Our friend Jesus got baptized on Friday! At the start of April, he responded to a Facebook ad to meet with us, and we’ve been teaching him ever since. His first Sunday coming to church, he was invited to attend Institute classes– weekday gospel study classes for young adults. He started attending Institute 3 times a week and made friends from congregations all over Salta. He was baptized by one of the Institute teachers. It was so special seeing how many people came to support him. At the end of the baptismal service, he shared a powerful testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus’s situation is the perfect example of helping […]
Patriotism and Idaho Potatoes
Yesterday was holiday that I’m pretty sure is called Patriotism Day. I’m not 100% sure what it’s celebrating, but hey, patriotism. We got roped into raising the flag in front of the church and then we got fed more locro. Luckily, the locro had far more normal cuts of meat, so my stomach already feels normal again. In other news, I found a store that was selling Simplot brand french fries. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’re shipping Idaho potatoes down to Argentina. On a slightly more spiritual note, we’ve had some cool experiences with our friend Dayana the past couple of weeks. She got baptized about 9 months ago, but a couple of months ago […]
A Baptism and Being a Trio
I’ve had a string of new companions this week. Last Thursday, Elder Arias arrived. He’s a service missionary who is about to complete his mission. He’s spent most of the previous 2 years living with his family in Jujuy. Until now, his service has consisted mostly of helping members with their family history, but he’s helping us as a teaching missionary until this upcoming Thursday, so he will have been with me for a week in total. The regular companion also changed. Elder Hughes left for a town in Northern Salta, and Elder Grow from Sandy, Utah, is my new companion here in downtown Salta. Our friend Lucio got baptized on Saturday! Almost 30 members […]
It’s Been a Minute
A lot has happened since I wrote last. Some highlights include: Despite the occasionally weird food, I’m having an awesome time here. I’ve grown so much closer to the Savior through serving the people of Argentina. I’m grateful for the time that I still have left to be able to help people grow closer to Jesus Christ. Elder Hansen
Getting the Ball Rolling
It finally feels like we’ve the back rolling here in La Loma. We have some awesome friends who are getting ready to get baptized in the next couple of weeks: Lucio, Exequiel, and Jesus. Jesus found the missionaries through a Facebook ad. Last weekend, he watched several sessions of General Conference and was super excited to meet with us. During our second lesson with him, he agreed to be baptized in a couple of weeks. Then he came to church yesterday and had an awesome experience worshipping with the members. The time is flying by, but I’m so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be serving the Lord here in Salta. Have a […]
General Conference and Pizza
Our area is kind of large (I think 2 miles by 2.5), and we spent most of the week running around to make it to supposedly confirmed visits that ultimately fell through. We had two baptisms lined up for this upcoming Saturday, but we haven’t been able to teach our friends enough, so we have to move them a bit further out. We were trying really hard to get people to watch conference this weekend, and we actually had a lot of success, which made me feel a lot better about our days in red. Most of our converts and 3– we need to confirm that– friends watched at least one session. We had a […]
Pumpkin Spice Curry
We found out this week that Elder Hughes and I will be together for the next 6 weeks. Neither of us are sad about it, at least to my knowledge… Elder Hughes has been having some problems with his feet, so we’ve spent a couple mornings inside to let his body rest. I found some curry seasoning, so I made some curry. Unfortunately, the only sauce we had was pumpkin based, so the whole curry had an underlying taste of pumpkin spice. It was still good though. We’re working hard to get some momentum in La Loma again and we’ve been finding a lot of interested people. We’re excited for the opportunity to use this […]
Back in Salta
t’s so crazy being back in Salta. I miss being able to hear donkeys from our apartment in Cafayate, but it is so nice being able to find things like frozen chicken breast. Our area hasn’t really been worked in since Elder Schaub got sick a month ago, so we’ve got a lot of work to do, but Elder Hughes and I are ready for it! Sorry for the short note again, but have a great week! Elder Hansen
Leaving Cafayate
This morning I left Cafayate. It was bittersweet, but I’m excited for the new opportunities that I’m going to have in my new area: La Loma, right next to my old area in downtown Salta. Sorry for the short note (short on time), but here are some photos from my last day in Cafayate yesterday. Elder Hansen
Hard Work and Gratification
When I first got to Cafayate, I was able to help Josue get baptized. Since then, Josue was ordained a priest and has helped us teach 2 of his nephews, Bruce and Uriel. This weekend, Josue was able to baptize both of them. Watching Josue’s joy was genuinely one of the most gratifying experiences that I’ve ever had. It means more to me than even my proudest accomplishments in the army or my other life endeavors. I read a quote from Elder Eyring recently that has become very meaningful for me. He states that the Lord’s work and glory aren’t to run an efficient organization. His work and glory are our progress. I have been […]