back the next morning for an MRI. So, Wednesday we did the same thing and after his MRI and a few ours of hanging out with other missionaries, he got his results looked at. The doctor told him he has a broken disc. So we only kind of freaked out. We called SIster Ayre and she told us to meet with the mission doctor Thursday to get a second opinion. She also told me I need to become some sort of back doctor because this is my 2nd companion with back issues and now I'm basically an expert. Thursday the mission doctor told us he's no specialist so he would have to send the results to salt lake city and in the meantime, 2 days rest.

So since Thursday afternoon, we've been in the mission home! We have nice beds, air conditioning, peanut butter, and so much more! We are going to be here until tomorrow because the doctor in salt lake gave him 10 days rest, but Elder Troya is getting well enough that we can return to the pension. I had the opportunity to do divisions with the elders in the offices and with the assistants which were neat experiences. But that was only Saturday and Sunday. The other days we've just hung out here and studied and slept. I had a lot of good time to study and ponder a few things so at least some good has come out of staying here. We spent a lot of time thinking and talking about how we can help our ward here (because they have surely been a very special people) and we realized in the end all we can do is pray for them and develop more charity within ourselves and that's just not a principle here right now, but a principle for life. Because we can either complain and try to get out of our problems or we can prayerfully and humbly seek the ways to make us strong enough to keep going and to learn from these moments.  It's been weird not being in the villa and I started to miss it. But tomorrow after our conference with Elder Bednar, it's back to the villa because transfers came in, but president wanted me and Elder Troya to stay together.  The pictures show the difference between when an elder doesn't have a/c in his apartment but the mission home does.   -Elder Steele

What Goes Up, Must Come Down

Email written: 2/15/16

As great as last week was, it just didn´t last. This week started good but by the end it was brutal especially yesterday. Yesterday none of our investigators showed up to church, we don´t have lunch this coming week, and we just can´t seem to work together with the ward. All of us just wanted to get transferred. But then we realized that we have to work and really do our best even if this isn´t our favorite ward or area because we can´t put these types of excuses. 

But the good news is that Carlos and Lunna quit smoking! We gave them each a blessing to help them to quit and within 2 days they had both quit. The most incredible part was during the blessing of Carlos. I was the one who gave the blessing and during it I felt something that I couldn´t really explain. Then walking to the pension, Elder Troya started to talk about the blessing and how he too felt something really special about Carlos. It´s like we could see for just a second through the eyes of our Heavenly Father and understand this man´s potential. But the thing is, all of us have divine potential, and we just have to figure out what exactly we can do with our talents and life.   -Elder Steele