5/30/16 Conferencia con Presidente y Bautismo

Hey Everyone,

Thanks to all of you who have read and are reading my these letters. Sometimes I wonder if they do any good, but I have found out this week people are reading them. This week was a good one. The first part of the week started out in Rio Gallegos. We left Monday afternoon and got home Wednesday morning like in the middle of the night. In Rio Gallegos we had a conference with President and Hermana Rogers. It was the last time that I will see them in the mission. It was kinda sad but they live really close so I will see them after the mission. We get a new mission president here in just about a month.

In the conference it was all about Baptisms and more Baptisms. We came back to Calafate with new desires to just baptize more. So we went to an old man named Geronimo. He is 79 and is about to turn 80 in August. In our lesson we came out super direct and just told him we want him to get baptized. He said that he wanted to and so we started to plan his baptism for Saturday. The Lord is blessing Calafate right now.

The rest of the week we kept on teaching Geronimo because he had not even had all the lessons taught to him. He is what they call a Gaucho. Basically an Argentine cowboy. He was raised as a slave and ran away when he was a teenager. He worked in the fields his whole life and has crazy stories. We are in his house for hours just listening. Teaching is hard with him but we pulled it off.

Saturday was awesome we had his baptism and I gave one of the talks. Spanish is coming and I am starting to be able to be myself in the language. I still want to be able to understand more but I am getting there. 

Well I know that this is the true church. I know that as missionaries we can baptize. A lot of people have told us that this mission doesnt baptize. We decided the last two weeks to say who cares to that and work hard. The Lord has blessed us for our desires as a companionship. I know that the scriptures bring the spirit into our lives. Go and read. I have set a goal to read more too. Let us go and read together this week. I love you all and thank you for the prayers and support. 

Con Amor,

Elder Saunders 

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See it. Feel it. Trust it.

5/23/16 Being Sick and Bautismos

Hey Everyone,

This week has been a really different one. I got a sick and wasnt able to well do anything because I was just sooo tired. We felt like we should have been doing more because we would sleep forever to feel better then feel better for like a few hours and then get super tired again and go to bed. We did not have very good numbers this week but we did have the best of all things a Baptism. 

Last week I talked a little about Christian. He made it!!! He was baptized this last Thursday on his Birthday! We partied and we made him a Chocolate Cake and it was amazing if I say so myself haha. He asked me to baptize him and now he calls me his God Father. Haha he is only 20 but I am only 19 so that is cool. 

Well the rest of the week we just spent time trying to get better and teaching as we could the people we already had sent lessons with. We ended up teaching this 80 year man named Jeronimo and he is a Argentine Cowboy and has come to church 3 times now so time to get him in the good old Agua!! We taught him the first lesson and he told us he had read all the testimonies and beginning of the Book of Mormon up to 1 Nefi!! That was cool and now he is going to start reading more. 

Then on Sunday which was yesterday we had a member of the Seventy here - Elder Fernandez and he taught some crazy good lessons. The members loved him and they have a lot more Animo to just help the missionaries(US) yes they want to help!!! We had over 50 people at church too! 

Well to all you high schoolers who are about to graduate... YOU MADE IT!!!! haha and everyone us have a nice warm summer while we freeze down here. Haha I am only a little jealous. However I know I am supposed to be here and even though this week was hard and honestly I thought about home a lot I know that this Church is true and because of this I have to be here. I need to be here for me and more importantly the people that need the Gospel. I know that this church brings the happiest of all the happy feelings that are out there. I know that the Atonement is real. I have felt the cleansing power it brings. I know that Heavenly Father loves you and me. I feel his love as I ask for it. If you want to know or feel something just ask through prayer and it will come. Have patience. Yes i just said that have patience. If you know me I have zero patience but I know if we wait and act in faith we will find the answers we need. Well I love you all and I know that the Savior lives. I know it and you can know it too. Pray for it and it will come!!

Con Amor,

Elder Saunders

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See it. Feel it. Trust it.

sunset - the day of the baptism

stuffed green peppers

5/16/16 La Navidad y Milagros‏ and mother's day skype pics

Hey Everyone,

This last week was amazing. We had a lot of fun and we are becoming a really strong distirct and zone here in the good old patagonia. This week we got a new as in brand new from the MTC gringo in our district of just four. So now I am not the baby and yes I know more Spanish then a missionary. Haha it is really crazy that I only have one more month in my first area. I am going to miss Calafate. The new Elder is Elder Tiffany from North Carolina. He was only baptized a year ago on my birthday. So he is one action of faith if I have ever seen one. This is just a huge testament of how true this Church is. 

Then well the week was just going pretty normal. We have been teaching a lot of people and just helping them get to a place where they would want to be baptized. We also found a four new investigators. We are just getting blessed here in our area and sometimes we dont know why because we are not the perfect missionaries. Haha

Then on Saturday we had lunch with a member and asked her about a basketball court that we could go and play on. She told us and so we went to go and see if we had to pay to use it. Then we saw an old investigator from the other elders that moved into our area and we started talking to him and he wants to get baptized. Our lesson with him was crazy and the spirit was just so strong. He went from saying he was only and always going to be Catholic to wanting to be baptized and we are having his baptism this Thursday. I am so excited and I cant believe that happened. He came to church yesterday and it was amazing. 

We also had two other people come to church and they are both getting closer to baptism. There names are Sebastion, Jeronimo, and then Christian is getting baptized this Thursday. 

Well this week was good and we have been listening to Christmas music because the weather makes it feel like christmas time!! haha well I know that this church is true. I know it with all i can well type in this case. I know that we have a Father in Heaven who loves us and he gave us his only begotten. I know that our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. I know that we can turn to him at all times. I know this Church is true. It is the only true church. Flat our without this church there is nothing. We are nothing, but with it we are everything. We are sons and daughters on a heavenly being. We have a divine potential that we cant even imagine! I love you all and will talk to you all next week. 

Con Amor,

Elder Saunders 

--

See it. Feel it. Trust it

5/11/16 Transfers y Skype

Hey Everyone,

This last week was a good one. We had a lot of different people stay in our pension and I was able to travel to Rio Gallegos and see my first companion. In a whole this week I was just able to talk with a lot of different Elders and Hermanas and kinda just feel the normal missionary life outside of the small district of Calafate. I played my first games of futbol and I found out I am not too bad just not too good either. Haha I will just stick to that golf thing. 

We finally got the heat to start working in the Capilla and because of this we had over forty come to church. That is a lot more then we have been getting and us missionaries just went insane. We were and still are super happy. We had a miracle yesterday too and another one on Saturday. 

Miracle number one. Sunday which was yesterday we were just starting second hour of church and this random guy came in and started saying that a member invited him to come to our church and so he did. We taught him in a Principios del Evangelio clase and he was just feeling it you could tell. We got his address and we are going to his house tomorrow to teach him more and then get him baptized. 

Miracle number two was on Saturday we were in the Capilla waiting for kids to show up for mutual and one of our old investigators just showed up. Her name is Janet and she wanted to see if we had clothes for some of her patients in the hospital. She volunteers in the hospital here in Calafate. We gave her some of the clothes that we have gotten from random people and then we took the clothes to her friends house and talked a little while. She then ended up coming to church the next day and that means she has three attendances so she can get baptized!!!!!!! 

Then the best part of the week happened and we had the oppurtunity to skype. I loved being able to see and talk to my family. They are the best and I have the biggest support system ever. I wish I could have been able to see and talk to all of yall who have been reading my letters. Thank you for your prayers and support to me and my family. Mom I hope you had a great Mothers Day and skypeing you was amazing. 

Well, I know that this church is true and that families are forever. Talking with my family and sharing my testimony with them was a moment I will never forget. I know that we all go through tough times. Times where maybe we are not going the things that we know that we should. I know that it is hard but I also know that we have a thing that a lot of people dont know about. We are able to asked for forgivness and repent or make a change and brings us just one little step closer to our Savior and Heavenly Father. I invite you to pick on thing in your life that you can change and work on fixing it. I love you all and I can feel your love everyday. Thank you. 

Con Amor,

Elder Saunders from the End of the World 

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See it. Feel it. Trust it.

5/7/16 Super Semana y Bautismos

Hey Everyone,

This last week was crazy. As I mentioned last week this week was "Super Semana". This meant that we worked like crazy and we set huge that we almost accomplished. The first part of the week we had a lot of desires to work really hard. We went crazy and met almost all of our goals. We had a different "day" for each key indicator that we have in the mission. Being "Super Semana" that also meant that we had to go "Super" on our Flexiones de Brazos so that is what we did and each day I did over 300 push ups. 

On Wednesday our goal was to do over 50 contacts. We went around contacting basically every person that we saw. We got a lot of people who didnt want anything but we also found a few new investigators. We were contacting people in the street and we just gave this kid a contacting card and he said sweet and that he might call us. We didnt think much of it till after a lesson fell through Elder Petersen was like where should we go and i was just like lets just walk i so we did. In my head I was looking for another investigator that we hadnt talked to forever then I saw this house and thought it looked different or even the house of the investigator i I was thinking about. However when we got up to it the same kid came out of the house and we had a crazy good lesson and put a Fecha. So now he has a Fecha for the 28 de Mayo. His name is Nicolas.

Earlier that day we were contacting apartments and we were just invited into a house. That is the best when someone opens a door and just says to come in. We  were in the middle of the lesson and this lesson was different he was cooking the whole time and Lord of the Rings was on in the background. There was a little pause in talking and out of no where I just asked him if he had Internet in his house. He then says yes and goes upstairs to get his laptop. While he was upstairs Elder Petersen asked me are you going to show a video or why did you asked that. I didnt really know why so I just said Tengo Fe. Haha so then we shared Elder Hollands testimony of the Book of Mormon. The spirit was strong and Sebestion felt something. We could see it in his eyes. 

Then the best part of the week came. Our baptisms.!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wanda and Nazareno Lotito were baptized this last week. It was special and the spirit was there. When I baptized Nazareno his aunt was just balling and she almost made me cry but I held it in for the pictures. Then Elder Petersen baptized Wanda but this was one of the craziest things ever she was sooooo I mean soooo scared of the water. It took over one hour and a half to get her to feel comfortable to go under and to even get in the font took over 45 minutes. Not to mention this was Elder Petersens first baptism so it will always be in his heart. We had a good turn out for the baptism and the Wanda who is 8 and Nazareno who is 11 had a good time. 

Elder Petersen and I had the oppurtunity as well to confirm Wanda y Nazareno. It was our first times doing that as well but wow the Spirit is true. In a whole this week was "Super". Haha we had bautismos, found new investigators, felt he spirit, taught a whole bunch, and well did the work of our Savior. I know that I am here to Baptize, and that I will baptize more here in my mission. I have set a lofty but I reachable goal to baptize in every transfer of my mission. What more of a blessing can I have then to have had 3 bautismos in my first two transfers. 

I know this church is true. I know our Savior lives. He lives and is there waiting to help you through whatever you need in your life. I know this to be true and I know that life is hard. Not everything is easy here. Satan exists. He doesnt want you to do what is right. I feel his temptations everyday and well I am not perfect. The Atonement is true. Use it for me and your family use the Atonement everyday. Pray and ask our Father in Heaven for forgiveness and through the Sacrafice of the Savior you WILL find peace and joy in all parts of your life. I love you all and thanks for the prayers and support. 

Con Amor,

Elder Saunders 

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See it. Feel it. Trust it.