It was a Good Week!

Hola!

Como estàs?  Argentina Santa Fe is a great place.  You all should visit it one day.  Luckily for me, It`s still my home for the next 16 months!  There is a temperature that is rather high and a humidity that causes everyone to sweat.  Everyone is friendly and we all complain about the heat together.  While complaining about heat, we drink hot sugar plant water, it`s called mate.  It`s pretty funny and I love it. My poor new companion has asked me various times this week with a concerned voice ´´Elder, where are we?´´ and I have responded ´´Argentina.´´  That`s just a quick example that I haven`t lost my sarcasm. Good thing or bad thing? I don`t know haha

Jonathan is doing great!  He talks a lot more and is beginning to smile more!  So awesome!  I remember the first week that we went to pick him up for church, and my comp and I told him, ´´If you come to church with us today, it will change your life.´´ It has been amazing to see the Lord fulfill our promise!  We also met a new investigator this week, her name is Vanesa, the first lesson she accepted a baptism invitation!  She gives the most uplifting compliments.  She says that we bring a peace and tranquility that she has never felt.  She says she always has a good day after our visits.  I know it is the Spirit and the Lord providing her with all these blessings but it is nice to have her talk good about us.  I am excited to see the future with her.  She`s a great lady.  Like most Argentines she has to get married, but God is working miracles and it will be done!  We are trying to talk with everyone in the street, especially sharing the message of the Restoration.  We have asked people if we can say a prayer, right on the spot, to know if it`s true.  A few people have invited us in, and we have kneeled in their living room, and we offered a pray to God to know the truth of what we are teaching.  It`s so cool.  Those who have accepted the prayer, have also accepted a time for us to return, and they usually send us off with a smile on their face.  The gospel is true.  I know that God has answered the prayer to these people in that very moment.  We will see if they will choose to act on their answer.  The future is bright in Santa Fe.

Well, I love you all.  People always ask if I miss my family.  I always respond, ´´Sì, les extraño un poco pero sè que las familias son eternas.´´  I am grateful for this gospel and that I get to live with you awesome people forever.  Have a great week, enjoy the snow, enjoy the mountains, enjoy rootbeer, enjoy the gospel.

Con amor,

Elder Maynard

 man i love ice cream haha

 First train i have seen in my mission so i tried to take a selfie

 elder clement was a little tired during studies haha

 CHRISTMAS IN JANUARY!!

 They called in the giants to do service projects cleaning the ceiling.  Great family FLia Montenegro.  They are elders quorum president and relief society president and they always give me chocolate milk so I love them

 BIG MAC!!!!

El Evangelio Cambia la Vida

Hola!

Well this week flew by! I feel like I write that a lot, but it is the truth!  I got my new companion this week.  Elder Clement from Seattle, Washington.  This guy is a stud!  He has tons of energy and he is always positive.  I have already learned a lot from him.  I love hearing his simple, heart felt testimony in his broken Spanish.  It`s powerful.  I admire him a lot.  I`m way excited to be working with him.

This week Jonathan got confirmed a member of the church!  It was an awesome experience.  I had the opportunity to do the confirmation.  It was the first one I have ever done in my life.  I absolutely love the priesthood.  I am thankful to my Father in Heaven for the privilege of being a priesthood holder.  Blessings are one of my favorite ways to serve in the mission.  As you give a blessing or perform an ordinance, you feel the pure love of Christ for the person, the gift of tongues comes and words just flow out of your mouth in a different language.  It`s amazing.  I felt God´s love for Jonathan, he is a very special man.  He has changed a lot, starting with the fact that he shaved his beard this week! haha And he told us that he is going to cut his hair too.  I am going to miss his scruffy beard and his pony tail. Great, great guy.  He told us this week that he just feels a ton of peace at church.  He also told us that after his baptism he felt like a different person.  The gospel Changes lives!  Jonathan is a miracle.  He is going to keep progressing and growing because he is in the Lord`s hands! We are contacting a ton in the street.  We are having lots of success and meeting lots of people.  This week President Perez shared with us Alma 32:27.  I love in this verse that it says we only have to show a little bit of faith.  Faith is powerful.  By exercising just a little bit of faith, nothing will be impossible for us.  God is a God of miracles, we just have to put our faith in him.

I love the mission.  It is amazing.  I am grateful for the time that I have had here and I am grateful for the time that I still have.  There is no greater experience or opportunity in the world than being a representative of Jesus Christ.  I know that He lives.  I know that He loves us and that He is by our side always.  I am greater to wear His name on my chest everyday.  What a privilege.  I love you all! Have a great week!

Con amor,

Elder Maynard

 We were in a trio because another elder was waiting to pick up his new companion too.

 Picking up the big elder clement!!!

 All the trainers and their newbies!

 Vamos pizza! I found the main man Elder Clayton! haha he is now the secretary of the mission so he works in the mission offices.  

 and with Elder Clement

 ME with three of my comps and my grandson! haha

 I taught my comp how to MILKEAR.  Maybe britt knows a thing or two.  You drink milk through an alfajor.  Its magical

 After the confirmation of Jonathan!!!

 We folded up some empanadas with the Zone leaders.  They now work in half of parque del sur.

 I live down this nice little hallway haha

and empanadas me pueden casar

Jonathan Se Bautizò!

Buenas Tardes!

Transfers are this week and we have some big news!  Elder De La Rosa is ending his training early and he is going to be a trainer!  Which means I am a grandpa haha I am staying in Parque del Sur and I am going to be training again too, so I will let you all know my new companion next week!

This past week was awesome!!!  Jonathan got baptized!  I asked him how he felt when he came out of the water and he said ``I felt Peace. `` I love this guy.  To this day, I still haven`t seen him smile, but I can tell that he was happy on his baptism day.  He had a glow in his face.  He got baptized on Sunday so the confirmation for him will be this next Sunday.  

This week we read Joseph Smith History.  I invite every single one of you to read it this week.  It is just amazing.  Joseph Smith had an incredible amount of faith.  He had the faith sufficient to receive a vision.  He went into the Sacred Grove with full confidence to receive an answer.  He continued that faithfulness and later on had more visions.  Also the persecution of Joseph Smith is a testimony to me that he was a prophet of God.  There is a scripture in 2 Timothy, I don`t know exactly where, but it says every man that truly follows Christ will suffer persecution.  This has been a testimony to me too, that what I am doing is truly the work of the Lord.  Why do people reject us for no reason?  Why do people hate us?  It`s because this is the true church.  There is no other way to explain it.  It is necessary that there is an opposition in all things.  There is opposition for us, there was opposition for Joseph Smith, and there was opposition for Christ.  I testify that this is the true church.  We will all have times of difficulty and tribulation, just like all followers of Christ since the beginning of time.  Everyone have a good week. Be happy:)  Christ is walking with us as we carry our burdens. I love you all!

Con amor,

Elder Maynard

 Special PDAY. Our team won.  Victory Flag!

Played dodgeball and capture the flag.

 ME celebrating 8 months in the mission!

And this is Jonathan's door hahah 

 JONATHAN GOT BAPTIZED!!! VAMOS!!!

 Walking with jonathan to his house as the humidity sucks the sweat out of me haha

 and I like the murals in Argentina

 Argentina streets!

 Grafitis

 Last pic with the Zone leaders.  Switching Zone leaders with transfers this week

 and we did a bit of tourism for pday!!!

 VAMOS COLON!!!!

 They didn't let us go onto the field but I had fun in the stands!!!