Nothing says Christmas in Argentina like snails on the sidewalk!

¡FELIZ NAVIDAD! I hope you all enjoy tomorrow with your family and loved ones!! 

My second week in Argentina has been pretty good! The work is slow, but steady, and I try my best to do my part that the Savior asks me to do each and every day, and I find myslef loving what I do everyday!! 

This week we taught one of our investigators, Norberto, who was suppossed to be baptized here soon but fell and broke his hip a few weeks ago! He is ok, but needs some time to recover. He is a sweet old man who talks in a high pitch voice, so it is a little fun to talk with him. We also had a lesson with Analia and her husband. Apparently, her sister is a member in the United States and she has been to the U.S. to visit her and some of the temples!!! She likes the peace and calmness that comes from being on the temple grounds, and is slowly believing the things we teach her!!! She just needs to come to church haha! We also had a family home evening with a recent convert named Norma, where we made pizza and read some scriptures about Christ´s birth! It was so fun!

We also had a lesson with a woman named Celestina, and she told us how her pastor always told her to "Ask of God" whenever she doesn´t know a scripture or what to do and I thought YESS!! That is the core of our message about Christ, is to ask of God for guidance, and he will reveal it to you (James 1:5). I have talked to a lot of people, and I try to look them in their eyes and see what the Savior sees, and I felt that love Christ has fpr all of us in them,  that they are beautiful children of God who need the love and support that comes from the Gospel. It was amazing!

Also, summertime means a lot of weird things happen here. There are so many stray dogs that roam the streets, but they have been to nice to me for now. There are aslo a lot of snails that we find on the sidewal, especially if it has been rainy. They are huge too! I feel like I am at the beach haha! Also, everyone here sips their mate every evening, and they are pretty friendly, always willing to talk to you, which is nice as a missionary. Even if they do not want to hear our message, they always are willing to have a good convo with ya, and that makes it fun to be here. Also the power cuts in and out of our apartment a lot, so it gives us plenty of fun moments to test our faith.

This week we had a zone conference, in which a bunch of missionaries get together and learn how to be better missionaries, as well as to catch up and get to know each other. This time it was Christmas themed, and we sang hymns and read the corresponding scriptures, which was so cool! Our mission president also received inspiration to write us a poem, which reads:

Twas the day before Christmas throughout Santa Fe, the weather was humid with the suns scorching rays. The land was lush green from the downpouring rains, unslowed they left early to go searching again. The missionaries were teaching the people with care, in hopes that conversiones soon would be there. They speak of a Savior who came here to save, to rescue us all from the grasp of the grave. With a love so sublime word could scarcely define it, until came the Spirit tom purely refine it. To carry it deep in the hearts of those hearing, filling them all with God´s love so enduring. So young and so good they carry God´s power, to all who will listen with the Spirit they shower. They so deeply love these people they serve, and yearn to give them the joy they deserve. With tired bodies worn from a day filled with walking, they arrive to their rooms and pull off their wet stockings. They each say their prayers before climbing in bed,and oft fall asleep before pillow meets head. But unheard in the night is a voice kind and fervent, rest well tonight, well done my dear servant.

Powerful, right? Well, I will talk to you all next week, but I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOO MUCH!!! Keep being amazing people, and have a Merry Christmas!!! 

Argentina...the land of sunflowers, hailstorms, and big bugs...wait isn´t that Kansas?

¡SALUDOS DE ARGENTINA! It is so good to finally be emailing you all from my mission! I have so much to catch you up on!

My journey to Argentina started off with an early morning trip to the airport, then a 9 hour flight to Buenos Aires. We rode in a 787 dreamliner, which had great leg room, tinted windows, a groupchat function on the screen in front of you, and more! Easily the best plane ride of my life. And I flew economy too! First class seats had their own pod of luxury haha

We get to B.A. around 9:00 p.m. local time and received a warm welcome of rowdy soccer chants. Gave me chills to be there! We get through customs no problems, hop on a bus to our hotel for the night (we passed by the temple it was so pretty!) and got maybe 90 minutes of sleep before we needed to leave for our next flight to SANTA FE!!!! Talk about a crazy few hours! Luckily, we managed to get everyone at the airport on time.

So we get to Santa Fe on Tuesday in the morning, and man was it hot and humid! The Paraná River (which leads to the Atlantic Ocean in the south and the amazing Iguazú Falls in the north)runs through my mission, which makes the already hot summers even hotter, but nothing I´m not used to.

In fact, this part of Argentina is very similar to Kansas. Firstly, there are thunderstorms frequently, including two hailstroms in one day my first day here! There are also wide fields of sunflowers, cows, other farm animals, big bugs, you name it!!! It legit feels like home!!

On Wednesday we had a meeting going over the policies and rules of the mission, and I found out who my first companion is and where I am serving!!! My companion is Élder Marcos from Lima, Perú!!! He goes to BYU Idaho and studies electrical engineering, so he knows a lot of English! But we speak almost entirely in Spanish so that´s fun. He has been on his mission for 6 months.

Currently I am working in a town called San Cristóbal, which is in the northwest corner of the mission, a 3 hour bus ride from Santa Fe. The town reminds me of Hutchinson, and everyone here is pretty friendly! Most evenings they are outside of their houses drinking an herbal tea called mate, and they always wave at you just like small town Kansas haha!

As for the work, there are only 20 active members in the branch here, so most of our time is spent visitng families and individuals who are members but don´t come to church often. Our schedule is wake up at 7, work from 9:30-12:30, eat lunch and study from 1:00-4:00, then work from 4:00-9:30. We take a break in the afternoon due to the siesta, but it is nice because that is when it is the hottest in the day

Missionary work is tough, and there are times when the road in front of me seems impossible to travel. But I have felt the love of our Savior Jesus Christ change me these past few weeks, which is helping me learn to live more humbly and meekly before God. All the walking, hand washing our clothes, everything I am capable of doing through Jesus Christ, who strengthens me EVERYDAY to do His work. 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!! Please take the time this week to tell someone in your family, a friend, whoever, that you love and care about them. I promise doing so will bless you so much!!

A Meeting with the President of the CCM...

¡Saludos todos! I am so excited to email you all this week! I hope everyone has been doing well and is excited for Christmas!

This is my last week here in el CCM, which is great but also a little sad because the last 6 weeks, México has been my home, and all the people, missionaries, etc have been my family. But I know I am needed in Argentina, so I will be ready to serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength!!!

A lot of our time en el CCM is teaching lessons to our teachers, which is nice because it allows me to not only learn the gospel of Jesus Christ better, but it allows me to become more fluent in Spanish! My abilities to teach en Español have improved so much, it definitely is a testament that the Lord is on my side, helping me out as I prepare to serve Him!

Today we went to the Temple (#3 time for me YAY!!) and I just love the Spirit on the grounds and inside. The promptings I receive from the Spirit while I am at the Temple are powerful, and it makes me want to work harder, more diligently as a missionary and a servant of Christ.

So a few days ago, the CCM President, Presidente Bennett, stops me and says, "When can I meet with you in my office, Élder Englebright?" Now don´t worry, I was not in trouble; instead, he wanted to meet with me to know more about my conversion to the Gospel and how I was able to turn my life around and serve a mission in 15 months! Crazy!!!! I sat down and shared my story, and he shared some of his childhood and we both have something powerful in common. Both of us should not be here. We should be having all kinds of problems, addictions, trouble with the law, dead, or worse. But by the will of our Heavenly Father, His plans for us were different than the route we were previously taking. And to realize that kind of blessing is a miracle everyday, and we are here at the right place, and at the right time. Amazing! He truly is the best CCM president ever!

And finally, at the Tuesday devotional, we heard from President Bennett and his wife give amazing talks over such powerful subjects. Perhaps my favorite from the devotional was the Parabola de los ganistos. When President Bennett was a missionary in México, he would set really hard goals, and when they would meet them, they would enjoy a delicious Ganisto (choclate, raspberry filled twinkie, it is AMAZING, but not as yummy as pengüinos :) His talk inspired me to set higher goals for my mission, working even harder than I thought I could previously. It is so important to not just preach the Gospel and baptize, but also to love and support everyone you come in contact with, helping them out in any way possible, even if it is something simple, like a hug on a bad day.    

Anyways, I leave Monday for Argentina! I have to wake up SUPER early, and the plane ride is long, but I can hardly wait to be where the Lord needs me!! And I encourage everyone to read the scriptures, and focus on the Savior this time of year (Luckily the Church has the #LightTheWorld program to help focus on the Savior this time of year. Go check it out and participate!) I LOVE you all so much! Keep being amazing people!!!!

 

It´s beginning to look a lot like Navidad....Sort of

¿Qué pasa, calabasa? I hope everyone is having an excellent week!!!

This week in the CCM was really amazing! So many awesome missionaries and people all around! I always feel so blessed to wear the name of the Savior Jesus Christ above my heart everyday!

Since Christmas is a month away, the CCM is getting prepared by putting up all their Christmas decorations around the campus. They have lights on palm trees, poinsettias next to tropical foliage, it is so cool! Even though I am in México and it does not look like it is close to Christmas, I can still feel the holiday cheer! 

Classes are going well, and my Spanish skills are getting better everyday! It is incredible how much I have progressed in just 1 week! I feel pretty confident in teaching and testifying to our personas interesadas, so much so that mi compañero Élder Gomez is saying that I am speaking fast like an native Argentine LOL!!! In fact, my whole district tells people that I am from Argentina, and it is funny to see the faces of the Americans who see me in a Latino district speaking fast Spanish, but with an American last name that no one can pronounce! I also have fun teaching them some English here or there. They are so great!!

One of the most peculiar things happened to me y Élder Gomez this week. El Presidente del CCM, Presidente Bennett, was in the kitchen one night after dinner washing and sorting all the dishes, in his full suit attire too! He asked for our help and for 20 minutes we helped clean and sort dishes with the CCM Presidente!!! Talk about being a true servant!

Also, my money collection has been growing! I know have bank notes and coins from Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Perú, Colombia, and ARGENTINA!! Élder Noto, who is from Bahia Blanca in Argentina exchanged some Argentine pesos with me and it was cool! He has the castellano accent as well! My goal is to try and collect them all! (Perhaps I played to much Pokémon when I was a kid LOL)

Also, I have been feeling the Spirit so much here in the CCM. The promptings and guidance I receive on how to be a better servant of the Lord Jesus Christ makes everyday worth working hard and trying my best. At times it is difficult to understand the language, or communicate properly in Spanish, but I learned that when I put all my trust in our Heavenly Father, and covenant with Him through prayer that I will try my hardest and be willing to sacrifice everything to be successful and work hard, He will bless me with the ability to communicate and help the people aquí in El CCM and abroad in Argentina and the world!

That about sums up my week...thank you all so much for your prayers, emails, support, and especially love. Being a missionary is not easy, but I am constantly reminded by the Spirit just how blessed I truly am to have amazing friends and family such as you all. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! :)

A New Challange Aquí en el CCM!

¡Feliz Día de Accion de Gracias (Thanksgiving)! I hope everyone is spending some quality time with their loved ones today :) 

So this past week here in the CCM has been quite interesting for me. For starters, I have been a little sick, with a nasty cough and sore throat for a couple of days. I am doing alright now, but man has it been tough!

This week I had the privilege of hearing from Élder Pino of the Quorum of the 70 in the México City area and Elder Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles on a special Thanksgiving live stream. Élder Pino spoke about the realization that missionaries are truly called to do the Lord´s work, and we should always remember that when we work hard to spread the gospel. Elder Uchtdorf spoke about how we can be truly thankful, as well as how I can pray to Heavenly Father during my trials and tough situations and ask Him, "What do YOU want ME to learn? How am I going to come closer to Thee and Thy Son?" It was incredible to hear from these amazing men of God!!!

I also started off my Saturday with sunrise yoga with my district. It was actually fun! (Although my body didn´t think so at times lol) And on Sunday we got to watch Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration, which always leaves me in tears. If you have not watched it, I strongly suggest you do so! It can change your life!!!

I forgot to mention the coolest part of the CCM is the parrots! They are really green and love to chirp all day. It is crazy that green parrots are so common down here, like they are pigeons or something! Very cool!

And perhaps the highlight of my week so far has been my switch to a Latino district! My new compañero es Élder Gomez. He is from Guatemala and a recent convert to the Church of just 3 years! He is really nice and friendly, and works hard too! The crazy part about my switch to the Latino group was the fact that it took place at 9:30 at night! Due to a lot of confusion and the missionary replacing me in the American  group arriving early, I had to pack my stuff and move across campus before lights out at 10:30. Talk about crazy transfer!!! But luckily all my dorm and a few others that were living near us helped me move. Thankful!!!!

And that´s about it for my week. I have just a few more weeks left in México, then it is off to Argentina! I know being in all Spanish classes, with no one knowing English will be tough, but I will do what Elder Uchtdorf talked about in his devotional today, and pray for the strength and guidance to understand what I can learn from this experience. I LOVE you all so much!!! Try not to go too crazy if you do any Black Friday shopping tomorrow! :)))))

México City... the land of freezing cold temperatures????

¡Hola todos! I hope you all are having a great week so far!!!

México City is an incredible place! One day it is beautiful clear skies, around 75 to 80 degrees, and just perfect. And then you have yesterday, where it was around 40 degrees and cold rain all day..... and I thought Kansas was crazy!

This week has been pretty good! I gave a talk over the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Spanish! I did not know I was giving said talk until the middle of church. Don't worry, I prepared anyways lol.

And perhaps the highlight of my week was being able to spend the day with a Latino district of missionaries. In the CCM here in México, Americans are in there own district with each other as they try to learn the basics of español. However, since I have already studied it for 2 years before, my teachers decided they would let me spend a day with some Latino élderes to see how it would go.... 

IT WAS AMAZING!!! I had a real great and spiritual time with Élder Lopez (de Chihuahua, México)  y Élder Donoso (de Santiago, Chile). Most of the Spanish speakers cannot pronounce my last name, so it was fun to see their faces as they tried to read my name tag LOL!

And I have been told that I may be put into an all Latino district next week, with a fluent spanish speaker as my new companion. ¡Qué genial!

I went to the temple again this week, and it was even better than the last time! The House of the Lord is such a special place to come closer to our Father in Heaven!!

Anyways, that is all the news and excitement I have for today. But I will be sending out my pictures here shortly. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! Thank you for your prayers and support. It warms my heart and makes me smile so much when I read your emails. Pues, ¡Nos hablemos a la próxima jueves!

1: Cloudy mountains...definitely not found in Kansas

2: Élder Lopez and Élder Donoso (is it just me, or does Élder Donoso look like Damon Bischoff lol)

3:Élder Breña y yo (He says he knows an Élder Trevor Sherrow!!)

4: My foreign money collection so far 

5: Los Gringos!!! My district that I have class with everyday 

6: I love the Gospel!

7: Élder Dyson Bingham...the LEGEND and my best bro!

8: Ángel Moroni with the golden plates... rare!

Saludos de México! I hope everyone is doing amazing this week! Sorry that I could not email sooner. While I am in México I can only email on Thursdays, but that will only be for a few more weeks.

Anyways, my first week in the México MTC, aka the CCM, has been AMAZING! So many things have happened that I don't think I could ever fit in just one email. But, I will highlight the best so far. My plane rides went great! No problems with my luggage or anything. The traffic in México City is terrible, since there's around 20 million people living in this area. But other than that, México is perfect! The CCM is surrounded by 3 beautiful mountains, and the campus used to be an old high school. Now it is a concentrated place for the Lord's servants to learn how to teach His gospel!

So I'm not sure why, but it has rained almost every single day this week. Maybe we are in the rainy season or something, but almost everyday around 3:00, it starts to downpour. And some days the rain makes it pretty chilly. Since there are a lot of missionaries from Latin America, soccer is the go to sport, but since it's been raining, we have been playing basketball everyday. They are really good HaHa.

Another thing I LOVE about the CCM is pingüinos... No, I´m not talking about the bird, but the delicious dessert treat found all over campus! They are similar to ding dongs in the US, but WAYYYYYY better. I may have an addiction since I eat one every night LOL.

Also, we went to the temple today! The temple is a sacred place where we can come closer to our Father in heaven and make convents with Him, while also helping the people who did not have a chance to learn about the gospel in this life be able to have the same opportunities. 

The CCM is a beautiful place, the Spirit felt here is beyond words. There have been times where I have laughed, cried, felt down on myself, and then on top of the world in the matter of hours. But it is all a test from our Heavenly Father to see how we will react when put under pressure... will we turn to Him for love and support? Of course!

 As much as I would like to write down all my experiences, my time is cut short for today. However, I will be able to email again next Thursday and update you all again on my adventures as a missionary aquí en México! I will try to get some photos in this email or another real quick. I love you all so much! Thanks for all the love and prayers!!!!