5 ESQUINAS!!!!! A New Chapter!

Hola todos!

I am writing you all on Tuesday because we had transfers yesterday! To my suprise I was transfered out of San agustín and now I am across town in 5 Esquinas! My dear friend Elder Jones who just finished his mission in Kansas originally served in the same area when he was here, and I have dreamed of serving here as well. It is a big area, but I am so ready to meet even more lovely people. My new companion is Elder Vallejo from México, and he has only 3 months in the mission field, younger than me! But we set some pretty good goals last night and I am excited to start working and improving on the areas that I need to work on as a missionary. It is sad to leave the area since we have had a lot of success as of late, but I trust in the Lord´s plan for me in this new chapter of my mission. 

Other than that, this past week has been filled with a lot of goodbyes and visits to the families in the ward. My old companion is now in Concordia, which is on the border with Uruguay. We saw some pretty funny stuff our last few days, including the Argentine Michael Jackson (Or "Miguel" Jackson haha) and the Argentine John Travolta. It was hard to say goodbye to these people that we have come love, but that is how Heavenly Father felt when he sent His son to die for our sins. Its tough, but I am trying to look at things from an eternal perspective. 

A bit of sad news, Maxi´s mom died today. A member from San Agustín called me and told me and randomly on the street I ran into Maxi and Araceli and was able to give them a big hug (mini milagro!). He had been taking care of her in his house for some time since she had dimentia, like my grandma. But the Lord called her home, and she can enter in a state of rest. The Plan of Salvation allows us to overcome death and recieve eternal life thanks to the atonement of Jesus Christ, and I know it is hard for them now, but they know that through the blessings of  temple work, she can recieve a proxy baptim and later be sealed as a family for all time and eternity. Thats why I love this gospel and being a missionary, it gives myself and others the hope we need in this dark world. And I promise that the gospel of Jesus Christ will help you have that hope, that remission of sin, and a new life in Cristo. The same is true for my family and my mom, and I pray that one day we will all be together in Heaven as a family for eternity. 

Love you all!!

A Week filled with Miracles!!!

Buen Día todos!

This week was amazing! We had the opportunity to listen to Elder de Hoyos as he gave us advice on how to be better missionaries and servants of the Lord. A lot of what he said involved talking to more people, and to make sure they know we are servants of the Lord called to preach His gospel, inviting others to come unto Christ and follow Him. My companion and I took this advice and decided to set specific goals and plans for our area and work. We had a lot of people that we needed to contact and teach, and we prayed to be able to find them and to be able to teach according to the Spirit. In just a few short days, we had 7 new people who were interested in learning more about the restored gospel, and 6 of them accepted an invitation to follow the Savior and to be baptized by someone holding the proper authority from God! One of them was Fabian, who has a sister who is a member across town, and we were able to testify to him that our message is true. He seemed really interested to learn more, and if he receives a testimony by the 29th of June, he wil be baptized! We have been trying to contact him for a couple of weeks now, and when we prayed and took the extra effort to work hard, the Lord blessed all of us! How great is that!

I also have been working hard to improve little by little everyday. It is hard to see progress when we constantly fail and struggle, and something I have been learning is that Heavenly Father is patcient with me because I am a son of God! and I have worth to my soul, just like everyone in the world, especially the people here in Paraná (D&C 18:10). It is definetly hard to struggle and wonder when will I be able to overcome this challenge? Or when can I move past this roadblock in my life? But I have learned to be patcient and to learn to rely on the Lord more, so that I can be a better missionary. We will always come up short in life, but we have the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to help us be clean and be able to progress and return to our Father in Heaven one day.

Maxi & Araceli´s Wedding/Baptism

Saludos todos!

This week was one of the most stressful, yet most rewarding weeks of my entire life! We spent nearly all of our time planning for the wedding recepcion of Maxi and Araceli! We bought the asado, put up the decorations, planned the music, and got everyone invited and the night organized so they wouldn´t have to worry about anything. When they came to the church, we threw rice at them and everything, and we had some great music to dance to as well. Once the cumbia came on, everyone lost their minds and started dancing and wilding out. I managed to see my stake presdient dance like a young kid and when I tried to give my bishop a hug at the end we ended up wrestling each other to the floor while he tried to tickle me hahaha que loco! But it was a great event for all, easily the funnest night of my time here in Argentina

Saturday we cleaned the church and got it ready for the baptisms. I baptized Araceli, and my companion baptized Maxi. It was a super spiritual experience and the look of excitement on their faces was so amazing. Helping this family get married and be together in the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been one of the greatest joys I have had as a missionary. After the confirmation on Sunday, the Bishopric asked them to share their testimonies. They both did a stellar job, and Araceli shared how she felt Heavenly Father and His love in her heart after her baptism. She also shared how when she first starting taking the missionary lessons, she prayed one night before bed and asked if this is the right path to go on. That night she had a dream of her and her family all together in the Church, and she new it was a sign from God that this was His church! That was the first time we learn

ed of this experience she had, and it was incredible to hear her bare her testimony like a pro! We are going to help them prepare for an eternal marriage in the Temple this time next year. In the Church, we don´t believe in only "till death do us part" Instead, the priesthood power to seal a couple and a family together for the eternities has been restored back onto the Earth through the modern-day prophet Joseph Smith 

This week I also visited Walmart for the first time down here, and I had a case of deja vu. It felt like I was in the U.S. because it looked like a Walmart from back home, just in Spanish. I started to get confused and seriously thought that maybe I got teleported back home by accident, but before I could get too lost, I walked down the deodorant aisle and saw a dog just chilling there, and had a back to reality moment like "Oh yea, still in argentina" LOL|

Love you all! Que tengan una buena semana! 

Professional Wedding Planners

Hola todos cómo están? 

This upcoming week we will be having the baptism and wedding recepción of our investigators, Maxi and Araceli! We have been planning everything, from the pork asado to the invitations to the photos and all. Planning a wedding is a lot harder than I thought it would be haha. But we have gotten everything in order and now we just have to wait, the hardest part of all! I will have the special privelage of baptizing Araceli, which I am so honored to be part of her spiritual journey! They have been getting new clothes, and Maxi even got his teeth fixed, they are so excited for this weekend!

We also have been working with a couple from Colombia, Edwin and Natalia. They are really cool and like to cook Colombian food to sell it to make some extra cash. They do a lot of odd jobs trying to make and save money, and it doesn´t help that some of their kids are still in Colombia, it must be hard for them to be that far away from their home and family. I know how that feels being so far away. The customs and cultures and even the Spanish are different in Colombia too, and they want to be maried this year and live comfortably no doubt. And some people wonder how it is possible to find peace in the storms of life, to be able to withstand the hardships of world and to endure to the end. As a missionary, I love teaching people like Edwin and Natalia about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, how we can find light in the surrounding darkness, and how we can be united with our families for eternity, no matter how great the distances are now in this mortal life. Please keep them in you prayers!

We also played bball with Leandro, and he has been smoking less, which is great! He is such a cool young man, and I know how much the gospel can change his life if he invites the Savior in to do so. That is the key to seeing those changes and to have those blessings of the Lord in our lives, we have to be humble and meek, like a child who submits to his parent´s will, and we will be lifted up through our trials and be made stronger through Christ. It is hard to believe that I did not have this knowledge 2 years ago, or even a solid understanding of these concepts when I left for my mission 6 months ago. But that is what makes being a missionary so rewarding, to help others come unto Christ while I do the same myself. 

There was a nasty storm on Sunday morning, and only 14 people showed up for church. Sometimes it saddens me deeply to see people not come, or to hear how "fiel" the people who did come, but didn´t help the families who don´t have autos or umbrellas get to church. Pride is the most dangerous thing in this world, and to the Gospel, it is kryptonite. Be careful that you ae not putting youself above anyone, especially the Savior. Luckily, as we repent and try harder, we will see that steady improvement that will help us become more Christ like everyday.

A problem that has been occurring lately is the fact that no one can pronounce my last name haha. The Stake President called me Elder Enterprise, like the ship from Star Trek HAHA everyone sees my last name and freaks out cause they have no idea how to pronounce it it is pretty funny. 

That´s all I have for yall this week. Keep trying to be a little bit better everyday, and the Lord will bless you on your way <3

Les Banco,

Élder Englebright