Un Cerro para mi

I´m really liking my new area, let me tell ya! I´m in the capital of Salta with mountains all around me. It´s really beautiful here as well because the altitude is pretty high here so it´s not hot anymore (in fact it gets really cold at night).  Our pension is really nice but also small, plus we share it with 2 other elders. Every day, we have to travel about 30 minutes by bus to my area which is basically a big hill overlooking Salta and its surroundings. So every day, we have a great view of Salta and the surrounding mountains, mounts, and hills that make the phrase ¨Salta la Linda¨ very true (Salta the beautiful). My companion is a really great guy and very dedicated. We´ve been working pretty hard because we want to make this area a whole lot better than it is right now so we´ve been searching for God´s chosen ones so that they can come into the fold of Christ. As Zone Leader, we have to call every night to verify about the district leaders and their district´s efforts and so we´ve also been talking a ton about how to help all these missionaries be more successful. Until now, the zone isn´t very successful so we´ve been trying to come up with different ideas to change things up a bit. But, we´ll start this week with all that and we´re also planning to do a few divisions with those who are struggling a little bit more. Surprisingly, I´m not any more tired than before which is a giant blessing that I´m going to ride for as long as I can. Haha

Anyways, I´ve been thinking a lot about the Christ-like attributes which are really important, especially during the mission! I´ve come to really recognize how proud I am and how much I want to change that kind of attitude. While chatting with my comp, Elder Fewel, we came to the conclusion that all sin and all the traps that missionaries fall into really come from pride. As mentioned in the New Testament, if we can´t learn to become as a little child in this life, it will be really hard to get into heaven. Christ often times referred to children as the Kingdom of Heaven because a child is very meek and humble. I don´t know exactly why we come to believe that we can start doing things on our own without the help of our loving Heavenly Father but pride gets in the way of seeing that fundamental truth and even begins to destroy our souls (Jacob 2:16). The simple truth is, we wouldn´t be here if it weren´t for our Father in Heaven, we wouldn´t have a family, we wouldn´t have those precious moments that make life so sweet, and we wouldn´t have the possibility of being eternally happy as a family if it weren´t for Him. So, now I would like you to all ask yourself this question: Do I deserve the blessings that I have received until now in my life? Then..... Kneel down and give thanks for the millions of blessings that none of us deserve. 

I love my family. I love my mission. And I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that I am imperfect but with the help of the Lord, I can be humble and clean once again. I know it, I live it, I love it!

Elder Philpot

I haven´t taken pictures quite yet so next week, I´ll send a bunch.

Salta la Linda

I don´t have too much time to write since we had transfers today but I want to tell about where I´m at! Last night, we got the news that I would be leaving Pichanal and my son Elder Starkey. I would have to say that it was hard to say goodbye. We always had so much fun together and we learned a ton. We had lots of success and lots of good experiences together. But I don´t think I´ll have much time to sulk or be sad because they called me to be the new zone leader in Salta Capital. So I packed my bag last night and early this morning I hopped on a bus headed for Salta. My new area is Palermo and my companion is a champ! His name is Elder Fewel and he´s been on the mission for quite a while. He´ll be ending here in 6 weeks so I´ll have the honors of seeing him off to his home. 

Anyways, this week was really really special because the temple in Cordoba Argentina was just completed and this sunday it was dedicated. Since we are in the district of the temple, we were able to attend the broadcast of the dedication which was way awesome. I´ve gotta say that Elder Cristoffersen speaks some pretty kicking spanish! President Uchtdorf not quite. Haha I would have to say that it really lifted my spirits to have been there. For about the whole hour I felt as if I had been right there in the temple with them and I remembered how much I miss the temple. The blessings of a temple are ginormous! I honestly felt as if we entered the heavens and listened to angels speak. I would that ye all remember the temple in every situation and every moment. The temple is the doorway to having an eternal family and living in God´s presence again. I know it, I live it, I love it!

Elder Philpot

Happy Day of the Mom

Well, I don´t have much to say because I just spoke with my family yesterday but I do want to say how special my mom is to me. I´ll start it off straight and simple... I´m a Momma´s Boy. No shame about it. Haha there´s something divine about a mother that is not from this earth or of the power of this earth. She is special because God made her special. Nobody can replace her. And God wants this relationship of the family to last forever. I know that I would never be happy if it weren´t for the family that I have and especially the mom that I have. She´s not just a mom, she´s The Mom. And I know that she will continue being my mom after this life thanks to the blessings so abundantly given in Temples. Be a man, and even though it´s a day late, give your Mom a hug. She deserves it. I know it, I live it, I love it!

Elder Philpot

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Feliz Cumpleaño

Well, I´m about smack dab in the middle of my mission guys. And let me tell you, it´s getting better and better the longer that I´m out here. This week was full of adventures, miracles, and blessings! This week was also full of fun animal encounters. Haha Miguel, one of the members here in Pichanal that always leaves with us to go teaching found an armadillo in ¨el campo¨ and brought it home with him. He called us up and asked us to go over and help him cook it... Haha well, we saw it but we didn´t have time to cook it that day, so we planned another day but unfortunately it escaped that night :( But, he totally made up for it because he gunned down a bird with his slingshot and I cooked it up this afternoon for lunch. Haha it was pretty tasty, a fun mix between chicken and meat. Hahaha Miguel has been a member for a very long time but he just recently reactivated about 2 years ago. He has a mental illness that lowers his age to about 13 or 14 in a body of a 40 year old so it´s aaaaalways a huge blast being with him, which is lucky because he always leaves with us to go teaching every day. Being with him helped me realize quite a few things. One, just because we feel inadecuate doesn´t mean that we are unable to help in the Lord´s work- anyone can do it- everyone must do it. Two, that the Gospel isn´t always about knowing everything from the beginning. God knows that we are uncapable of learning everything from the get-go, weaknesses serve us, they help us be humble before our Maker. And lastly, I realized that to ¨hear the music of the Gospel¨ doesn´t always come after ¨learning the steps of the Gospel¨. We can love what we do even if we have no idea what we´re doing. After all, I do it every day. Haha

Not much time, we had an awesome baptismal service on Friday. Maribel was baptized by the hand of my beloved son, Elder Starkey. Hahahaha I´m having a blast with this nut-ball! The Gospel is fun. I know it, I live it, I love it!

Elder Philpot

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.