June 13th, 2016 (part 2)

​These are the invitations we made for the activity on Thursday! 

​This is the official branch presidency picture of Estanislao del Campo. We´re going to print off a copy and hang it on the wall next to the photo of the First Presidency.

​I think maybe one of the best parts about the baptism on saturday was that Julio Diaz directed the baptismal service, which is a huge step for him, directing a meeting in front of 50 people. We sustained him and set him apart on sunday. Hopefully in the next 6 months or so Estanislao del Campo will have a branch president thats not a missionary!

​This is Fernanda, she is super awesome. 

Thats about it. Its been a great past week and my last week should be fun too! Things are going really well here. 

Its an odd feeling that this is the last email I will send you guys! Im so excited to see you but I am sad that the mission is ending. Its been a rollercoaster the last two years of my life but I would never change these years for anything. I feel like the mission is kind of like an older brother. It beats you up sometimes and sometimes you dont like it, but in the end you realize that it really helped you to become a better person and you end up loving it. I love my mission so much. I love all the people that I have met and I am sad to leave this branch. I love being a representative of my Lord Jesus Christ and I love wearing a plack with his name on it and talking to everyone about Him and His gospel. The mission has made me into a person that I would never have been if I hadnt have served.. I am forever grateful for the opportunity that I have had to serve Him and be on His errand. I testify that He lives and loves everyone of us. I testify that this is His church. I know that He is there, watching us, taking care of us, and letting us have just the right amount of adversity in order that we progress and reach our potential. 

I hope you all have a great week! See you next wednesday! :)

Elder Miles

June 13th, 2016 (part 1)

Hola! Hope you´re all doing well!

This week was awesome! The highlight was definitely the baptism on saturday! You guys should assume by now that the water to fill up the baptismal font the day of the baptism never has worked once in my mission, so you shouldnt be surprised that it didnt work for us on saturday. Its the quite the dramitic story but maybe I will tell it to guys when I get back in person because it is quite long! The important thing is that in the end it all worked out and we had 2 baptisms! Mili and Fernanda got baptized along with other 2 eight year old girls in the branch. So in total, there were 4 baptisms, but only 2 were converts that we taught. Ricardo didnt get baptized this week because he part time lives in the wilderness taking care off a flock of goats, and this week his goats escaped and he was looking for the goats with his step dad all week and he couldnt come back until they found them... And they still havent found them. So he still hasnt come back yet. But maybe this saturday he will come back and we will have his baptism! We´ll see. Besides the baptism, it was a pretty good normal week! We did divisions on Friday and the our district leader, Elder Tapia (Costa Rica), come here with me so he could do the baptismal interviews with our investigators. He is a great missionary and I learned a lot from him. He does the mixed martial art "judo" (its kind of like juditsu) and was ranked number 1 in central America before he came out to the mission. So I decided not to get on his nerves or get in a fight with him. Haha. 

This week on thursday we are going to have a father´s day activity that should be really fun, Julio Diaz (the ex branch president that recently got reactivated) will be in charge of some games outside on our football field, and Elder Rossi and I are going to make pizzas for everybody. And maybe we´ll have a baptism on saturday! So it should be a great week.

​On Thursday it was my companion´s birthday and I bought him a cake and we traded ties.

​This is the baptism! From left to right we have: Me, Brother Fiestas, Kiara (daughter of Bro. Fiestas), Fernanda, Cintia, Elder Rossi, and Mili. Mili and Fernanda are the 10 year old girls that are converts and Kiara and Cintia are the 8 year olds. 

​I baptized Mili, my companion baptized Fernanda and Cintia, and Brother Fiestas baptized his daughter. 

​As well as being the baptism, it was also the birthday of Cintia! So her mom (the one that teachers seminary) organized a birthday party for her here in the church after the baptism and they decorated everything really pretty and we ate a huge cake and hot chocolate! It was super fun. We had more tha 50 people come to the baptism. Thats like more than double than any sacrament meeting we´ve ever had! So it was a huge success, really fun.

Im going to send a second email with more pictures because I cant put more than 4 pictures on an email, so I will conclude my thoughts on the next email!

June 6th, 2016

Familia! Chï iwoýe!

¿Há istát? Thats wichi for "family! Hi, how are you?" haha. Wichi is the most common language that they speak in El Potrillo, and then there is also Nivacle, which would be, "Familia! ¿Ta ajunash? ¿Tajuthey?. It sounds like that language in Africa with the clicks in the throat mixed with chinese. Its nuts! 

We had a good week!! Nothing too excited. The biggest thing is that we went to El Potrillo on tuesday and wednesday for my last time! It was really good, it was kind of sad for me knowing that it would be my last time seeing them. They are a very special people and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to know them and know their way of life and to learn from them. The rest of the week we have been teaching our investigators! They are all ready for their baptism.. this saturday! The week has finally arrived. We are hoping and praying that everything goes well and that everyone is able to get baptized on saturday! We are also praying that we can fill the baptismal font without any problems.. We´ll see how it all goes. 

Sunday was a great day. We had 29 people come to church, thats the highest its ever been since ive been here! Also I had an interview with Julio Diaz (he was the ex branch and district president that I told you guys about) and he accepted the calling as the branch mission leader (in other words, he is going to help us with our investigators and plan baptisms with us).. I was so so happy. Its a big step for him in his life and its a giant step for Estanislao del Campo that Julio is coming back to church. He has lots of power over the members, they all love him so much. If he becomes fully active, he brings lots of members back to the church too! So that has been a blessing that we saw this week. 

I dont have any pictures to share this week. But for sure next week! Which by they way, will be my last email that I will right you in my mission. So all of you that recieve my weekly emails that are sick of hearing from me, you can all sing hallellujah! haha. 

I know that the Lord lives and that he guides our steps, I know that he reveals his truths to those that humble themselves and ask.. "A man is tallest when he is on his knees". I know that this is His church and His work. I love to serve him. 

Hope you all have a great week!

Pa´acum! oýik! (see  you later!)

Elder Miles

May 30th, 2016

Friends & Family!

Thank you for your emails!.. This week was pretty good for us, we are just trying to teach all the lessons to our investigators before June 11th. Everyone is still on good track, hopefully everything goes good this week and next week. Unfortunately today for P day we did not go on our adventure that we were planning.. The Elders in Lomitas couldnt find a taxi driver to get us out there.. So maybe next week! The best part of this past week was the mutual activity that we put on for the youth.. Like how I explained last week, we had a nerf dart war with PVC pipes like I use to play with my friends. IT WAS SO FUN. They loved it. At first they didnt seem too excited about it but then they started playing and it was a blast. We used all the tables and chairs in the church to make obstacles and bunkers. Then when we finished we read Helaman 5:12 and talked about how Christ will always be safe ground for us.. and we talked about how we always need to "stay in holy places", because in our nerf war there were certain places taped off where if a dart hit you, you didnt get out. Then we watched "stay within the lines", the mormon message by Elder Holland. It all went super good! There were 5 kids there that werent members. So it was a success.

On sunday I gave a talk in sacrament meeting about standing in holy places, and how the blessings of the temple arent limited to the time we are physically in the temple.. rather the blessings are with us after we go to the temple and serve as a protection for us against all the negative things in the world. That way, we can always be in holy places with the blessings of the temple as long as we are doing what we should be. Here in Campo we started the class "Invested on High" which is a temple preparation class for the sisters here that are planning on going to the temple in July. It went super good. 

Tomorrow we are going to El Potrillo.. We are going by ourselves in bus so we have to wake up at 3:00.. tonight! It will be my last potrillo trip! Should be a great week, we are excited! 

​Unfortunately I forget to take photos of them actually playing! I just took photos beforehand. But you get the idea! Thanks for sending me the nerf darts mom! 

Hope you have a great week! 

Elder Miles

May 23rd, 2016

Dear Family and Friends-

Thank you for your emails and support! This was a killer week. On wednesday and thursday we went to El Potrillo and I showed Elder Rossi where all the members live and all the responsibilites he will have (since he will more than likely stay here as Branch President). On Friday we had an activity of Relief Society. We downloaded the broadcast of the conference that happened in BYU for woman that took place not to long ago. While they watched the conference, Elder Rossi and I made 8 hand made pizzas and we all ate them after the conference! On saturday we visited Ricardo (Our investigator that has attended church 2 times now) and we taught him about The Gospel of Jesus Christ and we challenged him to be baptized and he accepted! He will be getting baptized on June 11th. June 11th is going to be a huge day because up until now we have at least 4 baptisms planned. We are going to do 1 big baptismal service for all of them. 2 of them are converts, Mili (10 years old) and Ricardo (18 years old) and then 2 kids that are 8 years old. So they dont count as baptisms for us but we still have to do their baptisms since we are the branch presidency. So that will be in 3 weeks, 1 week before I go home! So we are super excited for that. Really good things are happening here in Campo, we are always busy and suddenly we have lots of people to teach and we have lots of baptisms to plan! Elder Rossi and I are getting along too good. Today for P-day we played "Estanciero" Wich is the Argentine version of Monopoly that he has. We are always talking and having a good time and I know that he is going to be a life long friend. 

Next P day we are planning on going to a place called "Bañado de la Estrella". (Stop what you are doing and look for pictures of this place in google). Its SUPER cool. Its an abandoned place that got flooded and now its super eery and there is lots of wildlife everywhere. We are going to pay someone to take us and we are going to go with the other elders that are in Lomitas! We are super excited! its like an hour and a half away from our area. 

On saturday we are planning a super fun mutual activity for the youth. We are going to make an obstacle course in our church and we are going to have a dart gun war with the dart guns that mom sent me. And we are going to buy PBC pipes and use them as blow guns for those that dont have dart guns. And we are going to have a "safe zone" where if a dart hits you, you dont get out. Then we are going to read Helaman 5:12 and talk to them about how they always have to stay in the safe zone and it will protect us from "the darts in the storm". We are stoked. 

Thats about it! Im REALLY enjoying my last tranfer here! We have lots to do. Hope you all have a great week!

​ALLIGATORS. In el Potrillo!! Zoom up on the photo. 

​Relief Society Activity! Im not sure why there are guys there. I suppose they heard there was food or something. 

​This adorable little critter is called a wasuncho, Ricardo´s mom has it as a pet. Its basically like a small little deer. At first it didnt let me touch him but now he lets me scratch his head like a dog. He drinks milk out of a baby bottle!

​These are the invitations we made for the mutual actiivity saturday!

Love, Elder Miles

May 16, 2016

Family & Friends!

How are you? Thanks for your emails. This past week was probably my favorite week here in Campo yet! Elder Rossi and I are super good friends, he is a way cool guy and we are always talking and laughing and have lots of unity. And when you have a companion like that it doesnt matter what happens to you.. you are always happy and positive. So this is going to be an awesome transfer, I am super excited for my last weeks. I complete 22 months in the mission today!

Interesting experience! On sunday we had district conference in Ibarreta. So, being the branch president I had to arrange for the transportation for all the members to get to Ibarreta, which is like 30 minutes away. So we found a trafic driver (a trafic is like a big van that seats 20 people) and we told everyone to meet at our chapel at 8:30. So everyone came around then. And we have a little old lady thats really sweet but she is kind of crazy and she is epileptic. And to make the story short, this sister got mad about something and decided that she wanted to go home instead of going to the conference and she refused to let anybody drive her home, she insisted on walking. Well, she made it like 2 blocks and had an epileptic attack and went down to the ground. And to make matters worse the trafic was there waiting for us and it was already 9:30 and we had to get going to get there on time for the conference but the lady was on the ground and we were trying to call an ambulance and tons of people were watching and ahhhh! It was a disaster. Haha. In the end after like 2 minutes she got up and was okay and we all went to the conference and we made it on time. The good part was that we had an investigator come to the conference with us. Her name is Mili, her parents are members but inactive. Every sunday she gets up early and gets ready for church but her parents dont get  up, and she only is 9 years old and cant go alone, but we asked one of the sister of our branch to go by to take her with her and now we are hoping that she can get baptized soon! Being the branch presidency we have to plan the baptisms of children that are 8 years old too, and we are planning a baptism of 3 girls for June 11th, 1 of them being Mili who would be a convert. As well this week we had 2 lessons with Ricardo who is the boy that came to church last week thats 18 years old that is super cool and is super excited to come to church, hopeful he can get baptized too this transfer. So lots of good things are happening here! We are enjoying ourselves a ton.

​This is my companion and I. We do our grocery shopping at a small grocery store called Supermercado Melniezuk and we have become super good friends with the owner and she gave us free offical "Melniezuk" hats. Quite the souvenir! My companion Elder Rossi is one of the best companions ive had, he is super cool! Fun fact, He met Andrew McMullin. Andrew served in his ward in Mendoza :) haha. 

Thanks for your letters and support!! Have a great week!

Elder Miles

May 10th, 2016

Querida Familia-

It was great to see you guys! I cant believe that it was the last time that i´ll do skype with you. Im glad everyone is doing good. For those that didnt skype with me on sunday, i´ll share a lot bit of what happened last week. 

On thursday we had a Multi zone conference. An area Seventy came, Elder Salas. My companion and I had to leave at 1 in the morning on wednesday night to take a bus to Formosa capital. We got to Formosa at 5:30 in the morning and killed a few hours in a coffee shop waiting for the church to open. It was so nice to see so many of my mission friends. As well Elder Salas´s talk was really great and helped us me out a lot. Then at 5 pm. we took a bus back to Campo and got there at 12:30 at night. Then we woke up bright and early the next day to get ready to go to El Potrillo! We went to Potrillo from Friday to Saturday. We got all the members from el Potrillo together and had an activity. We taught all the priesthood holders how to consecrate oil and how to give blessings. Then we gave them all their own oil containers for their key chains and they all had to consecrate their own oil. It turned out super good, I dont think they could do it on their own yet because the spanish is hard for them but at least they understand the basics, and they could read out of "The Family" phamplets when they need to. Then we played a game with them where everyone stands in two lines facing each other and everyone puts their hands up against the person in front of them, and the first people in line have to run underneath everyones hands and when they get to the end of the line then the next people start running. And you do that in two different groups and see who wins. They LOVED it. At first they were hesitante to play games but after a couple rounds they were dying with laughter. It was really fun. Then we bought sodas and cookies and ate with them. It was a huge success. 

So, transfers came! I am still the branch president here in Estanislao del Campo! But, my companion left to Corrientes and I have a new companion now! His name is Elder Rossi. He is from Argentina, from a providence called Mendoza. HE IS AWESOME. Im so happy to have an argentino! He is super humble and nice and we are already great friends. Its going to be such a fun last transfer. I am so relieved. I will be training him to be the next branch president, so we will be busy going to all the members houses and Ill have to teach him how to do all the branch stuff. He has 6 months in the mission. I am stoked. 

​These are my zone leaders we´re at the multi zone, we´re all really good friends.

​This is a cool canal in El Potrillo, we come here to take a break and eat lunch! Looks kind of like a future painting of mine, right? 

​They built this fence around their meeting place, this is what we transported that one day in that diesel truck with that truck driver. They´re gonna plant stuff in here.  

​Mi gente en el Potrillo! This is where they have their sacrament meetings, underneath this tin roof!

Thats about it! I hope you have a great week! Dont get trunky!

Elder Miles