I believe in miracles

It´s hard to explain all the miracles that are happening here in the mission but I´ll do the best I can with the 5 minutes I have left. Haha

First off, Kendra´s dad who has been fighting against his daugters baptism but authotized his son´s baptism went to church yesterday!

Vicki and Milagros are mother and daughter that were going to be baptized a while ago but then Vicki decided that she didn´t want to get married and so long story short it impeded the baptism of her, her husband, and her daughter. Vicki this week read our pamphlet of temples and temple marriage and decided that she wanted to get married!

Cecilia is girlfriend of a less active guy that got baptized about 4 years ago and she is just begging to be member of the Church :)

Sergio is also boyfriend of a less active woman that just started coming back to church and he is progressing like crazy and reading everything he can get his hands on about the church.

The Branch is finally starting to get a little more motivated :)

I know that for most of you it´s just a bunch of names but man is God bringing forth His work in South America. Our Father never rests. Our Father works, we must work. I know it, I live it, I love it!

Elder Philpot

Noche de Talentos

Let´s get right down to meat! This week´s talent show was a success. About 2 weeks ago we decided that the branch needed some fun so we planned a talent show. Unluckily, nobody did their part in prepare the chapel or invite their friends but, the same, many went and enjoyed it a lot! It was a blast. Santiago del Estero is one of the oldest cities in South America so it wasn´t a surprise that there is a wide variety of talent, of which mostly is musical. Since we Elders don´t have too much talent, we decided to do a bunch of stuff all together and make everyone laugh their heads off. Haha it worked :) But it wasn´t so much the music or the dancing or the joke telling that made us more happy but just being together as brothers and sisters fighting the same worldly battles. The secret to making a ward like Zion: bringing people together, inviting others, and visiting those that don´t come. If we could all do our little part in making our ward like Zion, the world would advance at a very rapid pace towards happiness and peace.

I would also like to emphasize the fact that we often put too much emphasis on doing things perfectly or it isn´t of much value. The talent show was evidence that it isn´t like that at all. I don´t have to know how to sing or dance well to participate but I sure can be Me. I don´t have to know the scriptures to value their importance and understand the need to read. I don´t have to see God to express my testimony. I don´t need to be perfect to be a missionary. But I do have to try. If we try, if we do our best, it counts for something. God knows us. He knows our hearts. He loves us. He values our efforts. I know it, I live it, I love it. Don´t feel inadecuate, don´t get down, don´t give up :)

Elder Philpot

Traps

With the nice little voice recorder that Elder Mann has been letting me use it´s starting to get harder and harder to think of things to write down in the weekly email. But I´m sure the Lord will guide me in my efforts to make you all laugh and remember the Saviour. 

First off, my beloved Elder Mann was touched my a ghost this morning. Yes, you heard it, a ghost. To my alarming surprise, while putting laundry in the washing machine this morning a heard a childish yelp come from within. And then a beckoning for my presence. Haha Elder Mann said that something black, wet, and hairy had grabbed the back of his heel and was about to climb up when it was scared by the screams of poor Elder Mann. Yes, a rat. A black, wet, leg-climbing rat. I´m sure it could teach me a few things about rock climbing actually. Anyways, in quick response to the emergency situation, we glued two cups together, put a stick through the ends, put the stick over a big bucket of water, and then covered the cups with honey and crackers... The perfect mouse trap. (Elder Mann´s idea). We hope to see results when we arrive home this very afternoon.

Sometimes we are like that little, I mean, big, black mouse. We start to do great things, but often we get too confident and touch people´s legs. Or as we will soon see, we are too ignorant of our very unsafe surroundings and we fall into the trap, seemingly without escape. In the Gospel of Jesus Christ we are taught to Stand in Holy Places. Are we really striving to choose our friends wisely? Are we too prideful to see the impact that our actions have on others when we make mistakes? Or are we aware of the dangers that surround us? Do we willingfully choose to stear clear of temptations? We must stear clear! I love you all. Your choices affect your destiny. I know it, I live it, I love it! 
Elder Philpot

Whooo yeah, Frias, Whoo yeah

This week was pretty normal but man did I love General Conf! General conference here in the mission is like spring break but better because we are being spiritually uplifted at the same time. Elder Mann and I started doing voice recordings every day so if you want me to send them to you your gonna have to ask :) It´s a lot easier than writing down everything I did during the week in a single day! Haha 

But this week we also travelled 3 hours in bus to a little town called Frias at the edge of the mission world. It´s the furthest area from the mission home so if you take the wrong road you might walk out of mission boundaries. It was fun. I was with Elder Walde again. Elder Walde is a great friend that I lived with in Salta so we did divisions together and had a lot of fun.

What I took out of the Conference has been a great blessing previously in my life and will be a blessing for the rest of my life. It is the principle of remembering. Elder Gerrit Gong of the 70 spoke about how we sometimes seem to forget and how important it is to remember our Saviour in spite of the trials that so often make us forget of His great love for us. I testify that He loves us ESPECIALLY in our trials. It´s true. I know it, I live it, I love it! 

Elder Philpot