June 26, 2017

Hola

Elder Araya and I had a pretty rewarding week together.  It felt like we were getting rejected all week until Friday came around and we just started to find the most prepared people I have ever met.  We still got even a bunch of support from the ward.  We just met with our brand new ward mission leader the other day and he is so hyped to work with us.  He wants to personally know all our investigators that we are working with.  I think in a bit once we coordinate everything we are gonna be doing a bunch of divisions with ward members.  One thing that makes this area dangerous is the snakes hahaha not snake snakes but snakes as in woman hahah.  It’s a little sad though how much they disrespect themselves here.  So far this area hasn’t been dangerous it just looks a little ugly.  This week was actually really warm and humid to it felt like we were in summer the whole time.  I have been able to also loose a little bit of weight here in this area cause we play soccer every morning with the missionaries in Merlo.  Life is pretty great so far, President Resek hasn’t arrived to the mission.  He gets here on the first of July and President Robertson leaves the same day.  Today was my last day to write him which was really sad cause they really have become parents to me almost.  Not sure what else to say, life is really great here, I love the mission to bits its crazy as well to think I got 8 months here. Time just flies. Hope all it great at home love ya all 

Elder Maller

June 19, 2017

Hola 

It’s been a great first week here in the Grand Parque San Martin. Its got dirt roads and great members and that’s about it hahaha.  I love it though, it’s a great area.  Right now we don’t have really any investigators; only 3, but the area has got potential. So all this week we have just been searching high and low for the elect.  I think we found a few good potentials but we will have to see.  When I said the members were great I meant to say that they are the bomb!!  We went to this young couples house for a lunch appointment and we asked for a reference and they both were quick to respond but not only that they asked for a card so that they could go and contact them!!!!  So they went and did it and got an appointment for us tomorrow!!!!! Isn’t that insane hahaha; I couldn’t believe it.  We also talked a few days ago with this guy who just randomly offered us water, eventually we taught him the restoration and after we shared the first vision we asked him how he felt about it and if he thought it could be true.  What he said I have never heard before and I love it.  He said I don’t have the faith that it happened because I don’t have the works!  So true, how can you expect anyone to believe in the first vision if they don’t have the works, which is to read, pray, study, fast, all those things.  It applies to us as well.  If we doubt something about the church it might be because we probably haven’t done the works and after we have done everything, another work is to be patient and on the Lords desire we receive this gift of faith.  We are gonna keep working with this guy named Cristian and see how things go.  Hope all is well at home love you all 

Elder Maller

June 12, 2017

Hola 

Okay, big changes this transfer.  So I’m leaving Villa Tesei, I will be heading to the zone of Merlo in the area of Parque San Martin B and I will be with Elder Ayrara who is from Chile and that’s all I know about him so far hahaha.  I have heard my area is pretty crazy though all dirt roads apparently it’s pretty ugly and a little sketchy hahahah, but finally I get my first Latin companion!!!!!!!  Yesterday an office missionary came to our pench to pick up Elder Wihongi to take him to the offices; really hard to say good bye to that guy I’ll miss him a ton, we did so many great things together and we got really close as well, he leaves to head home today at 8 o’clock.  Really happy for him, he has served a really great mission and he finished well this week.  We found 12 new investigators and we got three new baptismal dates! sad that I’m leaving Villa Tesei, it’s a great ward!  But because the mission is saying goodbye to more missionaries than it is receiving right now, president had to take out our area so now Villa Tesei has just 2 elders and that ward will baptize 100s, it’s such a huge area now without bikes!  Today me and Elder Meyers are spending p-day together cause his comp Elder Trent goes home as well; should be good gota get packing though.  I think it’s like 2 or 3 hours to Merlo but it’s still not really Argentine country side.  Finally we confirmed Sonia Bueno, which was great to do on me and Elder Wihongis last transfer.  She was so happy to finally get the Holy Ghost it seemed like satan was working hard with her for a while.  I hope all is well back at home I’m loving every day here it’s, great to be in the service of the Lord 247. Thanks for the prayers love you all 

Elder Maller

June 5, 2017

Hola 

This week was de diez.  I don’t know if I have already talked about one of our investigators named Patricia, but she is pretty awesome. She has been progressing really well and she wants to get baptized the only problem is she isn’t married and her boyfriend is not awesome. His name is Willie and he is quite an alcoholic and were pretty sure he is abusive.  He is never at home and always out drinking and doing stuff. He comes back late like 2 o’clock all drunk and stuff it’s just a mess. He doesn’t want anything to do with the church and he doesn’t want to get married and he won’t let Patricia leave the house. Soooooo it’s pretty sad but when you’re in situations like this, all ya can do is fast.  So me and my companion and Patricia did a fast. Crazy enough Willie let her leave to go to church yesterday!!!!!!  So awesome! We are gonna work with her a lot this week and see if we can have a chat with Willie.  We also found a really prepared guy named Fernando.  He lives alone, has a kid, wants peace in his life doesn’t drink doesn’t smoke doesn’t have chastity problems....... we got a baptismal date with him for the 1 of July!!!!  The work is going great here and I’m happy to be doing the lords work. It’s hard at times though because Elder Wihongi goes home in a week and he is having his last interview as I write this.  We are so going to hang out after the mission; no doubt best comp so far I would say.  He is getting pretty stressed though about leaving. The mission has changed him a ton and it is weird cause I’m starting to notice how it’s changing me.  I’m in love with the mission. What more can I say. Hope all is well back home love yall! 

Con Amor Elder Maller

May 29, 2017

Hola 

This week was great except Sonia Bueno couldn’t make it to church yesterday and she still hasn’t gotten confirmed yet.  The first Sunday her granddaughter had a baby the second Sunday was stake conference and then yesterday she couldn’t make it because she was feeling really sick!  So it has been about 3 weeks and she still hasn’t been confirmed.  I think we might have to re-baptize her which is a bummer; she will be a sweet member. This was the first week were we opened the new half of our area and it wasn’t to bad.  There are a lot of prepared people over there that we are working with. There is this one Bolivian named Patricia that we are working with.  She wants to be baptized but her senor doesn’t want to get married and he is just the biggest bum haha, but we are working with him. Patricia would be a great member.  Her daughter got baptized a few months ago and she has been a good help for us. The other day I felt like we should go by this guy named Oscar.  I found his record buried in our area book, so we went by the house and found Naomi who was Oscars wife.  But it turns out he died a few months ago.  We taught her a killer lesson of the plan of salvation and it hit her straight in the heart, it was awesome.  We left and the spirit was so strong it was awesome.  I think tonight we are gonna go back and follow up with her.   The crazy thing is as we were leaving the lesson we went looking for this other guy named Luciano and we didn’t know exactly where he lived so we just started asking people.  We were kinda dumb doing this late at night because it was dark, we were both in our big black coats and I think some people thought we were the police or the CIA or something because we were walking towards this group of people smoking weed (which is normal cause every block there is someone doing it) me and my comp walk by and my companion hears this guy say to the other “grab the gun!”.  His buddy runs inside!!   Me and my comp got out of there real quick hahaha.  My comp said he peeked around the corner and the guy was looking around for us it was crazzzzy hahahaha.  Wasn’t that scary though.  Me and Elder Wihongi were laughing about it a ton right after.  The mission is great and I’m still loving every bit of it.  Hope you guys all are well love, yall

ELDER MALLER  

May 22, 2017

Hola 

Great week.  So today we are moving we had a nice big fight beforehand because they are now cutting it into two distinct different areas and because there are the zone leaders they get the better area which includes at least one free baptisms from us :(.   It wasn’t as bad for me though poor Elder Wihongi has 3 weeks left and he has never had a good area or much success in his mission and this was his first good area and now they are taking out the good chunk right at the end of his mission.  I honestly feel bad for him he has gotten a little stressed about it. About 2 hours ago we all got together and had a chat and the spirit eventually made its way in and it was just a powerful moment how quickly the spirit changed our feelings about the area split.  We now understand clearly that Elder Wihongi is needed to get this area started and running.  We knew the zone leaders could have went there instead but it just click to us right after we said a prayer that the zone leaders can’t run the zone and open this area effectively.  We all just understood the purpose imminently.  It was so weird the spirit was really strong.  So in a few hours we are gonna do our 3rd move this transfer and we are going back to the tiny new pench and me and Elder Wihongi are pumped to get it going now. It was a great experience to have.  Today we made a ton of empanadas with Elder Lopez and Elder Allen, it was great as well I felt bad for them though because they were in the pench as well while Elder Meyers and Elder Whongi were fighting about it hahha but it’s all good now.  Today we finished our Book of Mormon reading challenge, it was a great but sad ending like always hahaha.  Hope everything is all well back home take care yall love ya

Elder Maller

May 15, 2017

Hola

This week was pretty great. I did my last interview with President Robertson on Wednesday and it was awesome. I’m sure everyone says this about their Mission President, but I swear he is gonna be a seventy! I asked him for his favorite scripture and he gave me D&C 123:17.  He said at times we just need to realize there are somethings in life that aren’t controllable but the things that are, we have to give are best effort in it all and then eventually everything will work out.  His words were a lot better than mine but I could feel the spirit pretty strong throughout the interview.  It’s crazy that he leaves in 4 weeks with my companion. I’m pretty hyped to meet President Resek though.  I have already heard a lot of great stuff about him. It’s a bummer that the Skype didn’t work out yesterday but it was probably for the best because yesterday was the Super Clasico which is the super bowl of Argentina soccer. So we were trying to Skype for this house right next to a villa so there was a punch of yelling and drums and stuff.  I heard my team Boca lost against River though, you guys should see if you can watch the highlights I hear this games get wild in the stands. I can’t wait to email you though I have been saving some good stories to tell you guy’s bye for now 

Elder Maller