Monday, June 15, 2015

Mission Life in the City

Hey fam,

The week was good. The city is good, it is a whole lot different contacting the people here than back in the country/desert. A lot more of the same as last week, contacting and trying to get references from the members here.  We are slowly but surely gaining the confidence of the members, it is a work in progress.  The bus drivers here in the province, and in the majority of the country, were on strike, so there were no buses here until Friday.  We are about an hour away from the church walking, half an hour in bus, and 10 minutes in a car.  The highlight of the week include lunches everyday with members (can you tell how grateful I am to be able to eat real food every day?!)  :)   

Another highlight of the week was zone meeting on Friday. We talked a lot about having the Spirit with us when we teach, as well as using all of the tools that we have as missionaries.  The area book, our planners, progress reports, teaching records, etc.  They really put an emphasis on leaving the area better than when we found it in regards to the pension and the records/papers we leave as a history of our time there.  

Sunday was really good.  A member, Brother Mendive, gave a really solid talk on fasting and the power a fast can have.  This week I have actually been studying the topic of fasting quite a bit.  Anytime we are willing to make a sacrifice for a specific cause, we really show our love for that cause and/or person.  President Eyring gave a really good talk on fasting from this past conference, I recommend reading it. 

What I like most about the area is the amount of people that live in it.  I got really used to seeing the same couple of hundred faces back in Aimogasta, but here it’s rare that we see the same face two days in a row.  Something challenging would be the people, not really open to hearing the message.  But I am confident that this week we will find several people willing to listen, and that will actually show up for the second appointment.  We have tons of good contacts, and teach in the street and make the appointment for a couple of days later in their home, but so far nobody has been there.  That is pretty rough for us at times.  Nothing unexpected in the area so far though, pretty smooth sailing.  I am still a district leader in this area.  Having Sisters in my district is fun, they both are getting ready to finish up their mission, so they have a lot of experience and always seem to be really happy and ready to work.  

It is getting a lot colder down here now.  The houses here are made of cement blocks, and the cold comes right through the walls.  And the hot water no longer exists, it’s lukewarm because during the night it drops below freezing. 

Sounds like y’all had a good week.  Sunday is Father’s Day here as well, which is funny that it is the same as back in the states, because here in Argentina Mother’s Day is in October.  Glad to here MW2 hasn’t changed much!  Hope you all have a great week!  

Love y’all!


Elder Mangum


"Is Not This the Fast That I Have Chosen?"
President Henry B. Eyring



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