Where's Waldo?

Email written: 10/31/16

Somebody finally got his package!

This week we calmed down a bit with our work and we focused on helping all of the people we had found progress. One of them is Rodrigo. He just showed up to church last Sunday and told us he wants to change his life, and he was progressing really well. Then we did divisions Wednesday (and I left for José Ladron Suarez) and when I came back elder Aguilar told me that Rodrigo had disappeared. His temporary house was gone and we had no idea what to do or how to find him. We decided that the first thing we were going to do would be find Rodrigo. We retraced all of our steps in all of the times we had seen him in walking in the street and we asked around and we ended up with nothing. We felt bad that we had lost our miracle and we decided we were going to continue with our other plans. I then thought, "if I was suddenly homeless, where would I go? A park!" and we happened to be between 2 parks so we kept looking and when we got to the end of the second park we saw Rodrigo sitting down reading the Book of Mormon while his son was playing!! We were so relieved to have found him, but then yesterday we couldn't find him again so tonight we are going to play detective again! 

And with almost all of the other possibilities we had, we lost so this week is going to have to be another week of trying to find and help people. It´s been almost 3 months here in Urquiza with little to show. We´ve had miracles and good moments, but not a lot of "fruits". But in the Book of Mormon in Ether 12:27 where there is a promise that our weak things will be made strong, and 2 examples of this are found in Mark 6 and John 2. When Christ fed the 5,000 or when he turned water into wine, he made do with what they had to offer him. He did not yell at them for their lack of preparedness, but instead served them. Being here in Urquiza I've realized a lot of my weaknesses and that I lack a lot, but I just have to keep going because the Lord always promises blessings for diligence and obedience. 

-Elder Steele

Like Kevin Garnett, Anything is Possible

Email written: 10/24/16

So I don't know if anyone remembers but a little more than a month ago, we received the goal of 5 copies of the Book of Mormon everyday or 30 in a week and how we struggled to just give out 1? Well I do, and this week we changed all of that. We decided we needed to do more if we want to see miracles and baptize. So that´s what we did. We made invitations and gave out over 600 and we were able to give out 30 copies of the Book of Mormon. By the end of the week we ran into the greatest problem you can have in the mission; trying to find the time in how you are going to be able to make it to all of your appointments. We finally had a large number of people to teach. The week flew by so fast and we felt so good knowing that we really did our best. We realized that the only thing that is holding us back from having success is us and that we have to be willing to do everything possible to find solutions. The truth is we really didn't do a whole lot. We aren't the greatest missionaries and we aren´t perfect, but the little that we can give, we gave, and we were blessed with a ton of miracles. 

From the ward Family Home Evening last night, to our progressing investigators, this week was a week of blessings and one that really built our faith. Wednesday (well I think it was Wednesday because the days are all blurred together) it rained a ton and we didn't have our umbrellas or our coats and we were tired and I thought just how easy it would be to give up and take some easy way out, but then an impression came to me that made me think. I thought "how can you just give up? What kind of standard are you going to set for your future self?" and we just kept moving on. 

-Elder Steele

Taco Tuesday

Email written: 10/17/16

So this week we kept up all our efforts with the Book of Mormon and we are starting to see some miracles! On Tuesday we were really excited to be able to contact everyone, and one of the people we ended up talking to accepted a Book of Mormon and on Saturday we passed by and she had already read the first 11 chapters and accepted a baptism date. And at the end of the lesson we asked if we could invite her cousin (because she told us that her cousin was in the other room) and when he came out, it was an inactive member who the ward council had been looking for because he had moved and no one knew where he lived. So now we are going to activate him while we teach his cousin! And then on Sunday we had another investigator show up to church. It was the first time in months that there have been new people in the chapel and the ward got really excited. 

One of the things I learned this week from the Book of Mormon is that (at least) 29 times the same idea is repeated " that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, that inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence" and I know this to be true. If we want blessings, we will be obedient. 

Pic- We made tacos because we didn´t have lunch #texmex

-Elder Steele

1 Nephi 4:6

Email written: 10/10/16

Coming down from the awesomeness of General Conference, we got back to work here in Urquiza; well the first 2 days my companion (and one of the elders in the other area too. Because now we share an apartment with the elders who opened a new area) was sick and we couldn't do much. But the good news is I was able to guide us through the area and also show the new elders part of their area without too many problems. The other good news is Elder Aguilar came here to work and we are trying a lot of different ways to work. Some days we are able to give out a lot of copies of the Book of Mormon and other days we just end up walking around but we put in a good week of work.

Something interesting was that these past few days we were guided very strongly by the Spirit. One day everything failed on us and instead of stressing, I felt we had to visit 2 certain members, and both of them live alone, and both of them needed blessings, and both of them told us they were praying that we would visit them! Then the next day we had to change some of our plans and we were with a member and he wanted to visit a less active family and when we went by their house, no one was home. So we continued walking and a few blocks later we ran into the family and we walked back with them and they let us in (after 2 months of trying) and we had a really good lesson and the member who was with us gave his first ever blessing and it was such a cool experience to see him learn more about the Priesthood.

and now everyone knows the difference between Chile and Texas. 

Peruvian Food

-Elder Steele

TexMex part 2

Email written: 10/4/16

Another 6 weeks have flown by and today is transfer day. And now I'm with Elder Aguilar from Mexico, so it's TexMex all over again! 

This past week was conference week where the Prophet and apostles deliver inspired messages to teach and help us and it was (like always) incredible. There was a lot learned and a lot of questions answered and a great way to end the transfer. It was interesting how the conference focused on prayers, the Book of Mormon, and the Plan of Salvation.

As with the days before conference, we just kept going. Things didn't get any easier, but we finally have a number of people to teach and the ward is getting more involved. It´s incredible to see how months of hard work pay off, and will continue to pay off because the miracles will start coming and, well, I'm ready for whatever this transfer has to offer!   -Elder Steele

Can we Get a Nike Sponsorship?

Email written: 9/26/16

It's already been a month since I've been in Urquiza and this last week I was reminded of a thought/feeling that I had when I had heard about the transfers that was "You´re going to Urquiza to grow and to learn" and well, it's happening. This past week we decided something had to change. Our studies and prayers were more intense and we were trying to figure out the key to make the week turn out better than the others. And the thought kept coming "Just do the contacts" and we kept denying that impression because these past few weeks, they haven´t really worked out. Wednesday we just felt destroyed and it was "well, I think we have to do some more contacts" and we put a goal of just 1. Just 1 good contact for the day. With a lot of nerves and not a whole lot of excitement we went out and tried. The first person we talked to accepted! He was really nice and interested (but he doesn't live in our area, but oh well) So we started to feel better and my companion was like "I think we were being tested with our bad experiences to see if we would really do them and now we are going to be blessed" then it was the normal no one listening. At about 8pm my companion was like "Let´s do 1 more." (he was referring to an older woman walking her dogs) so we went up and started talking to her and she is really amazing. She had a ton of questions, that we were able to answer using the Book of Mormon and she gladly accepted. Then Friday we went to visit a member and share our Ward mission plan with him and his wife and then we went with him to the church because there was an activity, but there was some downtime so he went to a closet and brought out some copies of the Book of Mormon and said "Elders. Let´s go!" And in 10 minutes we had already given them out, (he alone gave out 2) and they are some real possibilities and we all felt so good. The Ward has started to see our efforts and are starting to put goals in Ward Council so that everyone can help us. We didn't have a huge miracle this week. We still didn't have any investigator attend church, but we Just Did It and we are starting to see the Lord´s hand more here in Urquiza!

Something that really stuck with me was when I was reading Matthew 26 when Christ goes to Gethsemane:

38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup

pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.  
40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, "What, could ye not watch with me one hour?"

It made me think, Christ has asked me to help Him for a short time, and am I staying awake or am I "falling asleep"?

-Elder Steele

Worldwide Day of Service with the Zona Belgrano

The Committee to Plan Parties

Email written: 9/19/16

So this week passed by super fast. Our biggest focus this week was our ward activity that we had planned for Sunday night. We had to wait almost 2 weeks for approval so we only had this last week to run around the whole area inviting people, but it was so worth it! We did an activity where the people "felt" the life of Christ. We even did a crown of thorns (don´t worry, no one wore it)! It seriously was so incredible the spirit that was there. We had a lot of members, less active members, and a few investigators and almost everyone was crying at the end. My testimony and gratitude grew a lot last night and I just felt super privileged to be a missionary and to be an actual representative of Jesus Christ.

The other part of this week is we keep trying to do our contacts and teach more people about the Book of Mormon, and Saturday we finally had someone stop and listen and we felt God´s love for him and a desire to help, but when Elder Matos pulled out the Book of Mormon he was like "Nope. A book isn´t going to help me change. I've killed people in Colombia, Brasil, and Argentina. You 3 (we had a member with us) don´t know anything about life." After showing us his scars he threw the Book at Elder Matos and we walked away. But I still know the Book of Mormon is true!!!  -Elder Steele

(Elder Steele did not give any explanation as to what this picture is about,
but he's smiling and that's good enough for me!)