Driving

Hey fam,

Another great week!  We didn't have any baptisms, we had a few hiccups during the week en cuanto a ellos, but it’s all good, we hope to have at least one more before the end of the month.  This week I did an exchange with one of our elders in an area called Unquillo, and was able to participate in their ward council, which is always "fun."  

This week we also had interviews with President!  That was definitely the highlight...mainly because he gave me and my comp the keys to his car to go pick up lunch!  I can now say that I have driven here in Argentina. I'll send the pictures next week.  It was only about 6 blocks, but it was stick shift...so that was a first.  Didn't stall out though, which is more than my companion can say!  We had a good interview too, he asked me what I had learned in my mission, and I replied by telling him that I still had 2 months left to learn, don't run me out before my time! He laughed and we talked about other things, including opening a new area.  

Friday we did another exchange, this time I was with my buddy Hansen from the MTC, we threw down a couple of baptismal dates and found a bunch of people, it was cool to see that we couldn't talk to each other in English, everything would come out naturally in español.  I started the Book of Mormon in Spanish again, every time I read it there is something new to get out of it.   A good week all in all, not too eventful aside from going for a spin in President's car.  Hope you are all doing well!

Love you all!

Elder Mangum

Selene's Baptism

Hey fam,

Another week, another couple of baptisms!  We are being extremely blessed here in Zona Sierras.  Monday was a great day, we went to Rio Ceballos and an old buddy of mine, Chango Funes, made us the good ole Argentine BBQ. The whole zone came out, as well as a bunch of YSA, we played a ton of basketball, and challenged a group of guys to a soccer game, we ended up beating them (it helps when we have the All World team- Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile, etc.) Then we did a splash, which is where the whole zone takes a few hours and contacts people in one of the area.  I went with Elder Willis, we contacted a family and within 10 minutes we had put the baptismal date for the 30/4, they were ready and dispuesto. He and I spent the night in Rio Ceballos, then headed back to my area, where we proceeded to put 2 more baptismal dates (one of which being Selene, who was baptized on Saturday!). It was a great intercambio, I was in the same zone with Willis when he started the mission, and it is crazy to see how he has grown and improved.

The rest of the week was pretty normal, trying to prepare everything for the baptisms, doing a couple of interviews and all that good stuff.  Saturday a 2 girls were baptized, one that was an investigator of the sisters, who I did the interview and she asked me to baptize her.  That is always a great experience. The other was Selene, who one of the ward members baptized.  We have 3 more baptisms lined up for this weekend in our area, so we hope that all will go well!  Scripture of the day: D&C 18:42.  Al agua no mas!  

I am glad to hear that everybody is doing well.  Church here went great, my comp is a professional piano player, so he has taken over the piano playing duties.  I am eating mas a menos, my teeth are probably jacked up, and my shoes have holes in them.  Life is great!  

Love y’all!

Elder Mangum

Gabriel's Baptism

Hey fam,

It was a good week, capped off with the baptism of Gabriel!  It was a long week, trying to get him ready and plan everything, and we ended the week with him and 2 others getting baptized from the other missionaries and the sisters.  Elder George and I had another successful week in terms of finding and teaching, in addition to the baptism. This weekend we hope to have a couple more, namely Selene, Don Gally, and Ester.  Last night we gave the YSA FHE message, which was a lot of fun, most of the people there were from Rio Ceballos, including Catalina my convert!  We talked about 1 Nefi 3:7, that it is a scripture that has nothing to do with obedience, sino with testimony and humility!  Study it!

Today I am headed back to Rio Ceballos for Pday, we are going to have a BBQ next to the river, play some ball, then the whole zone is going to go out and contact people for a few hours.  Then I will go on an exchange until Wednesday with one of our DLs, and we have a zone meeting/training on Wednesday morning.  We are getting halfway through the month, so it is important to keep the fire going to work, work, work!  

Glad to hear that everybody is doing well!  Love you all!

Elder Mangum

Baptism Pictures

Birthday Pictures

Alma & Elder Mangum

Birthday and Conference

Hey Fam,

Another month in the books.  This week was great, Elder George and I really get along well and we put up some decent numbers.  With my new comp we are moving at a pace that I really enjoy.  We had more new investigators last week than anybody else in the mission, with 19.  We are both "experienced" so we want to take advantage of every moment and baptize the most people possible.

Wednesday was my birthday, and we celebrated by finding 7 new investigators and eating ice cream that night.  Nothing too fancy, tonight I have a belated birthday BBQ with some of the YSA in the ward. 

We were able to put a couple of baptismal dates, so we are hoping that this weekend to have a full font.  Gabriel and Selene por lo menos, if not more. On Friday we had a zone meeting, where we set the vision for the month and how we are going to fulfill our baptismal goals.  It was a lot about working effectively, taking advantage of every moment.  If an investigator isn't progressing, we gotta drop 'em (as harsh as it sounds). The Lord is hastening his work, and we have to hasten our pace to keep up.  

Hey, btw, my last area Marcos Juarez was part of  the District Belleville Argentina.  It just got announced that in a month, they will make it the Argentina Bellville Stake!  Crazy that I was a part of that for 4 months!

General Conference was fantastic, for the first time I was able to watch all 5 sessions in English, which was sweet.  I particularly enjoyed Elder Holland's talk, and the many, many talks on the importance of family and making temple attendance a priority and a habit.  Something I definitely have a goal of doing when I get back home.  

Hope everybody is doing well, and some final words from the prophet this weekend, Choose the Hard Right, and not the Easy Wrong.   The decisions we make on a daily basis have an eternal impact.

Love ya!

Elder Mangum

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