Elder Benjamin Michael Conover Mission Blog : Week 58: A Tender Mercy This Week

Hello Everyone!

This week was good, but challenging. Another Week in The Mission!

On Tuesday, it was Elder Crist´s birthday, so, like any good Argentine Father, I made an Asado! It was really good. I have officially learned how to do a Manso Argentine Asado haha!

We had a tender mercy early on in the week.

I have been really bummed out for a while, since I havent seen Analia in over a month, since she has to work so much. We have passed by a lot, just hoping that we could talk to her at some point.

On Wednesday, we decided to go by another time to see if we could find her by chance. As we approached the house, I said a little prayer in my heart that we would be able to find her that time. As we got closer to the house, I saw that her front gate was opened, and my heart just got really excited, because that probably meant that she was home.

I knocked the door, waited, and I heard the back door open, and Analia came around the corner. When I saw her, I just yelled with joy and ran over to say ¨hi¨ to her. It was such an incredible tender mercy. Unfortunately, her circumstances are about the same, and she is fighting against her ex-husband so she can receive money to live. However, she told us that she still has not smoked at all since she stopped with us, and she is reading the Book of Mormon still. So. Incredible. She will some day be baptized, and I feel so incredibly blessed to have been able to find her.

For most of the week, we were looking for new investigators, which has been hard. After Gabriela and Juan got baptized, it kinda left us in a rut, without a lot of investigators, so we are now looking for news more than anything. It was fairly slow going for the week.

However, we did get to teach the Familia Sosa, and it went well! We talked about the Book of Mormon and how to get a testimony of it, and what it means if we have that testimony. They understood well, and they told us that they are getting a lot of opposition from their family. Abel´s (The Dad) Family is super Jehovah´s Witness, and Belem´s (The Mom), is super Catholic, and they all freaked out when they saw the Book of Mormon, but, they are still listening to us, and, they accepted the baptismal date of the 22nd of October, as they receive an answer that the Book of Mormon is true! It was such a blessing to be a part of!

Also, Gabriela is so incredibly strong, it is ridiculous. Elder Crist and I have been joking that she has a stronger testimony than us. She is sharing the gospel, reading the Book of Mormon daily, she is teaching other people, and just charging forward with everything she has got. It is so cool to see! I feel so blessed to have been a missionary involved in her conversion.

Funny

In most countries that speak spanish, the word for ¨Tshirt¨ it ¨camiseta.¨ Well, Argentines call them ¨Remeras,¨ which is really close to the work for ¨Prostitute,¨ which is ¨Ramera.¨ Poor Elder Crist made that mistake this week. It was really funny.

We talked to a woman, and she showed no interest in the gospel because she is Super Catholic. She wanted to prove her point of how devout she is to the Iglesia Católica, and she told us that her Grandma was a nun. When we left, I turned to Elder Crist, and I asked him how a Nun can be a Grandma if they have to take the oath of Celibacy. OOF!

We had a (70 Year-Old) woman stop us in the street this week asking us for who-knows-what. I told her that we could go by her house to talk to her, and give her the pamphlet she wanted. Well, she told us that she didnt want us to go there, because she lives with mean people, and we are too beautiful to be hurt by them. She then proceeded to exclaim how beautful we are, over and over again. It was super uncomfortable. I don't know what it is, but I just attract all the old Women. Dang it.

I love you all and I hope that you have a great week!

Elder Conover