POMPEYA, WEEK 18: TRANSFERRRRRS

Alright family. How are you all doing? I loved the emails and everything is looking great back in the states. I am glad that things are working out. me alegro mucho. Makes me very happy. 

So, I write to you from a little cyber store in Pompeya. Woohoo. I got transfered. I have a new companion too, his name is Elder L*. He is from right here in Buenos Aires. He is about an hour from his house! He is a visa waiter right now that is why. When he gets his visa he will go to Venezuela. He has about 7 months and yes, fluent Spanish speaker and doesn't speak English. Here is the twist about our change. We are in Soldati 4, which is a new area we are opening up. So we are the first elders to go to this area. A weird thing is we don't live in the zone, we live about 30 or 40 minutes away. So we have to take the bus every morning and night. For some reason they gave us a pension really far away. They said they will try to change that in the future. I hope! 

I am really excited to open this area. It will be tough but if I got assigned to it then I am assigned to it for a reason. It was weird leaving Palermo. I hope I left it better than I found it. When I sent a text to some people that I was leaving we received phone calls. And 2 of our investigators called us saying they decided to get baptized. That they were going to wait to tell us but they wanted me to know. So that is really cool. I hope it happens. Also a less active called us and told me how he appreciated me visiting and being direct with him...[We were visiting him the other day and I was prompted to ask him about a Word of Wisdom issue]. I bore my testimony about what he has to do. That he actually has to start working at it to get results. He can't just give us excuses. And in the end, it's he who has to change himself. Not us. We can only help him. The Spirit was really strong. It was awesome. Just got to be bold with people and then maybe they will understand!

Anyways. That's about it. The weather is a wee bit cooler now, definitely not a scorcher anymore but still hot. Winter is on its way! 

Have a great week everybody. Pictures next week I hope!

 

Love, 

Elder Moore

PALERMO, WEEK 17: HOLA

Hello family. I hope everything is going marvelously well. Thank you for all your responses and emails. I love them! 

This past week was pretty good. We had a baptism! R* was baptized Saturday and confirmed Sunday. What a blessing! He is a cool kid. 18 years old. Humble and thinking about serving a mission. 

Kyle and his companion, Elder N*

This week has also been a time to think about my progress and my well-being as a missionary and human being. I have come to the realization that I am a perfectionist here. If my day isn't 100% perfect and then some, I feel dissapointed. It is definitely something that I need to work on with the Lord. It isn't fun. At all. But I will not be discouraged for I know in whom I have trusted. (reference anyone?) 

I don't have much to say.. R*'s family now is interested because they attended his baptism and confirmation so that is definitely a plus. We also found another family that recently moved here and they like the idea of blessings in the gospel and the priesthood. Our next investigator that has a date to be baptized is C*. He is about 27 or so, he is so ready, but we just have to teach him all the lessons. He works a lot so we don't have much time with him but he has already attend 5 weeks (2 of which he went to church by himself) and he keeps all the commitments and is eager to get baptized. However we have stake conference this week so we might have the chance to baptize him. 

We (the missionaries in the zone) are singing in conference. We are singing llamados a servir (Called to Serve -- of course!) and did you know there are 4 verses in Spanish rather than the 2 that are in English? Pretty cool huh? 

Kyle sent this goofy picture to Kelsey right before he signed off

I don't have much time because the bus on the way back from the stadium was really really slow. 

I love you all so much! 

Love, 

Elder Moore

PALERMO, WEEK 16: MAAAAIL!

Hola familia otra vez!

How is everybody doing? I hope that this letter finds everyone well. To start off, I have a question that you all need to think about and ponder (whoever may be reading this) and then respond. The question is of great importance and has made me think a lot on this subject since I preach and say this sentence almost every day. How has the gospel blessed your family? Don´t give me the surface answers. Think about specifics and about possible blessings (if it's good, it's a blessing, if it's bad and you learned a lesson, probably a consequence of a choice that the Lord helped you turn it into a blessing. So basically everything is a blessing.) 

This week went by REALLY fast! The work is going. We have 2 investigators that are progressing and both have a set baptismal date and are ready and prepared to get baptized. Please pray for them. We are really excited to have them. We set the goal (Elder N* and I) To have 2 baptisms in 2 weeks. We can definitely do it if we are working hand in hand with the Lord. 

We had some interesting experiences this past week but nothing worth writing about. Just meeting interesting people! 

Definitely hearing a lot about the World Cup coming up soon! I don´t know exactly when it starts but I am sure I will know. Sometimes we will be laying in bed and then we just hear the apartment near ours just ERRUPT in cheers and stuff. It frightened me on more than one occasion. Haha.

It was just a good week, nothing bad. Maybe I will have more for you all in the future! 

I love hearing about all the changes in everybody's lives. It sounds great. We are blessed! 

Love, 
Elder Moore

PALERMO, WEEK 15: WELL, THAT WENT BY FAST

Hello Family and friends once again from Argentina! 

It was a good week that went by pretty darn fast! Nothing much happened. We found two more menos activos that we have been trying to meet and we got them! One of them is a return missionary; we talked a lot, he is really friendly, fed us too, and we shared a scripture which brought tears to his eyes so that was pretty cool. He wants to come back. 

We also have almost reactivated 2 other less active familes too. Its really cool to see them come on their own to church and the members all welcome them and everything. 

We had two investigators attend the church this past Sunday. It is really cool to see them progress. They both really liked it and we have a lesson with them today and tomorrow. We found R* one day when we were out with a priest. We knocked on a door where he was and we were talking to him and then the priest just laid it on him. It was awesome. We only had to confirm what he said, he invited him to church, talked about the Book of Mormon and everything. It was awesome. I love members. 

We went on divisions this past week. That was pretty cool. If I could get the computer to read my camera that would be awesome, but I can't. So you will have to wait.  Anyways. I went on divisions with a new Elder from Oregon, from Grants Pass! He has 2 weeks in the mission. It went pretty well. He didn´t really talk. Only bore his testimony a coulple of times. But I imagine that is what I was like too. 

It is amazing the progress I have made in just three months speaking Spanish. Sometimes I don´t understand but usually it's a vocabulary issue not a hearing correctly issue. Don´t get me wrong. I am nowhere NEAR a native speaker but I can definitely see a difference every day. I love it. 

I have been receiving compliments on my Spanish from my district leader and zone leaders. It's making me suspicious. The other day we recieved a text message during study time. Asking ´Hey Elders, just a question, how is the Spanish of Elder Moore?´ I made my companion respond because I didn´t want to say anything. But when we asked why they just gave us "ustedes son capos." Which means you are... Uh.. I don´t know what the translation is, just like, awesome I guess. But I remain suspicious. The president told me that there maybe changes in the future... Yikes! 

Oh. Something funny happened last night. My companion and I were talking and all of a sudden a bird (some sort of dove I think) flew in the window and I freaked out and so did Elder N*. It just caught us by surprise. I laughed so hard. But we took about 10 minutes trying to get it out of our bedroom and then we were late for bed. It was quite the rush. I still laugh and smile. I think it may have been a form of the Holy Ghost. Hahaha. Oh man. Still makes me laugh. 

Anyway. That is all I have for this week. 

Thank you for your support! 

Love, 

Elder Moore

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 9:29PM, 9:30 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

PALERMO, WEEK 13: HOLA!

Hi family!

I hope everything is going well. First, I am going to open this email with this bit of news: WE ARE GOING TO THE TEMPLE!!!! WOOHOOO. 10th of February. It is our P-day so I don´t know if I will be able to write that day or not but I am so excited! I can´t wait. I definitely miss the temple. I loved being there and I love the experience to see a new temple! It's going to be great.

My new companion, Elder N* is a WORKER! I love it. We are constantly talking and finding more people. We talk to anyone and everyone. We are looking for less actives right now and when we can't find them we talk to others that live near them! It is really cool. I also realized that my Spanish is actually not bad. I can definitely get by. Sometimes I don´t understand but most of the time I can converse with relative ease. I also received some compliments from other missionaries (gringo and non gringo) that for 3 months in Argentina my Spanish is pretty good. SO that is definitely a blessing beyond description. I feel satisfied every night because I am literally exhausted. The nights go by a lot faster now. Boom, it's morning...time to get up. I don´t mind though!

We had a family that is less active come to church this past Sunday. Two days before we brought a member with us that is a return missionary of 3 years and is married and has one kid. He was amazing! He befriended them in an instant and was very very firm with them and also loving. It was exactly what we needed. Two missionaries to teach the doctrine and as Authorized Representatives of Jesus Christ to promise the blessings (as if we were Him) and a member to bring them in and feel desired. The family is pretty big. Consists of a Grandma, two daughters and a son (all three are married so plus their spouses) and a handful of children. Two of which aren´t baptized and have the age of 8 and 9! We are definitely looking to complete the family and to give them the blessings of salvation forever together! I hope this second week they come. They have a lot of trials but they can do it.

I am gaining a stronger testimony of the power a member is. Members are literally the KEY to open up hearts and to bring people in the gospel. They are extremely helpful. When I told our Quorum President that the Less Actives were going to come, he asked me if they were going to walk (it was raining a little bit). I said they were going to take a colectivo (bus) and he said "nonsense (he speaks English)! I have a car. Let's organize a division with your companion and let's go pick them up." That is exactly what we did. He had to take 2 trips but we got them there, and they liked church. So that's a blessing. DO what you can to help the missionaries! In reality the missionaries are limited in what they can do without members. It is so much more POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE with a member in the lesson, to offer help, to give them the commitment or invitation. Help them!

Anyways, that's my email for this week. I love you all!

Love, 

Elder Moore

PALERMO, WEEK 12: TRAAAANSFERS

ANNNNNND. PALERMO! Todavia estoy en palermo, pero, tengo un nuevo compañero! Se llama Elder N*. El es de Logan, Utah. 

 

He is great already! Very kind. He has never been in Capital only in Provincia. So he isn't used to the city and the big buildings. It's pretty neat. He is a good Elder. We only have about 5 hours together as of now but it's cool. No, we don´t speak English. Only Spanish. It's great though to ask him what something means and he replies in English. Elder Garcia went to Provincia -- a place called Varelles. He was excited! It was weird to say goodbye to someone who trained me for 3 months. But it's cool to move on and grow some more too.

I finished my training. So now I am a full fledged missionary! No longer do I need training! Woohoo. That also means we leave an hour early to work because we don´t have something extra to study. 

The work is difficult. But good nonetheless. Our investigators aren't progressing. It's vacation time right now so there are a LOT of people gone. Plus we can´t get anybody to attend church! People commit. We make plans. They agree. Members are involved. And the morning of we pass by to bring them and they are nowhere to be found! Gah. It's frustrating. 

Sorry for no pictures. I tried to upload some just now but there was a problem. It couldn´t read the card or something. So I have to bring the cable to hook it up to the computer and access it that way but right now I don´t have it with me. I will send more pictures next week! 

I bought peanut butter! Wasn´t too expensive. I had money left over from the mission so I spent the 20 pesos. It isn´t peanut butter like Jiffy or ... The other.... I can't remember the other.... It's more natural. Different taste but whatever. It's peanut butter. I found this tropical mix cereal. Which is really really good. It's like Honey Bunches of Oats. Not as good but still good. 

Thank you all for your support! I am finding that I need it! 

Also, I am learning the way I learn is different, I can't seem to find a way of a study journal that clicks with the way I learn. So if you have any ideas about a study journal or organization of a study journal please tell me! I love ideas! That includes EVERYBODY! 

I love you all!

Love, 

Elder Moore

PALERMO, WEEK 11: ONCE OTRA VEZ!

Hello family!

I am writing to you all from ONCE once (hah) again. Today is the last P-day of the transfer and we don´t know if we are going to return for awhile.

This week has been good. We are finding more investigators. Although it is frustrating that they all have marital (or non marital because they aren´t married) problems. But however I am learning everyday. This past transfer went by really really fast! I think its because six weeks feels like a month to me but in reality it's 6 weeks. 

I don´t know if I will be moved along with my companion this transfer. It is a possibility because all the other companionships in our district have been changed completely, 2 new missionaries, so perhaps, Palermo is next! Elder G* is sure he is going to leave because he has been here for almost 6 months. His first area for six months! That's crazy. 

The language is coming good. I can understand better. But still it's slow and sometimes I can't put sentences together. But I make it through! This night we have Family Home Evening with the Bishop. I think I am supposed to teach but I have no idea what I am going to do. Maybe use those cutouts of the Plan de Salvation. Not sure. 

However, I was speaking English the other day and it was awful. I think I have developed a stutter in my English. Spanish words just want to crash into my English sentences. Great.

I am very greatful for the way I was taught growing up. I am realizing that because of it, I am more flexible and patient, `plus I have more of a thick skin. I am open to trying things and saying things. Sure I make my mistakes and have my many problems, but on a mission these things aren´t really problems because of my Savior! 

That's all I have for this week! Next week should be good because transfers! Pray for me and my new companion! 

I love you all so much! 

Love, 

Elder Moore

PALERMO, WEEK 10: THE INCREASE!

Wellllll, 

The work here in Abasto, AltoPalermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina is a little bit better! 

This past week we got 3 new investigators, and 4 new references, that we have already contacted and things are looking good! We do face some problems. Our numbers are low, but good for our area, however we don´t have any progressing investigators because all of them are living with a boyfriend or girlfriend, so until they can either get married civily or get separate apartments they are considered progressing. Its really funny. Because all of them want to get baptized but they can´t until they make a dicision. So my companion and I joke that when we return from our missions we are going to be marriage counselors. Because ALL of our investigators are not married. I guess the Lord has a lot of faith in us. 

Health wise my companion and I are doing a lot better. But no more hamburgers for me.

Nothing much happened this past week since Wednesday when we last wrote. Just taking one day at a time and teaching and preaching. Learning and growing. Refining and....shining? Haha I don´t know. 

I did get my hair cut. Woohoo! 8 dollars! I can´t expect that much but I think it turned out pretty good. 

Hmm. We have some good lunches in the future coming up. Some food from Peru and Paraguay. The people here are really nice. Very giving. 

That's all I have for this week! 

Things are going great! 

Love, 

Elder Moore

PALERMO, WEEK 9: WEEK IN REVIEW...AGAIN

I do not know what just happened but the computer froze and I lost my email. Now I don't have much time to write as much! 

Alright. Right now I am writing from the offices otra vez, because we had immigration papers for my companion. We have been traveling all day. Ultimately about 4 hours on train and 2 hours on bus. A lot of walking. But we were successful and we ended up doing what needed to be done. I do not look forward to my turn. The only thing I could think of was "DMV...DMV...DMV..." while I was waiting. 

This past week has been a HUGE blessing. There was a great big thunderstorm and tons of rain. So I guess you can call that a rainstorm, but it brought cool wind with it. It was so nice. A stiff breeze revitalizes the Oregonian. Now it's back to being hot but it was great while it lasted.

Nothing much else has been going on. We had a Zone reunion that went well and also we are doing really well in our area. Not so many appointments but we have a lot of possibilities. A lot of references. So I am very excited. 

I am so sorry! I don't have time. I haven't replied to anybody yet but I received a lot!

I am going to call the president to ask if we can have 3 or 4 hours on Wednesday to have a mini pday. Because we have to do groceries and stuff and pay bills and write. We have to leave now to get back to our area for an appointment. 

I love you all so much! Stay safe in the cold up there!

Love, 

Elder Moore