Week of Miracles!!

    Hello!!! So I am with Jessie on this one. What was everybody doing home? But thank you so much for all the pictures! I absolutely loved them all. Tara Jo, your boys are all so big I cant believe it! But still super cute! I loved the picture of Devin getting eaten by the goats, way funny. But its a good thing you held on tight and didnt drop little Beau, or else I would have gotten to travel down and take care of it. So Dad, I heard about your ``haters gonna hate, so dont hate on me´´ video haha. Jordy, send it to me please haha! Sister Bruce, thank you so much for the letter and the email of Josh. I can always count on you!! Jess, my CR in New Hampshire was a little bit Hindu, but not hard core. They are an amazing people from Napal though!

    So this week was way awesome! To start of we had a way fun Noche de Hogar or Family Home Evening with Familia Paez. Its always a crazy time when we are over there since this family is so big, so we started off with a quick little message and then played the best game ever....´´No coma a Pedro´´  or ´´Dont eate Pete´´ haha! They all loved it so much and were all getting so into it! We even had some American candy to use, so that made them like it even more. We pulled out our cameras at the end to take a few pictures and they went even crazier. Being a poorer family they dont get to take pictures very often, so when they can they make use of the time haha!

    We got new neighbors that moved in like a month ago, and the mom is a inactive member. But this past week she knocked on our door one night and asked us if we give her little son a blessing. So we went and did that, and after she told us that her husband had been asking her a few questions about us missionaries and the church. So on Saturday we got to go over and teach them a lesson about the Restauration. It went pretty well and he had some good questions for us. He works a lot so it will be a little difficult to plan a time to meet with him again. But luckily they only live 5 feet from us and it wont be hard to stop by all the time haha!

    Melisa is seriously on fire! She is so excited and ready for her baptism this saturday. We had another Noche de Hogar with her where she taught the lesson using a Liahona (Ensign) that she got a hold of. And thats not all, she invited one of her friends to come to the Noche de Hogar and her friend loved it. So much that she came to church yesterday as well. Unfortunatly she lives outside of our area in Santa Ana, so we will be passing the reference on to the zone leaders! Then yesterday during lunch we recieved a phonecall from Monica, Melisas older sister. She asked if she could meet with us that night. So we went over and had a way solid lesson with her. She started out telling us that she had been talking a lot to Melisa and their youngest sister Vanessa (she was baptised a year ago in Chile) and that she knows she wants to be a part of what her sisters have. And after asked us ´´´so, what do i need to do get baptised´´. I felt like giving my comp a big ol kiss right then ( ok, not that excited), but I was at least speechless for a sec haha. We were able to set some good goals of what she is going to do to prepare to get baptized. The biggest thing is getting her and her boyfriend married. But we are excited to teach them about the plan of salvation, because their only concerns have to do with their 4 month old baby, Emma. She is just the cutest little girl ever (well almost as cute as Beau!). So we are really excited to start working with Monica and Pablo!!

   Ok, one funny story before its time to leave. So we had a lesson Saturday with an inactive member named Rocky. He is just a super crazy guy. He had just gotten a bottle of whiskey to help him with the ´´cold´´ haha. He realized that my comp Elder Thomas was a little sick and asked him if wanted a swig of the whiskey to help him with his cold. Elder Thomas didnt understand him so he told him yes haha. But I quickly corrected him and told Rocky that he didnt want any. But that made Rocky way mad and he just started yelling at me ´´who do you think you are. he can make his own decisions. etc´´.  I knew he was a harmless guy so I had a hard time not laughing at him. In the end we had to drop some cane on him, but lovingly. He is a great guy, just a little lost right now.

    Well, I am doing great here in Rodeo. Its sad to think I will probably only have another 3 weeks here. But Im loving my time here. It is such a prepared area. The Lord is truly preparing his children to accept the gospel. We, as the lords hands, just have to find and guide them. What a privilege that is!! I love you all so much, have a great week, and I will talk to you next week!! ¡Chao!

Elder Wengert-W9

¡Me quedo!

Hello everybody,

    Sounds like a good week for everybody!!! Jordy and Naes, im sorry about state, but number 6 is still awesome, way to go!!!! Honest Tan, you are seriously the man. Im so proud of you, and please dont beat me up when i get home. Tara and Tj, you sold your house!!! Congrats, where are you looking to moving to? Dev, how is your job going? And Dallin and Amy, how is everything going in Logan with baby Clay. So I got a email from Jan Bruce and she told me that Josh Wiess got his mission call to Monterrey Mexico, that is so awesome. Is there anyway you could get me an email for him? Thanks! Oh Jess, you said you taught a Napal lady, that is all I taught while in New Hampshire and Procash, the kid we baptised there was from Napal. They are such an amazing and loving people. Did you get a return date with her?

    So yesterday we received those always so nervous filled phonecalls for Transfers. I dont even know why we get so nervous for them. What is so scary about them? But I was told ´´Elder Wengert, se queda!!!´´, so yes I am staying for another transfer here in Rodeo de la Cruz and finishing up training Elder Thomas. But this transfer is only 4 weeks long since it is the last one for Presidente Ávila. The other two weeks we are putting in for next transfer to make it 8 weeks long so that Presidente Goates has a little bit more time to tour the mission and meet with all of the missionaries.

     Well this week was super wierd and hard. One of our Zone Leaders got sent home for some health issues and the other LZ, Elder Reynolds, never got a new comp to end the transfer. So we got put into a trio for the last week. So the whole week we were having to travel back and forth trying to balance the two areas. So stressful since both of areas have a golden investigator. We have Melisa here in Rodeo and Elder Reynolds has their invesitigator named Dora. Though it was super tough, I think i can put it up there of one the greatest weeks of my mission. The tough times always turn into growth and miracles, and thats the great thing about them!

    This week we had our last Zone Conference with Presidente and Hermana Ávila before they go home in a month. It was incredible. I love those two so much and have had such a huge impact in my life!!!!

    Well, this week we met with Melisa everyday to help her keep getting ready for her baptism and I couldnt believe it. She was so ready!!! I had never had an investigator during my mission so ready. So we went to our bishop to get it all planned out and he told us that we couldnt baptise her and is making us wait for the 31 of May. Ahhh, so frustrating at times to work with him. But in the end we worked with him and Melisa will be getting baptised on the 31. But for the brightside, since Im staying here this transer  will be here for it!

    Well, sorry this is a short one, but i dont have a lot of time left. Thank you all so much for everything. I love you all!!!!

Elder Wengert-W9
 

    

¡Viva Rodeo!

    Oh my goodness, it was so good to see your beautiful faces yesterday. Everybody looks so good! Jordan and Janae, stop getting so beautiful. Tanner, you get studlier everytime I see you! Jordy and Naes, way to go with softball! That article was awesome, you are killing it. Go and win state for me!! Tara, i loved hearing your voice at least. Enough to make me happy! and thank you for all of the pictures. I have the most beautiful niece and handsome nephews ever. I look forward to meeting them some day!  Well, i believe i said just about everything yesterday and im sure mom will be telling everybody about it. So this week it is going to be a little shorter than usual. Sorry!!

   We have a cita with Melisa tonight, so we will get to see how her weekend went in Chile and what she needs to do to prepare herself for her baptism this saturday! But from the text we got from her earlier this week telling us that because her desires to baptise herself is greater than anything else she will have the strength to keep going without smoking, I think she will be good to go! It has been way exciting to see how the gospel has changed her life! She is so much happier now and knows what direction to go with her life. Mom, I believe that is one of my favorite things of my mission. Seeing people change through the process of accepting the gospel. There is nothing that matches it.

   Dad, i loved your thought. The lord truly gives us strength to do this great work of his. There are mornings where i wake up so dead and cant even get out of bed. Somehow I drag myself out and, do some pushups, situps, or something for excercises, and take my wondefully refreshing bucket shower. By then I am good to go and have the strength and energy to get through my studies without falling asleep and head out to work. I believe the lord has a special part in his heart for his representives and for this reason we recieve strength and protection each and everyday as missionaries. We get resanctified by his sweet spirit each morning to share his perfect message of happiness and hope to everybody else. What a privilage that we have! And the best part about it is that this privilage never ends. We can search out those daily missionary opportunities and just like us missionaries, get resanctified with his love for us and the greatest blessings that come from participating in this work of salvation. So my family and friends, no matter where you are, how old you are, or what you are doing. Forget yourselves and go to work!!

   I love you all so much and cant express how grateful i am for each and everyone of you. Have an amazing week and I will talk to you next week!

Elder Wengert-W9

1. Zona Guaymallén (my zone here)

2. Oh yea, we made nachos last week. Or atleast our attempt. We couldnt find actual nacho cheese, so we had to go with a typical Jordan dinner: Microwaved chips and cheese haha!

Photos

1. How cool is that? It is Pizza Planet haha!

2. Flying to citas, it´s the new thing!

Hey Jess, I belive in miracles too!!!!

    Wow, what a week for the wengert family!! Everybody is just tearing it up! Dad, I would also love a copy of your talk if you have one. It sounded amazing! Tan Man, stop getting so big. At this rate you will be beating me up when I get home!! Nae Nae, look at you girl killing at short stop. Way to go! Jordy Poo, you looked gorgeous at prom. But im sorry, no more dating until im home. And even then you can only go on dates with me ok haha! Ty Ty, i love your captain america bear. I need one just like that to cuddle up to at night. Hey Mom, your experience with the teethless men drinking beer while out with missionaries sounds a lot like many of my experiences here haha. Dental hygiene is a problem here, but your number of teeth doesnt show the worth of your soul. But Argentina is still full of some of the most amazing and humble people you will ever meet. Tj, you would like it here in Argentina right now. Everybody is preparing for the worldcup and going crazy. Though the USA have a tough group to play with, we have to do well so that I will have a good conversation starter for the rest of my mission haha!

     Jess, I know how you were feeling. This week started off pretty tough for me as well. Woke up tuesday morning not feeling to well. Something I ate must have not agreed with my body so well. But the Lords watches over us and to do this great work of his. Our citas were just falling left or right. But we kept working and that is when the miracles started to come. Our first was with Melis Carleti. An investigator we had worked a lot with but wasnt really progressing much. But we got a text from her asking us if we could meet up with her. We knew this could be a huge opportunity for her. She showed her faith and desire when wanting to meet with us. So we wanted to have a powerful lesson with her. And that we did. It was probably the most powerful lesson I have been a part of my whole mission. We first started off watching the church video ´´Because of Him´´ and it truly set the tone for the lesson. We after focused on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how that act of love was personally performed for her. We then lead that into Christs invitation to us for baptism in 2 Nefi 31. In the end she accepted a baptismal date for the 17 of May. We passed by the next day with a plan to quit smoking where she now hasnt smoked in two days. It has been so amazing to see her change of heart in accepting the gospel in her life. You just see the light and happiness that now surrounds her. 

    The second miracle came yesterday. Bishops grandson, Gonzalo, asisted church again yesterday and even shared his testimony in sacrament meeting. A simple but powerful testimony about how Christ lives. The whole time im just thinking ´´how are you only 9? Dang, you need to get baptized´´ haha! We have now recieved permission from his mom, bishops daughter, but his mom wants to ask the father for permission as well. But we should be starting teaching him this week! 

    Things have gotten a little more complicated with Leandro and Malena. I know they still have the desires to get married and for Malena to get baptised, but they have kind of stopped keeping their commitments. They didnt come to church the last 2 weeks and werent there the last time we passed by for our cita. Im thinking its probably a problem with Malenas parents. But just please prayer for them and Melisa please, that they may recieve the strength and desires necessary to keep going and doing what needs to be done to enter the doors of the gospel. Thank you so much!

     I think one of my favorite parts of Argentina are the little kids. They are just in love with us missionaries, especially if your a gringo. They are always running up to us to give us high fives and just to say hi. Its awesome. This past week we were walking down the poorer part of our area and these 2 little girls ran up to us and asked us to jump rope with them. So of course we stopped for a second and played with them. I wonder what everybody thought of us. ´´Who are these two gringos wearing shirts and ties and jumping rope?´´. But I loved it. I wish we could carry our  cameras on us more often so we could take pictures of moments like that. I loved it!

   Well, I love you all so much. I am so excited to see you and talk to you on Sunday. Its hard to believe its already May, its flying by so fast! But 2:20 will work perfect for me. I cant wait. I love you all and have a great week!

Elder Wengert-W9