Birth

Hey guys. This week was amazing! Well I got my hijito! (New Missionary I'm training.) His name is Elder Gueller, he is from Denver, Colorado. He's the first companion I've had that I CAN TALK SPORTS WITH. (my prayers have been answered) We get along real well. He talks very well for someone that just has a week in Argentina. He's really willing to work and he's very positive. Our humor is very similar, and we are have a way of showing unity through sarcasm. I'm really glad I get to train Elder Gueller. I know he'll amount to great success in the mission and be a great leader. I'm glad that I got a companion that believes this area has a lot of potential. I know we make a big difference together these next three months.

Monday Night and Tuesday morning and afternoon I stayed with the zone leaders Elder Chambers and Elder Marino. (Because I didn't have a companion for until Wednesday) We got a lot of work done in their area, Alto Comedero. I learned somethings from them. They said that I'm doing well as district leader and that they like the progress of my area and district. It's always good to know that. We're working hard.

Tuesday Night the zone leaders took me to the terminal to go to Salta. NORMALLY, I would have had to go with another Elder to Salta. But there wasn't any other Elders training from Jujuy. The only other person training was Hermana Daldegan, from my district. So I had to sit by her in the 2 hour bus ride to Salta without companions. It was weird to not have an Elder with me and to be alone with a sister. Hermana Daldegan is a hard worker and I really have a lot of respect for her as a missionary. When we got to Salta, Hermana Daldegan took a taxi alone to her destination and I took a taxi alone to mine. I had to go to the pension of the AP's. I got there at 9:30 and NO ONE WAS THERE. I called and they said they would try to get there when they can. So I sat outside on the curb with my little suitcase reading the Book of Mormon. NO ONE CAME UNTIL 11 o CLOCK. I was sitting alone for an hour and a half. I didn't really care but it was so weird cause as a missionary you're always with someone 24/7. It was weird to be in solitude. So the AP's and the other office elders arrived I talked Ball with Elder Olsen one of the AP´s until 1 am. but the other trainers didn't arrive until 1 and 3:30 am. I didn't really sleep well.

Wednesday, We had a meeting with President with all the trainers and he told us how we should train them and what things we should and should not do was very spiritual. We had the meeting with the trainers and newbies together and it was real interesting. 13 new missionaries. Of the 9 elders, 3 were Latino and 6 were Gringo.

I got Elder Gueller and after lunch we took the bus to Jujuy with Hermana Daldegan and her hijita Hermana Smith. 

We arrived at our area at 5 pm. We got a call from a member that wanted us to come with him downtown to give a blessing to a Dad of his friend, who is in the hospital. The dad was in critical condition. I felt impressed in the blessing to say that he would wake up again. The friend, Juan, of the member asked if we could come by his house saturday to talk and so he can learn more about the life after.

When Saturday came that lesson was so spiritual. They felt in peace knowing that God has a plan for us. We answered all of their questions, Elder Gueller participates all he can. He gets a little lost because it´s hard for him to understand the fast Argentine speakers. But he did great. I said a prayer to end and the Mom of Juan said she felt a heat going through her body. We testified that was the spirit working through her and Juan said he felt it too. They invited us to come back Thursday. They have a lot of potential and they really want to know more.

A lot of other great miracles have happened this week.

Investigators that stopped progressing have started progressing again. We are being really blessed her. This week has been the most obedient and diligent I´ve ever been in my mission. I want to be a good example for Elder Gueller I want him to be a successful missionary and we want to make a difference here in Monterrico. I know we can. The spirit is really guiding us here. I am really happy to be training. We are preparing a lot of people to be baptized in this next couple of weeks.

Much love,

Élder Batman

Rama Monterrico

Monterrico, Jujuy

La Misión Argentina Salta

Trainer

Hey guys, well this week was good our district had another baptism. The sisters of El Carmen baptized a little girl named Belen. I did the baptismal interview for her and she knew so much for a 9 year old, it was crazy.

Well today is transfers. My companion Elder Mejia is going to Salvador Mazza in Tartagal. It´s on the border of Argentina and Bolivia. I´ll miss that guy. We got a long real well.

I´ve been called to be a trainer! I´ve been wanting to train for a long time. Sister Daldegan from El Carmen will also train. So that means every companionship in my district will be going through training. It will be quite interesting. There´s 9 Elders and 4 sisters that are coming. AND THEY ARE ALL GRINGOS. So I´m gonna have to help someone learn the language….Oh boy. I´m up for the challenge though, I´m gonna have my hijito )son=! I´ll have to stay with the zone leaders today and tomorrow. I leave for the mission home in Salta tomorrow night. The elders will sleep in the pension of the AP´s. Wednesday we´ll have a meeting in the mission home and I´ll take my hijito with me back to Monterrico. I know this will be a good experience for me. It will definitely test my patience but I´m up to grow that.

I´m going to keep the attitude positive and help this new missionary to believe that Monterrico is an area of gold and that there is a lot of potential. I know it will be a bit difficult with a companion that won´t know how to speak the language but I know the Lord will bless us to bring his work forward in Monterrico.

We had interviews with President Orquera this week. I loved President Chaparro don´t get me wrong, but I really feel like President Orquera really gets me and will help me to progress more. He´s very understanding and sensible of the Spirit. He was pleased with our work in my district and area. I told him how I wanted to train and he said I´ll give it some thought and looks like he and the Lord agreed with me! He called me yesterday in the night to tell me that I would be training and how big of a responsibility it is and how that he knows I´ll be a great example for this new missionary.

Sunday we ate a huge asado )steak= in the house of the Barro family. They did it because Elder Mejia was leaving. It was the best asado I´ve had so far in the mission. IT WAS SO MUCH MEAT. I was so full. It was so good. Gotta love the asado.

Funny Things

We were in El Carmen with the sisters of El Carmen waiting for Belen. We were in the plaza and two snakes )girls that want the missionaries= cornered me and asking me where a street was )just an excuse to talk to me= and then asked where I was from and all these questions while trying touching my arm and shoulder in the most flirty way….. It was so uncomfortable haha.. My companion and the sisters were just laughing not trying to help me out at all. Anything I said they rolled the r´s like doing a purring sound, or just talked in a very provactive way. They said how they speak English and that I should teach give them private lessons ) I told them that´s not gonna happen=, like they were trying WAY too hard. I told them that the sisters of El Carmen could give them a visit and I took down their direction and they´re like ÿou´re gonna be there right_¨and I said ÿeah maybe!¨)NOOO= I gave them a Book of Mormon in the beginning and they tried to give it back in the end and I said no It´s for you guys, and they were like ¨wow a gift thank you sooo much.¨and as I was looking at my planner one of them kissed my cheek and the other tried to also but I put that swerve on her hardcore. Freakin´Snakes man….It wasn´t even my area. The sisters haven´t let me live it down. Viva Argentina.

I´ll let you know next week who´s my hijito and how it goes. I appreciate the emails and prayers. Love you all!

Élder Batman

Rama Monterrico

Monterrico, Jujuy

La Misión Argentina Salta

Mr. Wedding Planner

WELL TIME FREAKIN'FLIES.

I hit the one year mark. ONE WHOLE YEAR. I've been in fightin'in the Lord's Army for good whole year. (I burnt a tie in honor of the occasion)

  

Call me Mr. Wedding Planner, cause Celeste and Dario got married! 

Which mean alsos that Celeste was able to be BAPTIZED!

We've had to wake up at like 5 am everyday this week to wait in civil registries, hospitals, goverment establishments, etc. A lot of running around to help Dario and Celeste to get hitched and so that Celeste could be baptized. It was a lot of work to do, and our patience was running thin. Now that's it's all done we can take a breath of relief. Dario and Celeste seem real happy. Celeste is real excited to progress with her family together in the binds of marriage and work towards growing her testimony and arriving at the temple in a year. She has a lot of faith. They are a young couple with a newborn baby. (Celeste, 22. Dario, 20) But they know what it is to put God first in their lives. They are trusting in him, and I know that through their faith they will be blessed and guided in this path they've entered together.

I've done a lot of reflecting personally, having reached a year in the mission. I have grown a lot personally in my testimony, as a missionary, and as a person. I am happy with my progress, but I know I can grow MORE. I have amounted to good success in this year but I know I can do BETTER. I have made plans and set goals that will challenge me to give more than I am giving. To help me grow as a Man, Disciple of Christ, Missionary, and Priesthood Holder. I know I need to keep growing and excercising my faith and trust in my Heavenly Father. That I need to be more accountable to him, myself, and others who count on me. That I need to be more obedient with exactness, and to use the sacred time that the Lord has given me to better advantage. I know I need to lead by a powerful example, and listen with sincerity. I have a lot of things to work on, and I know the Lord will help me progress in these areas. Little by little, I will get better.

I keep trying to keep a good atitude here, and It's working and helping to make a little of a difference here. We haven't found any new people that have potential or desires to find out more, but we keep looking. They're waiting for us we just haven't gotten to them yet. Every Elder that has been in this area hasn't said positive things about Monterrico. I am trying not to buy into what they say, because I know attitude makes the difference. I know this area is difficult but it's worth the struggle and there are people that need to come closer to Christ and be baptized here in Monterrico, Jujuy.

I love my district. We're all working really hard. This is the 3rd week in a row that we've had a baptism in our district and it seems like we're gonna keep the streak going for the weeks to come. The sisters from Perico and El Carmen made me banana bread, fudge, and a poster that says "HAPPY 1 YEAR, ELDER BATMAN! They put a trick candle in the banana bread, it was really funny. Our district is really united and we're working hard out here. For district meeting I gave a capicitation about finding new people and being valient in sharing the Gospel. I felt the Spirit working strongly through me, testifying the words I was sharing with power. I felt that my message was heard and that it's made an impact in our district in finding new people. IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ME. IT WAS ALL THE SPIRIT. It was quite a spiritual moment to have been a vehicle of the Spirit to motivate my district to find more and to trust in the Spirit when sharing the Gospel with others. Our district has done very well in finding new people this week. We are looking for the people the Lord has prepared. 

This is the last week of the transfer, and we're going to try to give it our all and find the people that are prepared to recieve the Gospel in our area. They ARE out there. We just gotta keep looking, and testify as representatives of Christ. I don't know what will happen, or what changes will be made, but we're gonna keep working like it's week 1 of the transfer. All we can do is work and President will make the changes that are necessary for the mission through the inspiration and revelation of the Lord.

Funny Things This Week:

I fell asleep in the hospital waiting room, and I apparently was snoring.

For the 2ND TIME in my mission, a dead cockroach was in my drink, and didn't notice until it was in my mouth.

Dario was trying to wrestle with me and kept bugging me so I took him down and put him in a cradle. (Shout out to my best boy Chandler for the teaching me the move on the mats of Pitt Wrestling Club)

A man said Oh S**t in the middle of a lesson because his phone died. We asked where he learned that word, and He said without skipping a beat in the most latino accent you could think of: "Die Hard".

The grind continues in Monterrico, I am thankful for your emails, thoughts, and prayers. Love you guys. 

LES QUIERO MUCHO!

Élder Batman

Rama Monterrico

Monterrico, Jujuy

La Misión Argentina Salta

Preach The Sweet Potato

Hey guys, this week has been better. We had the oportunity to have a conference with our new Mission President, Presidente Orquera. He seems like a really great guy. Enthusiastic, kind, funny, and inspiring. The conference was very long. The Zona Jujuy had the oportunity to be the first conference for President Orquera. He looked nervous to be honest, it was ut we left inspired and ready to work. We talked a lot about our purpose as missionaries. That we need to invite EVERYONE to be baptized, and we need to teach with power the importance of repentance. I entered with questions and left with them answered. The conference really was an answer to my prayers. I am grateful for the oportunity I had to get to know and serve under President Chapparro, who trusted and believed in me as a missionary. He helped me so much to conquer struggles and become a better missionary. I hope to see him in the future. I am excited for this new chapter with Presidente Orquera.

We are preparing Celeste to be baptized. She lives with her boyfriend, Dario, who is member. He is reactivating. They just had their newborn son, Owen. We are planning their wedding. (Missionary by day, Wedding Planner by night.) We are going to Civil Register next Friday and Celeste will be baptized Saturday. We got a lot of work to do. But we can make it happen. They seem excited. Nervous, but excited. We are searching for new people. The results have been slim but we{re still working hard and looking for the people that the Lord has prepared here.

We went to the Shoe Repair Man. Elder Mejia had some shoes that needed to be repaired. The shoe repairman was named Mario and we talked to him for a bit and he was very kind and open. We shared a message about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was a very active catholic until something happened in his life that changed his faith and he doesn{t go to any church. He said that everyone needs God when they are down, he{s the only one that can lift us up. The guy has a lot of wisdom. He was quite entrigued by the message and he accepted a Book of Mormon and we invited him to church. He didn{t show up but we got faith that he{ll progress in time.

I did a Baptismal Interview for the sisters of El Carmen. A nine year old named, Emilio. I almost got all the questions memorized. I really like doing baptismal interviews. They are really spiritual and loving the growth and progress ofaring the testimonies of people who want to come closer to Christ through taking this promise to God that is baptism.

 Our district is doing well. We are working well and we are pretty united. I really like being District Leader to the studs I have in my district. We work hard and I learn a lot from them. We are relatively  young in the mission  but there is a lot of potential here. I know we{ll amount to a lot of success here.

I have been studying a lot in Preach My Gospel in Chapter 1 that talks about my purpose as a missionary. There is a quote that hit me pretty hard that says "The obedience to Jesus Christ is a lifelong commitment.'' (I'm translating this from Spanish, so might not be 100 percent correct) But really that hit me hard. When we get baptized we are taking upon us a promise to follow and obey the teachings and path of Jesus Christ. As missionaries, we are set apart to help in his work. We have taken this commitment upon ourselves to be obedient and diligent to his work. That hit me hard and changed a lot of my way of thinking. I have been set apart as a representative of Christ and I need to think and do things as a representative of Christ. I have power and authority in my calling as a missionary. I with my companion, are the only ones that can help people to learn repentance through the restored Gospel of Christ and help people to be baptized with the correct authority. And that goes for every missionary out there who{s working hard out there in their neck of the woods. We are called and chosen of God with his authority to bring people to Christ. Really changed my perspective. This area may be hard, and we might not be as easy as it was before but it{s worth the grind. I love what Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said about missionary work. (I'm paraphrasing here) Missionary work isn't easy, because salvation wasnt ever easy. It was never easy for HIM, why would it be easy for you?) Gives me a different way to look at it. Whatever the struggle might be here, It's worth the fight. We are bringing souls to Christ and salvation isn{t a cheap deal. I am working with the attitude positive and with optimism.

So I just found out that 15 missionaries and 3 sisters are coming to the mission this next transfer. All of the Elders are from the US. Its about my time to train, and looks like I{m gonna have to train a gringo. I{m excited and President already kind of talked to me about training so, let{s see how that goes. We still got 2 more weeks left of the transfer. Elder Mejia and I are gonna give it our all before the transfer ends. Theres still work to be done here in Monterrico and the work won´t be slowed.

Funny ThingsÑ

A dog peed on my backpack mid lesson.

We bought a half kilo of Milanesa de Pollo (Breaded Thin Sliced Chicken basically)and they accidentally gave us a little bit of Milanesa de Panza (Breaded Stomach Fat of a Cow)gross.

We have decided that when people try to mess with us and say things they{ve heard on the internet in English we just talk to them in English as if they know what they are talking about. It{s pretty funny to see the confusion on their faces.

When we knock doors and we talk to someone we know for a FACT that the person or their family or their neighbors dont want anything with us, we play a little game with them. Before we knock doors we try to see how many times we can slip a random word in to our door contact. Like sapo (frog) or moco (booger). It makes the day a lot more fun when it{s a rough day of contacting. I am leading the leaderboard right now with 13 times of saying batata (sweet potato). You gotta enjoy the mission.

Love you guys and always pray for you guys. Miss you all. Nos vemos pronto.

Ciao con carino y amor,

Élder Batman

Rama Monterrico

Monterrico, Jujuy

La Misión Argentina Salta

The Refiner's Fire

Hey guys.

Well sorry I didn´t write last week. Had to get going fast.

We are working hard here. This area really is a test. The things don´t come as as easier as they did in my areas before. We aren´t achieving what I want to achieve. BUT, It´s not about what I WANT. It´s about what the LORD wants, but I have to give it my all. And I know I can give MORE. I KNOW WE CAN GIVE MORE. There is a great and marvelous work prepared for us here in Monterrico, Jujuy. And we just gotta keep going and working hard. 

Everyone talks about how the year mark to 15 months is the refiners fire of the mission. Where you really become the missionary you want to be. If I want to be lazy and give a minimal effort I can just throw the towel in and give 50 percent.

I´m not out here to give 50 percent. I´m here to give it my all. I´m here to be a different man. I am here to become a consecrated missionary and change and save the lives here in Argentina. The steps I make here help me become the man I need to be. I want to be a humble servant of the Lord. I want to work miracles. I want to make a difference here.

I have been studying a lot lately about weaknesses. I know I got a lot of them. I know I got a lot to work on, but I´m willing to put it on the table and humble myself before my Heavenly Father that he might strengthen me. That he might give me power over my weaknesses. That he might make me a better man, missionary, and priesthood holder. 

There´s a lot of work to be done here in a lot of aspects of the work.
We are working hard to find new people, and we just got to keep looking, keep looking outside the box, keep having the faith that there are people waiting to find peace and comfort through knowing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth, that Families can be together FOREVER, that death has no victory, that we can overcome sin and addiction.

I´ve been digging deep to strengthen more my testimony of my Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ. I got to talk about him more, he´s EVERYTHING. I got to know more of him and his teachings so I can help others to change. I´ve noticed a lot of things. I know I´ve done a lot of good but I can do a lot better. I am in the Refiner´s Fire and I´m willing to let the Lord make me in to the person I need to be. I´ll keep you updated on my progress.

We had two baptisms in our district. The sisters of Perico had the baptism of Miriam and Agustin. I had the opportunity to do their baptismal interviews. It was my first time. I was so nervous, but It was such a spiritual experience. They were so prepared and so happy to make such a promise with God and take the name of his son upon them. It was a very emotional experience. Miriam cried a lot, for happiness. It was such an honor.

Our District is working hard, I love being District Leader. It´s great to see their efforts and the rewards of their efforts. I know the Lord is blessing us a lot.

Today we went to Pumarmarca. It´s a canyon desert. It´s a little pueblo (village) thats mountaneous and dry. It has El Cerro de siete Colores. (the Hill of seven colors) It was very fun, and has cool hikes. Elder Mejia and I went with the zone leaders, the elders from Aeroparque, and the sister training leaders from Papalà. It was an adventure. Our zone is becoming more unified.

Love you guys,

Élder Batman

Rama Monterrico

Monterrico, Jujuy

La Misión Argentina Salta