October 27, 2014

This week was incredible!!! We started out the incredibleness with all the miracles that we saw with all our investigators. Just little miracles that they had read the scriptures and had good experiences with that, or that they had found out that they had family that was a member and they had recently invited them to church. Just a bunch of little things that helped keep us excited. 

Thursday was a little bit of a rough day because we woke up in the morning and finished with our divisions with the assistents and came back to plan. We left to work and EVERYTHING fell through....we were a little bit exhausted and didn´t know what to do, but we didn´t lose our faith and we kept on going! We went to visit a few more people  and they weren´t there either...so we decided to head to an area where we had one more  contact.  As we walked, we walked passed a house and kept walking....but then we felt as if we should go back. So we followed that feeling and it ended up being a family that had always wanted to know what we did and was very excited to read the book of mormon. She already had other plans for sunday but she said she is now waiting anxiously for us to pass by this tuesday. 

After her, we found another miracle guy. In the morning I was really struggling thinking that it was going to be a LONG day, but I had faith that we were gonna find someone and we did! 

LAter on in the week. Friday, we woke up and studied and then got excited to go to the wedding of Rodrigo and Betty. They got married on friday morning and it was soooo great, but the best part was friday night. We had planned a few weeks erlier to go to the temple with them and another family, but we thought it all wasnpt going to work out. S owe had kind of thrown that idea out...but then, as we were planning that night, we called the member who had a car to go to the temple and he said "lets go!!!" so he talked to his brother (rodrigo who was getting baptized that night) and he took his car and we were able to go with not only rodrigo and his dad who then were getting baptized, but with Jessica and Matias as well who are getting married now in November so that they can get baptized, so that they can enter the temple. They understand PERFECTLY the goal. Not just baptism, but the eternal family. They got some books and stuff at the temple, a picture of the Salt Lake Temple, and Joseph Smith because they have a huge testimony of Joseph Smith. 

Then we went back to our area and prepped for the baptism. IT was AMAZING! Three generations of the family got baptized at the same time. 

Sunday morning, they all were there and were confirmed and Jessica and Matias said, "we are next." Families are what makes the church go round. I am so glad that we have been blessed with so many families here to teach and help. This morning, Jessica and Matias sent us a message that just thanked us for how much we have helped and changed their lives. They said that we are their Angels here on earth. I consider them some of my best friends because they are pretty young still. They are already planning with the other 3 families of recent converts to all get sealed to gether so that Elder Collins and I can plan a trip to come back here to be there. I love it when familes put their Goal as the temple because that is when they really have success and conversion. But for reals, my companion and I were talking about that. IF a family has their goal of being temple worthy and /or getting to the temple to be sealed, they will progress soooo much more in life.

I lvoe these families and I know that this is the true church and that when applied in the lives of anyone, the lives of Everyone will change!

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~Elder Hazlett

October 20, 2014

There were so many miracle this week and as I was trying to write them, the internet cut out...so I wasn`t able to include them all, but we areworking with some great families and the best is that the Melgarejo family. Augustin and Susanah (grandparents) Rodrigo and Betty (son and daughter in law who get married on friday, and Franco (son of Betty andRodrigo) are getting baptized!!! A Whole family with 3 generations! IT is gonna be so awesome!

This week we were able to find a new family almost everyday! We have been praying like crazy for families and looking everywhere to find them. We were walking the other day and literally talking about how we wanted to find a family when Elder Collins looked at me after looking at a house and said, "lets go knock on the door." We went and knocked onthe door and Luis answered us and let us in and we then talked with him and his wife and 2 kids. After explaining the restoration, She said, "it makes sense," and was super excited to read. They got married a few months ago and didn`t know why...but now they do! They weren`t able to attend church this weekend because they traveled for mothers Day here in Argentina, but they are excited to go next week. 

We also were able to teach half the family of one of the young men we are helping. He is recently wanting to leave his worldy ways and clean up his act so he can have a good life and not be like the rest. So he started, and his mom saw a difference and then they all came to church on sunday. They LOVED church. IT was mothers day and they gave little gifts to all the moms, and Elder Collins and I were asked to talk about how big of an example our moms have been to us and how they have taught us the gospel. It was really good. At the end, Betty (Nocolas`s mom) shook my hand and said, " You made me cry." And nicolas said to his mom that it wasn`t me, but it was the Spirit. Earlier that week we had taught them the plan of salvation but we weren`t planning on teaching that but we felt the prompting to teach it. So we did and at the end of the lesson, Betty said to us, "you answered all my questions." And then Nicolas said, "and mom, you didn`t even ask them those questions." We explained how the spirit works and she was so happy. 

Also in Church we had Matias and Jessica with their two kids and their Cousin. Their little daughter Morena sang in the choir with the primary her first day in the primary and at church. IT was AMAZING because that family is so important to me and to see all the little miracles taking place was just amazing.

There were so many miracles and cool things that happened this week. To top it all off, we visited Maxi (recent Convert) sunday night to help his family (less-active) get back to church, and we found a friend of the family (new investigator) and we taught them all at once and she accepted to be baptized. Maxi bore his testimony of the gospel and how it changes lives. The less active sister said that she would help her read and they could go to church together. And never before in my mission had I felt like I was fulfilling every single part of the work of salvation. Baptize, Reactivate, and Retain. As we left that house, Elder Collins looked at me and said. "We are so blessed Elder." 

IF there is one way to describe what we get in return for working hard in this work, it is Blessings. Blessings of every type. 

I am excited to keep finding more families and helping them recieve blessings!

MAtias, Jessica and morena and their family at a familoy home everning! 

The family that worked with us this week as the ward missionary family

and elder Rojas from Spain. He has less than a month in the mission and I was able to spend a day with him here in our area. HE is great! And LOVES Tennis. ( marshall, he lives next to a country club in spain...road trip to the clay courts after???)

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~Elder Hazlett

October 13, 2014

I Love Argentina. This week we not only had great lunches but great lessons! haha we have been crazy blessed with a ton of people to teach and the opportunity to share something that no one else has! 

    This week, every single lesson we taught had to do with the restoration and the importance of having a living prophet. IT was pretty amazing seeing how our teaching improved in 1 week as we taught basically the same thing the whole time. The most incredible part was the power of the spirit that we felt during those lessons (some better than others). We had quite a few miracles because of it.

    One miracle was a family that we found because one of the sisters saw us walk passed and yelled "hello" in english. At first I thought they were just mocking us, but then wefelt as if we should have goneback. So we turned around and went back to talk to them and the girl that yelled ran and hid. We gained the confidence a little bit and then were able to figure out a little more about their lives. We shared the message that we had, and then at the end we asked them what they thought when we first got there compared to when we left. We sang "ama el pastor sus ovejas" and they were in tears at the end. They went from laughing at us to crying because of us. They have brothers that are younger and aren`t doing the best things and they felt as if we were literally sent from God to help them.
    Another miracle is Matias. I LOVE THAT FAMILY. We passed by to teach him a little bit more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and instead of us teaching him, he took the pamphlet and taught his 6 year old daughter. IT was so precious!!! I was so happy to see that not only did he understand it, but he had the desire to teach it to his family.

    Another was a less active family that had not gone to church for years. We passed by and taught them....guess which lesson.....the Restoration. They said that they never really understood the importance of the book of mormon, and didn`t really have a lot of faith in Joseph smith. So we invited them to read and then to "come and see" as elder bednar said in the conference.

    I have been spending all this last week just looking for all of the little evidences of why this is the true church, and besides just the obvious Scriptural evidences, I also was able to find so many more!. One young man asked us, Why is your church so rich? If they want to, they buy land and they build a church. We responded, "do you think if God had his church on earth today, then he would have power enough to build his kingdom?" EVIDENCE. Another person was talking about how everyone has the right to worship God where and How they want to. Which is very true, but Worshipping and making sacred covenants with God through Saving Ordenanzes are different things. In a classroom environment the students can all give their opinions, but when it is time to be taught...Who is it that teaches....? The teacher. In a house, who is it that leads...? The parents. For anyone that believes in God, they then also believe that he created all things. And in the creation of all things he established an order. And that order is and will be in all things. Especially in His Church!

    What I learned is that if we have a disire to gain a testimony, we have to look for evidences of truth and not excuses or reasons why not. Jesus never looked for the bad in things, so why should we? 

    Sorry for maybe ranting a little bit...I just took Elder Bednar`s invitation to "come and See" and went crazy with it. If any of you ever find yourselving doubting the church, than follow the advice given by an apostle. And Look for the Good that comes from it. I love this Gospel. And I know it is True.

I don`t have pictures this week, but next week i`ll get some. Love you guys!!

~Elder Hazlett

October 6, 2014

Elder Collins and I have been working hard in our area and have been putting into practice all the things that we learned in conference. Elder Bednars talk was INCREDIBLE. We watdched it with members and at the end we paused it and watched the part about how we aren`t trying to obligate anyway but invite them to simply "come and See" We are going to get that link and give it to our investigators because it literally was the answer that we were looking for. The members said that they were gonna post a link on facebook so that their friends could hear it for themselves from an Apostle exactly why we are so giddy about sharing the gospel. Hearing that talk just made me even more anxious to share the gospel. We have a great teaching pool of families right now that are on the brink of gaining a testimony and what they lack is the little pull away from the traditions of their families. So we have been studying a ton in the Book of mormon about how important it is to search and find God ourselves and not get comfortable with what we already have. There is so much to gain, why settle for less?? I loved the story in Alma 24 about how some of the greatest missionaries had a hard time teaching but that they were able to show them by their example and with a lot of patience that this gospel really is the gospel of Jesus Christ and they were sent by him. I recognized how important it is to be a good example ALWAYS and to have patience with the people we are teaching. They have their agency, but if we do our part then the spirit will work and help them to make the right decision. 

I think if we could sum up the confernce in 2 things it would be "Study the Scriptures and get to know the Gospel" Then "LIVE IT" but live it like Jesus would. IF we do that, then every single one of the people that Come and See what we have, will then Come and Stay. I love this gospel and it makes me so happy to know that everyone can have it for free and that I might not gain "points" for being a missionary, but the blessings come like crazy! 

Love you guys!