Como andan? Espero que estén bien :) This week was great! For like the 3rd time this transfer we had to go to Santa Fe to take care of some business (Elder Burchell had visa trámites to do) and we ended up missing some critical working time in Feliciano. On top of that, we missed one of our colectivos (bus) so we had to spend the night in another missionary ́s area and take an early morning bus which took us all morning to get back to Feliciano...and on top of THAT, we had to start our monthly fast and it was HOOOOOTTT pero mal! But the Lord took care of us and provided a way for us to have some amazing miracles in a short work week... For example, Jimena is planning to be baptized on the 14th!! WOOOO!! If yall remember she was the girlfriend of a less active member named Alejandro that we ran into while we were lost looking for people to teach my second day here in Feliciano. She decided to end her relationship with Alejandro and he moved out, so now she can keep the law of chastity in prep to be baptized. It's a little tough since we are trying to reactivate Alejandro and have him come back to church, but living with Jimena and not wanting to get married was not helping her progress in the gospel, so they ended their relationship on good terms...pero buuuueeeennnoooo! Jaja. Please pray for Jimena as she prepares to be baptized! We are also teaching several other people some of which have cool pets. Fatima and her family have a parakeet named Pepo (every Latin American missionary knows that legit every bird is a pepo or a pepa jaja) and other people have caniches (poodles) and whatnot. Lots of animals and lots of ways to meet and contact - for example, I find a cute dog and play with it while I get to know its owners jaja Argentina is the best! One of the themes I was studying in the scriptures this week was how Satan tricks us to believe his lies and drag us down to hell and misery. 2 Nefi 28 talks about all signs and warnings we must follow in order to stay firm to the iron rod and not be tempted. Satan is tricky, because one minute he tells us it's ok to sin - Eat, Drink, and be merry. God will only punish ya for a little bit and then you´ll be in heaven chilling. Wrong! We must never be cautious or justify sin and disobedience to our covenants with God. Satan even tricks us to believe that he doesn't exist, or that God and heaven aren't real, while other times flips his strategy and says they are real to justify his sinful whisperings for us to do wrong. Que bábaro! Always stay alert, and never let your guard down. Unfortunately once we have sinned on something serious and repented, we must not only avoid, but RESIST the temptation that Satan brings, making it even harder to stay focused and faithful. This talk from Elder Bednar perfectly explains this principle better than I can - give it a watch/read https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja8fTe-5h60 That's all for this week. I may eat a milanesa made of crocodile so wish me luck! Ciao!

Holas!!! This week was awesome! We had a conference with Elder Bragg from the 70! It was amazing the advice he gave us good training on how to better serve the people here in Argentina and to better accelerate the missionary work. A lot was shared, but the main idea is to serve one by one, everyone to their needs. In other words, we need to seek the Spirit to guide us diligently to help us know what our investigators need to hear or learn in the moment. We did that with Gabriel and his wife Talia, who told us they weren't too sure about accepting other scriptures other than the Bible. In that moment, we changed our lesson and focused on teaching about the Book of Mormon and testifying that God still speaks to His children (us!) and that we can still receive more from Him if we ask diligently! A cool miracle this week was we were walking to our next appointment and I told my companion that I felt kinda bad since we hadn't really talked to a lot of people that day and we wanted to meet our goal of finding 4 new friends to teach and share the gospel before the end of the week. As I said that, I felt inspired to walk down a side street to find a family to teach. I felt prompted that we would find someone. We walk past a house and there was a married couple outside chilling with their kids - Dario and his wife Valeria. We stopped to talk and they invited us to sit down and share what we had to offer as missionaries. It was a MIRACLE! We taught about the church and the Book of Mormon, how it is the word of God and can help us come closer unto Christ. They told us they wanted to learn more and as a result we met (and surpassed) our goal for the week! I always try to follow spiritual promptings while I ́m in the streets looking for God's elect, because there are people who are waiting for us to come to change their lives and help them come unto Christ and be saved. I love being a missionary! I also visited my converts and friends from Paraná since I had a few hours to kill before the conference with Elder Bragg. I love and miss them all a lot!!! Also my dad had heart surgery this week, and he's ok but it gave me a scare. I fasted and prayed for him and I was able to put all my trust in the Lord while I worked this week. Easily a spiritual moment and lifelong lesson I will cherish as I put my trust in Him, everything will be alright in the end... Love yall!!! - Elder Englebright

Howdy!!! Hope yall are doing well!! I ́m back in Feliciano with my new companion! Elder Burchell from South Weber, Utah. He's super cool! And he has about 6 months in the mission, so he's fired up with working here, which is great cause there's a ton of work to do. We got 8 new investigators this week, in only a half a week worth of missionary work because of the travels we had to take. It is awesome! I was a little worried that some of our investigators would stop having interest since I was gone for 10 days but when we went back to Jimena she told us she had been reading everyday and still wants to be baptized!!! Milagro! We are trying to help her get married and baptized here in March, so keep her in your prayers!!! We also ran into a Colombian named Sebastian and he wants to take the missionary lessons so I´m excited to teach him since I love me my Colombians <3 This week we have run into a lot of crazy little miracles, and also crazy moments as well. Yesterday we were walking and a man in his moped stopped and asked if we were missionaries, which we smiled and said Sí and he gave us his address and phone number so we can teach him this week, which was awesome! We also ran into a drunk guy who wanted some help but was too drunk and was cussing so much that I couldn´t take him seriously so we left him a pamphlet and went our way haha. It's been raining a lot here and since I'm in the country there's a lot of dirt roads, which quickly turn into mud roads, so i´ve busted out my mud boots and we go trekking on some pretty gnarly roads. It's awesome! We have been working hard to get some people back, and we are seeing more miracles as we leave and go to work everyday in this special part of the Lord's vineyard. This week Elder Bragg from the 70 will come and speak to the mission! It's going to be exciting to hear from a General Authority with all the mission, so I ́m trying to get spiritually prepared to receive personal revelation from a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ! Also, today is President's Day!!! Well, here in Argentina no but it's good to take this moment to count our blessings as a nation blessed by the Lord, which we can read about in the Book of Mormon. Nefi had a vision of the America´s, many years before it would've been discovered by Columbus and other European explorers. 1 Nefi 13 says: 16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them. 17 And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them. 18 And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle. 19 And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations. As we take time to celebrate President's Day, we should give thanks to the Lord for always protecting this chosen land, and pre-ordaining our Country ́s chosen leaders to be vessels for bringing to pass a free nation, one perfect to restore God's truths back to the Earth to bless ALL of His children!

Hey everyone! I ́m doing ok, dont worry! I ́m writing on Saturday because I am in the mission offices right now! My companion Elder Nuñez went home to take care of his mom for a month because she might have cancer, so PLEASE pray for her! I ́m waiting to see what will happen to me since I may not be able to write on Monday so I'm doing it now... enjoy some cool pics! Elder Englebright P.S. WE SUPER BOWL CHAMPS YEEEEAAAA!!!!! No one down here knows the Chiefs but I still represent the WORLD CHAMPS whenever I can :)

Hey y'all! Sorry that I don ́t email last week, I got TRANSFERRED! I'm in a tiny town called Felicano, it's in the middle of the Argentine "outback" hahaa lots of cowboy stuff, just like my first area in San Cristóbal. My companion is Elder Nuñez from San Lorenzo, Paraguay. He ́s capo! We are having a blast since he's a pretty funny guy. We are actually opening this area to missionary work, which means the church is already here but there haven't been missionaries serving in a while. So, we are starting from scratch. Little records, and the town doesn thave many directions or addresses for the members, investigators, etc. So, it's pretty tough. But we had a MIRACLE! We were walking around lost as heck, not knowing where to go really, when we hear someone whistle for us to come over. We go over and he greets us "Elders of Israel, how's it going?" So I was like " are you a member Hermano?" and it turns out he was baptized a few years ago but moved to Buenos Aires. But 2 weeks ago he moved back into Feliciano with his girlfriend and her kids (one of them named Ian!!) We set up a time to go back to his house and we taught his girlfriend (named Jimena) about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. She started to tell us her life story and she's been through some tough stuff! But now she's looking for a new start here with Alejandro (the member boyfriend) and her kids. We walked with them to church yesterday and she said that she loved the services (we rent a house that has a fireplace in the Sacrament room haha) and wants to get baptized! Whooo!!! When we passed by last night she told us that she had been reading the Book of Mormon a lot and watched the Joseph Smith movie (without us telling her anything about this stuff btw jaja) and she was crying and it was like WHHHAATTT?!?!?! She's AWESOME!! We are going to try to help them out with some basic needs stuff since their house has practically nothing, but it's so awesome to have a miracle like this my first week opening a tough area in the mission! I also went fishing today since we are in the country so I have some pics of that. Everyone in San Martín was sad to see me go. Emmanuel got baptized! And Luca was reading the Book of Mormon when he decided to see if it was true, so he went alone in his room to pray. Nothing happened, so he went back to reading and when he opened the book to the first few pages there's a painting of Jesus. He sat there for a few minutes looking at it and felt the Spirit manifest to him that the Book of Mormon does really testify of Jesus Christ! MIRACLE!!! (Read Moroni 10:4-5 to understand why Luca got his testimony the way he did) It has been incredible serving as a missionary here in Argentina. So many miracles, amazing people. I ́m so happy to be serving here!!! 1: Emanuel´s baptism! 2: Luca and Ingrid and their baby Paz! Capppooosss 3: Elder Nuñez (my new comp) and Elder Cavaleiri being himself as always jaja 4: Fishing in Feliciano (I didn´t catch it lol) 5: What Feliciano looks like

This week was AWESOME!!!! Emanuel, Estella Vega`s son, will be BAPTIZED this Saturday!!! WOOOOO!! He is a special son of God, and I can't wait to see him follow his mom and enter in the waters of baptism. I baptized his mom last month, and I have the special privilege to see him be baptized as well. Because of his epilepsy, he can't really do very much and is under constant care from his momma, but he has one of the strongest testimonies ever! Heavenly Father loves all his children, no matter how imperfect they are, and I know for a fact he pours out special blessings over those angels everyday. I`ll send all the photos next week, PLEASE pray for Emanuel!!! We also invited Luca and Ingrid to be baptized the 29th of February, and they said YES!! They are the young couple who I saw in my area book and decided to pass by and visit them to see if they still wanted to meet with the missionaries. They came to church yesterday and we are trying to help them get married. When we went by this week, their 10 month old daughter, Paz, was sick. So, my companion and I gave the baby a blessing of health, and it was quick but filled with the power of God, using His Holy Priesthood. Not only did Paz`s health improve, but I noticed a change in Luca as well. He seemed to be humbled by the fact that in the joy of our visits and investigating the church, that what we teach and bless people with is REAL!! We are more than just someone trying to be a preacher fighting for souls to join their congregation.... We are LEGIT servants of the Master, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father. We bring the hope for salvation, a remission of sins, health, comfort, and the restoration of the truth to every single person by the power and authority of God!! It is such a blessing to carry the name of the Lord Jesus Christ across my heart everyday on my name tag to tell others I`m here to BLESS you!!! We have some exciting plans going on here in San Martìn involving the members that are less active because of drama or conflicts among others. In Alma 46:11-21 we read that Capitan Moroni, in his rage against Amalikiah, created the title of liberty, and rounded up other nefites that were mad at the opposition, to fight "for their God, religion, wives, children, and liberty" This inspired my companion and I to use this scripture to teach the less active members to come to church, using the anger they may have not against another, but to fuel the passion and reignite the flames that are their testimony of the Book of Mormon, the restored church, etc..to come back, and to remember that in the war against Satan, we must be active in defending what is righteous and dear to us, not letting division and lack of effort destroy our titles of liberty. This week is transfers, zone conference, and Emanuel`s baptism, so it will be busy but fun! Love you all! I don't have much to upload this week but enjoy these sky and storm pics! Summer time in Argentina!!

Diamantes o las Escrituras??

Mis queridos!! This past week was AMAZING!! Somany exciting things are happening in this part of the Lord's vineyard and being apart of these wonderful spiritual experiences has been a blast!

 While looking threw the area book, I can across a name - Luca - and for some reason the missionaries stopped going by his house. Curious, I went by and found his girlfriend, Ingrid, and their beautiful baby girl, Paz. We taught Ingrid a little bit of the plan of salvation, then with a family from the ward we went by and taught Luca a few days later. When we went by again a few days later to see how reading the Book of Mormon was going, they told us that had read all of 1 Nefi (about 60 pages) in just 2 days!!! Wow!! They are really involved with asking us good questions and even came to play football with us one night. They even cooked us an asado, only after knowing us for a week! Hahaha they are AWESOME!!! We also received a reference for a man named David. He lives in a part of my area that's a little dangerous, so I wasn't too sure about going to look for him... but I decided to trust in the Lord to see if He wanted us to find this man and teach him. Lo and behold, the first time we try to locate the house, we found him outside with his mom, and we asked if we could share a quick message. They allowed it, and what we taught was what they needed to hear. They have been going through some tough times, and as a result, have experienced some temptations and vices from Satan. But they told us that they are looking for ways to quit, so we left them with a Word of Wisdom booklet and we are going to help them literally change their lives!! 

Emmanuel and Estella are doing great! They are planning for baptism on the 25th, and they both came to church yesterday!!! I can see the gospel changing their lives and helping them come unto Christ! Keep them in our prayers please!!! They need all the love you can send them!!!

This week in Ven, Sìgueme was awesome! We read about the family of Lehi and his sons Nefi, Sam, Laman and Lemuel. Many good insights I could write to yall about but the one that sticks out to me is the importance they had for studying and loving the Word of God (the scriptures!) They made the long and dangerous trip back to Jerusalem and faced several dangerous failed attempts from the evil Laban, including trials between their family relationship, all to bring back heavy brass plates. How many of us would do all that work, including losing everything you had, just to bring back some scriptures? Pres Russel M Nelson said in General Conference a few years ago 

"My brothers and sisters, how precious is the Book of Mormon to you? If you were offered diamonds or rubies or the Book of Mormon, which would you choose? Honestly, which is of greater worth to you?"

That quote always impacted me...would I chose diamonds or the Book of Mormon? or some nice rubies over the other holy scriptures? Perhaps we may inherently do this as we put our personal lives and temporal objects over the short time everyday to read, study and learn from the voice of God from the dust.

Those brass plates played a huge role in the story of the Book of Mormon...without them, Lehi and the other prophets wouldn't have been able to share the precious truths of the Gospel of Christ with their peoples hundreds of years after their journey to the promised land. We read that other nations who failed to have and or keep a record of the scriptures dwindled in unbelief, became apostate, and eventually perished as a result of their iniquity (Mulekites, Lamanites, Jaredites, etc). In other words, we wouldn't have the Book of Mormon if the Lord did not mandate Lehi`s sons back to Jerusalem for such a difficult task. So, as we come closer unto Christ this year (and decade) ponder and pray to see if perhaps the role the scriptures play in your life could be magnified as we improve and use the Savior`s "infinite atonement" for all our sins and mistakes, big and small alike

Love you all! I forgot to bring my camera with me...but enjoy the video below!! Cuidensen!!! 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media-library/video/2014-04-004-scriptures-legacy?lang=eng

  

TESTIMONIO!!!

Holiiiiiiss

This week has been excelente!! We continue to work with Estella Vega`s son, Emmanuel. He came to church yesterday and is planning to be baptized on the 25th of this month!! He has epilepsy, so he stays at home under his mom`s constant care. Even if he doesn`t get out much, he enjoys passing the summer days sitting in his chair and listening to us preach the restored gospel to him. He has a strong testimony of the Church, saying that his epeletic seizures have not been as violent since the missionaries have been passing by. Keep him in your prayers!!!

We are also teaching a neighbor of Estella Vega, Estella Carlomagno, who also has epilepsy. Every now and then Estella the neighbor has seizures, but teaching her provides a calm and peaceful environment for her to feel the truths we are teaching her. We watched the Joseph Smith- Prophet of the Restoration movie and she loved it! She said that without a doubt that he was a prophet. She is planning to be baptized the 25th as well, so please keep her in your prayers!

Also Kristina, who we have been teaching since October, has been progressing a lot recently. She says she has believed in the Book of Mormon and wants to come to church. She says she was invited to church many years ago, by the current Stake Patriarch and his wife, who attend our ward! What a crazy coincidence!!  A member joined us for a lesson with her and afterwards we gave her a blessing of comfort. She has been through a lot, losing her son, a bad divorce, many struggles. But the member gave an amazing and powerful blessing that was filled with the Spirit. This week we are going to focus on the blessings of following the Savior's example with baptism. 

This week we are starting  Come, Follow Me (Ven, Sìgueme en Castellano) for the Book of Mormon! It is SOOO GOOD!!! We started with the introduction pages and I learned a lot. The title page was written by the prophet Moroni, and that Joseph Smith said while he was translating the sacred record, it was on the last page of the golden plates...also that several of the 11 special witnesses went apostate and left the church, but NONE of them denied seeing and holding the golden plates that were translated as the Book of Mormon. That was a powerful lesson I learned while studying Ven, Sìgueme, that if we are converted from the heart then we can retain a perfect testimony of the restored gospel. Love you all!!! Read your scriptures, minister, and do Come, Follow Me!! Suerte con sus nuevas metas del año nuevo