Monday, February 10, 2014

PALERMO, WEEK 14: TEMPLE DAY

I just got back to the temple. And we don´t have much time left over for P-day so I will have to be fast! The temple was AWESOME. As soon as I figure out what's wrong with these stupid computers I will send some pictures your way. I hope the problem isn´t my camera...Or worse, me... Anyway, the temple is absolutely beautiful here. A bit smaller than the Portland Temple, that's for sure but still picture perfect. I don´t know what it is, it just seems clean-cut and perfect placement of everything with regards to landscaping. I definitely could feel the Spirit really strong. It was awesome; a pain in the neck to get to and from there but nonetheless, alwaysthemore, it was good.

Ooo. Snow. That sounds heavenly. And 12 inches! The members here asked us if church was canceled during the winter. I said I didn´t know and I was going to ask you guys but looks like I already recieved my answer! 
A little fact of the week. The Argentine Peso devalued 40% in the month of January alone. That's all I can say. Because that's all I know.

I had interviews with the President on February 5. Which was the 3 month mark for me in Argentina. Sometimes it seems fast, other times it seems really slow. I miss you all a lot!

The Lord is definitely blessing us in Palermo right now. We are finding on average 8 new investigators every week. However, after the 2nd or 3rd lesson we stop teaching for some reason. It seems pretty harsh but the President and Presidents in the past have made it clear that we are not looking for 3 month, non-progressing investigators. Within 3 lessons we usually know how its going to be in the future, and we prayerfully make the decision to stop. But we are finding some good people. Here´s a little story.

One day, my trainer and I were walking. And I found a pair of keys on the ground next to a front door. Someone must have have dropped them entering or something. So we picked them up and rang the doorbell. Nobody answered. So we knocked. Nobody answered. So we went to the neighbors. Nobody answered. So after 5 minutes of knocking and ringing we finally hid it in this window flower bed next to the door. And we left. 3 weeks later, I was walking by with Elder N* and a member and two appointments had fallen through. Then, I stopped and  remembered that we had hid the keys! So I reached in the flower bed and they were still there! (Elder N* and the member were REALLY confused that I knew there were keys there). Without saying anything (but the words ¨"no puede ser" (it can´t be). I knocked on the door and a lady answered. I presented the keys (saying I found them on the ground, which is true, I just found them 3 weeks ago on the ground and then hid them so nobody would break in the house (I am a good guy okay?!)) Anyways, she was very grateful and then my companion and I decided to seize the opportunity and present her with a pamphlet about the family. She then asked questions, and with about 6 minutes, accepted a baptismal date and to get baptized ON that day too. She also told us that she is impressed that young men like us are out preaching the Gospel instead of doing other things with our lives right now. So that was pretty cool. 

I learned something valuable right there. Elder G* and I didn´t have an impression or a voice to tell us ¨Hide the Keys or Save the Keys till I tell you to¨ rather we were just trying to do what was right, and 3 weeks down the road, the Lord turned our effort to do what was right into a miracle. So I learned the lesson that if I do what I need to do by being obedient, and striving to do what's right then inspiration will come and happen. I connected it to the talk by David A Bednar when he gave it in the MTC years ago. It's called Recognizing the Spirit. He talks about the 20 mark note story. You should all listen to it when you can, and if you can find it. 

I am also learning the importance about obedience. Obedience brings necessary blessings. The other night, we sprinted 5 or 6 blocks to arrive on time to our apartment at night. My companion yelled while running "I am going to die!" and then I yelled back "Then you are going to die obedient!" and we kept running at a dead sprint. (We arrived at 9:29PM9:30 is the deadline.) That's how important it is to us. Haha.

Speaking of conference talks (well, the paragraph before). Elder N* and I listen to a conference every morning while exercising and eating. It's pretty nice. I love conference. There are a LOT of things that I missed before that apply to me right NOW. I love it. Prophets are so cool.

That's really all I have. Thanks for your support! Love the emails. Keep the letters coming!

Love,
Elder Moore

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