Febrero!!!

   Well, once again here i am writing you guys. How crazy is that, but time flies while we are having fun!! Im way happy to hear that Jeff Carranza got his mission call. He is now in for quite the adventure haha! Im glad to hear that your 72 hour kits are all finished up. Just this morning we felt a nice little earthquake here in San Juan. The floor shaked a little bit and a few things fell from above the cabnents. Nothing too big or scary, but those kits are important. Tan Man, your blue hair sounded pretty dang cool, and you sound like quite the baller. You should probably teach me how to play when i get home. I havent had very many chances to play these past 2 years haha! Naes, so you are thinking about doing track? I honestly dont know what you should do. I know you love softball a lot, and i loved track. Im sure that you will do very well at whichever one you chose!! Dad, after seeing you all attempting to speak spanish on skype, i could only imagine you there in the spanish branch. But hey, atleast you speak a little better than Mom haha!

   Well this week we had quite the problem of our appoitments falling through, but other than that is was a great week. For the past 3 weeks we have been teaching a woman named Dolores after she stopped us in the street one day and asked us to visit her innactive mother who is quite old and has some health issues. The whole time we have been teaching her she wasnt really willing to do anything. But this past week we taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ and as we were teaching about baptism and explaining the importance of following the example that Christ gave us and be baptised in that way and by somebody with the authority to do so, it just clicked for her and is now working towards her baptismal date on the 28 of February. She was so exciting afterwards that she asked ´´so what time will my baptism be at?´´, we just told her that we will plan the details when it gets a little closer haha! Because of the work schedule of Enzo and Valeria, we werent able to meet with them this week. But they are reading a lot in the Book of Mormon and we have an appoitment set up with them for this week! Another great miracle we saw this week was with the less-active members we have been working with. 5 of them came to church on Sunday for the first time for years. One of them, Ricardo Gallardo, is about 75 years old and had a stroke a few years ago leaving the left side of his body just about useless. But on Sunday, the member that was supposd to pass by for him never showed up. So Hermano Ricardo set out on his own and made the 45 minute walk to church (well like 5 minutes for us, but 45 for him haha). It was so great to see him make those efforts to get to church. Whatever it took, he would be there. What a great attitude that we all need. No matter what happens, i will live the gospel!! A great lesson learned!

   Well, thank you all so much for everything. I hope you have a great week and I love you all!!

Elder Wengert - W9

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The final one!!!

    Im glad to hear how everthing is going well back to home. I cant believe how big everybody is getting. But i guess that is what happens when two year passes by. Tan, me perece que tiene un buen equipo y están ganando a ful. Bien hecho hermanito, ¡¡siga siendo un capo!! There you go tan, now you can use your google translate skills to read that haha! Jordy and Naes, sounds like you had an exciting week on the court. Keep it up! And Jess, I heard that you met Aubrey Tanner the other day in the temple. She was in my MTC district and then i was her DL at one point here in Argentina. It is a small world!

  Well this is it, the start of my last transfer in the mission. Im staying here in Retiro with Elder Hernandez to finish it off. I honestly can believe how the time has passed by. Jordy, you asked me in your letter if, now that im finishing the mission, if it has actually been the best 2 years. It is a little dificult to fully explain, and it would probably take a few weeks to do it. But it a more simple way, yes!!!!! It truly has been the best times of my life. It is bittersweet knowing that it is coming to an end. It will be sad to leave this place and Argentina has now captured a special part of my heart, but im also excited to see all of you again and to see what else the Lord has in store for me. But hey, i still have 6 weeks left. Which means 6 weeks more to work with everything i have. 

   Well, this week we kind of started from the beginning once again. Focusing on finding news, but people who were very interested in listening to us. And that was when a member, Hermana Flores, gave us a reference for her inactive daughter Valeria and her husband Enzo who isnt a member. A while back the missionaries visited Valeria and while they were teaching her, Enzo was listening from the other room. He was interested, but the missionaries never passed by. We were able to meet with the both of them this past week and it was an incredible lesson. We taught them the Restauration and they both were just listening so intently. At the end of the lesson Enzp told us about how his life he has been Catholic, but never really liked the teachings and they never really called his attention. But he told us ´´but when you two taught me this lesson, it really touched my heart´´. In the end he accepted a baptismal date for the 21st of Febuary. He is such a great guy and has some great potential! This experience really showed me that the Lord is going to guide us to those who are prepared. We are always going to have some of those tough times when we dont know what we should do, but if we can trust in the Lord and keep going strong with everything that we have, we will walk in His footsteps and find His lost children. What an amazing blessing we have to have such a perfect guide and example to follow. 

   I hope you all have such a great week and can always walk in the footsteps of the Lord. I love you all so much!!

Elder Wengert - W9

1. Please dont take your horse and carriage on the freeway.... only in Argentina haha!

2. San Martin!!! The soccer team here in San Juan haha. 

Times a Ticking!

    I seriously dont even know how it is possible that the time flies by so fast! But once again it is monday! Everything seems to be going great for everybody! Jordy and Naes, way to be balling it up. I still remember playing Vista Grande my senior year. It was our retro game when we played in the old gym using the old jerseys. It was way sweet haha! Tan, you are basically fluint in spanish. Just come on over here and we can be comps to finish up the mission! Im glad to hear you are all looking for those special missionary opportunities. Sometimes the people right in front of us who see on a daily basis are the prepared ones, and other times it is a little more of a search. But no matter how it is, the Lord will guide us in our efforts! Mom, there is still no signs of anymore packages, but the zone leaders will be going to mendoza this week, so hopefully they will bring something back for me!

    Well, basically the highlight of our week was when the Lord decided to bless us here in San Juan and cool us off a bit. Friday night right as we got back to the pench a big rain storm hit cooling us a little bit. Us six elders were litterally outside enjoying every moment of it haha! 

   Thank you all so much for the prayers you have been sending over here. And we would really appreciate it if you could keep them coming. Things have kind of stopped here in Retiro. We have had to drop a few people and are now working hard to find some news. We met with Teresa this past week and she had some concerns about everything. Her 3 older children are not supportive whatsover of her getting baptized, and because of that she is hesitant of continueing listening to us. She told us that she knows the church is true and her dream is to be baptized along with all of her children. But after having her husband passing away, she is afraid of losing her children. But we commited her to talking to her children and sharing her testimony with them and why she wants to get baptized. We have an appoitment with her tonight, so we will see how that went. She is literally incredible and has such a great testimony. We just need to help her recognize how that will be such a great blessing for her and her family and how the greatest thing that she can do for her family is to lead them to the gospel!

    Well, i hope you all have a great week this week, Know that your missionary is working hard here in Argentina until the end. I love you all!!

Elder Wengert - W9

Things are good!!!

     Hello!!! Tan Man, im pretty impressed with your spanish haha! But dont rely on google translate, it doesnt always work haha! Jordy and Naes, way to go with basketball and good luck with your games this week! Jess im not going to lie, Sterling looks like a stud! But I would like to hear a little bit more about him! But sounds like everything is going well there in Marana. I got some mail this past week, so please thank the Kimber family, Brother and Sister Housten, and also Brother and Sister DeSpain for their letters. It really means a lot!

   Well this week went really well. The first time in a while when we had the whole week to work!! Things have gotten a little difficult with Margarita since she went out of town to Córdoba. So because of this we havent had any conctact with her. But Teresa is absolutely on fire!!! Her and her youngest son Gabriel came to church yesterday and loved it. The members just welcomed them right into the ward and loved them to death. I dont think i have ever seen anybody recieve so many kisses on their cheeks before (thats how they greet people here). I could tell that they truly felt loved and they are now super excited to come back next week. Teresa told us after church ´´well i am definatly coming back next week´´ and then Gabriel says ´´hey what about me!!´´. They are really progressing very well. Teresa just keeps reading and reading, to the point where she is almost done with 1 Nephi. But it has been amazing to see. And all of this she contributes to her husband creating the path for her and her kids to recieve the gospel!

   Now for more of a funny story. Here in argentina they have dogs called Argentine Dogos. They are like pitbulls, but even bigger and meaner haha. Supposively they are illegal in the states. So this past week Elder Hernandez and I decided to knock on a door. And as the owner opened the door we saw 2 angry full grown dogos running right towards us. So what did we do, we both turned and started running away from the house until we realized there was another barred door in front of the main door. So we made our way back to the house to talk to the owner, but she was just lauging at us like it was the funniest thing she had ever seen (and maybe it was haha). But im not going to lie, i was scared out my mind. I couldnt even use the excuse ´´you only have to outrun your comp´´ since there was two of them haha. But hey, all missionaries have some kind of dog stories right? haha. 

   Well, thank you all so much for everything. Like Jordan realized, the time is ticking down. But no worries, always know that your missionary is here working hard in Argentina. Have a great week and I look forward to hearing from you next week!!

Elder Wengert - W9

1. Elder Hernandez and I made a quick stop back to the states haha. We also got to go to Mexico!

2. Hey Dad, I also got the letter from the stake presidency that you wrote. Thank you so much, but it was missing a little bit of it haha!

¡¡2015!!

   Well here it is, 2015!!! I honestly dont know what happened to 2014. It feels like it just barely started. But the new year is now here, so bring it on!!! Sounds like you all had a great break filled of great food and everything! Jordy, way to go with your camera. You are actually really good. Naes, keep ballin it up out there on the court (you too Jordan), and Tan, im glad to hear that you like your tie. I really like what Dad said, because if that tie could talk, Im sure it would have some interesting stories haha! And it officially snowed in Marana, well look at that. It is hard to believe that it is cold there while it is burning up here in Retiro. But hey its all good, all part of the missionary experience! Teddi, good luck with your surgery tomorrow. You on count of my prayers for you! 

   Well everything is going good here in Retiro. Elder Hernandez and I are working good together. Even if we are very very different. I think our only thing in common is our love for mexican food haha. But he is a great hard working missionary. Our New Years was also way fun. We werent allowed to leave the pench on the 1st, so we spent the 31st and the 1st as a District in the area of Albardón. We cooked ourselves our own asado, played some futból, and had a nice first day of the year. But it is a relief that it is all over and we can now fully focus our whole week to the work. 

   Margarita is doing very well. She has such an amazing testimony and her desire to follow Christ is incredible, but there are still many problems with her the husband. Every time we go over there, he just shuts himself up in a room and doesnt even want to talk to or see us. But she is just so great. We passed by on Friday and we were teaching her about the Plan of Salvation. Right in the middle of the lesson she stops us and tells us ´´my friend really needs to learn about this. Want to go visit her with me?. So we went with her right then and were able to talk to her friend Olga. In the end she wasnt interested, but that is alright. Margarita and us, we did our part and will be blessed for it! She has told us that, if it comes down to it, she is willing to leave her husband to follow it. But of course the best case sinario would be to get baptized while still being able to stay with him. So that is our goal for this week, to meet her husband and be able to talk to him for a bit!! 

   This week we also found another great lady, named Teresa Alaniz. Tuesday afternoon, we saw her sweeping out in front of her house. So we stopped and talked to her. We found out that she is a widow of 15 years and is now raising her 9 children on her own. As we were talking to her, she realized that when her husband was alive, he talked a lot to the missionaries. He was about to get baptized, but he passed away before it was possible. For this reason, she allowed us sit down with her and teach her a little more. At the end, her and one of her sons Gabriel, accepted baptismal dates for the 31st of this month. She was so excited to come to church on Sunday, but when it came around, she didnt show up. So we passed by later that afternoon and found out that she was all ready to go, but there was an emergency with her Mom´s health. But after she told us about how she had been reading the Book of Mormon and then prayed. Right after finishing her prayer, she told us that the sun came shining through the window right into her face. She told us that she took that as her answer and is now excited to keep reading. Oh how the Lord is a god of miracles. I have seen it over and over and over again. But it never fails to amaze me. There are so many people prepared and they want what we have. We just need to find them and help them realize it. What a blessing the mission has been, and it has literally changed my life. I cant believe how little time I have left. But hey, all the more reason to work even harder! I love you all so much and hope you have a great week! 

Elder Wengert - W9

More Photos

1. Elder Hernandez and I last pday.

2. Ok, I only added this one to the list so that somebody can forward it to uncle Gordon. Only he will understand it and i think he will get a kick out of it haha

Here comes 2015!!!

    Wow, it was so awesome to see you all. Except everybody is so big. Tanner is more like a man with his low voice and everything, and my sisters are gorgeous!! You girls are lucky im coming home soon haha! Mom, you are still famous here since everybody got a kick out of you haha. You are the best! And Dad, Elder Hernandez could tell right away that you lived in Chihuahua for a bit. He said you had a little more of a northern accent and were saing things like ´´que le hace´´. So good job! Everybody else (especially Mom), we will work on your spanish later haha. But seriously, thank you so much for skyping, and sorry that we didnt have the best connection. But hey, it was still worth it!!

   Well, this week, we didnt have much time to work with the mission Christmas party on Tuesday, Christmas eve, and then Christmas day where we could only leave the pench to skype. But even with the limited time, we were able to see some sweet miracles! Fist, we had a stake activity with some of the YSA´s where we went to the main plaza in San Juan centro to pass out the ´´He is the Gift´´ cards and talk about the true meaning of Christmas. But of the YSAs was Belén Sanchez, my convert from Benavidez. We got to talk for a bit afterwards and it was so great to hear about how strong she still is in the gospel. She is now in the Young Womens presidency and is even thinking about serving a mission. It was amazing to see her and her growth after 6 months. But the biggest miracle happened on Saturday when we found Margarita, a woman super prepared by he Lord. Margarita met with the missionaries back in 2012 and was very close to be getting baptized. She had the inerview and everything. But because of some negative feelings from her husband, it ended up not happening. We found her teaching record in the area book friday night and decided to pass by Saturday morning. We got to her little apartment, clapped at the door, and she answered with the biggest smile ever on her face as if she was expecting us. She let us in and told us as we were sitting down ´´I knew you two would come´´. She then told us about how she has been reading the Book of Mormon ever since she talked to the missionaries 3 years ago. She never went to church or was baptised out of fear from her husband. But she said that she is tired of this as is now ready to do whatever is necesary to follow Christ. That morning she had prayed, asked the Lord to bring the missionaries back to her home, and then sat down to wait for us to come. Two hours later was when Elder Hernandez and I passed by her home. There are still many problems with her husband and the rest of her family, and for this reason she wasnt able to go to church yesterday. But she is going to spend this week studying and praying to know what she should do to best follow Christ at this time. So if you could, please keep Margarita in your prayers. She is an incedibe woman with incredible desires to accept the gospel.

   So everything is going great here in Retiro. Hot but good. But atleast we have a AC unit (if you can even call it that haha) in our bedroom making it atleast possible to sleep at night. During the day is another story, but no heat is stopping us. Thank you so much for your love and everything you do. I love you and hope you have an amazing New Years!!

Elder Wengert - W9

PS-Sorry, my first email got erased right as i finished it, so thats why this one isnt as good haha!

1. Belén and I.

2. After the stake activity