Tent with Direct TV, teaching English, and more

Everyone,

I think it was actually last week when I noticed it but there are some people that live in tents along the highway and they have a satellite dish outside their tent. It just is sitting on a box on the ground. kinda funny.

We got called Thursday night and told that we need to go to Resistencia for me to sign a paper and do finger prints Friday. It was an all day experience because the early bus home was sold out. We left early in the morning and came back at 9 at night. We didn't get to work much that day. We tried to have an english class on Saturday. We got 1 student to show up but I taught her how to say I am tall, or I am short, or I am smart or you are handsome or we are.... it was a good time.  I'm thinking about how to do it more fun next time and so they feel less pressure.  I don't know. We are hoping to have more people next time. 

Me and my companion, Elder Yaicate in front of our church building

We are teaching Hermana Belki. She was taught by the other missionaries and she knows a lot about the lessons but she didn't come to church.  We even went and knocked on her door in the morning.  It was sad.  We have also been talking to Rocio and Ramona.  I think Rocio would come to church if Ramona was interested in going, but Ramona isn't very interested in going to church I don't think.

I gave another talk on Sunday about gossip because it is a huge problem here, and I love the words of King Benjamin. "If you do not watch yourselves and your thoughts and your words and your deeds...ye must perish and now Oh man, remember and perish not." it is a scripture of warning---that we need to watch our own thoughts words and deeds to avoid a spiritual death.  I know that if we do that we can improve ourselves way faster than if we only think and talk about other people.

The sad part was that we visited a sister afterwards who said Elder your talk was right on. All the other sisters are always talking and saying ¿How bad is so and so?... maybe she couldn't understand my spanish. I don't know...

Elder Dallin Skouson

Mother's Day

Everyone,
October 20, 2014

It was Mother's day in Argentina yesterday so we celebrated as a branch on Saturday. Elder Yaicate and I cooked a peruvian dish with rice and eggs and hotdog pieces. It was pretty good. The people here didn't eat a ton. We were thinking that they would eat more than they did but they don't eat a lot of rice. We also had some of the members bring empañadas and they are always good. It's like a small hot pocket but the cheese is real and it has hamburger meat or ham. We also had one of the sisters make a cake that was pretty good. It was 3 layers with dulce de leche (is like a carmel stuff) in between the layers. We also had 2 kids do a dance. The funny part is that neither of them are members. One is the brother of a member and the other is his neighbor, but it was really cute.

Yesterday I got to give a talk in sacrament meeting about mothers and I just talked about some lessons that I learned at home. I felt pretty good about it. Remember who you are (recuerda quien eres) and where much is given much is required (I can't remember this in spanish right now). I also got to teach the lesson in priesthood. I think that went okay as well. It's hard to tell when I'm teaching in a different language. I'm not bored at least while I'm teaching.

On account of it being Mother's day I also got to call my family yesterday. It was really cool. It was fun to get to talk with them again. They had lots of questions and things to ask me. It was really fun to hear their voices again.

We found an investigator who I don't remember if I wrote about her before. Her name is Belki she lives pretty far out where there are no names for the roads at all. We kinda stumbled into her house. She said I was talking with the missionaries before and just waiting on a paper to get married and then baptized. So, we started to review the lessons with her and she is planning on getting her papers to get married soon so we are hopeful that she will be able to make the steps to getting baptized.

We are also going to start teaching an English class here on Saturday so I will tell you how that goes, if it goes on Saturday.

Elder Dallin Skouson

P.S. Dallin said it's getting very hot there now.  

The picture is one of me and my companion with the kids that danced for our party, and the other is the members all around our table made out of 3 desks.

Editor's note:  Here's an email we received from Dallin's companion.  We love him and don't even know him.  His parents are not members of our church only his siblings.  We're grateful for the good training he's giving Dallin.

Hay muchas  cosas que yo aprendo de él. Es un misionero  muy positivo!!!.Me gusta cuando él en sus contactos dice: ¿Ustedes sabían que cristo visitó las américas y enseño su evangelio?, tenemos una evidencia de ese acontecimiento! entonces saca de su bolso el libro de mormón, y aunque las personas no nos permiten entrar en sus casas, dejamos un libro de mormón. Tenemos fe de que si esas personas leen el libro de mormón, en el futuro campo largo tendrá personas preparadas para recibir a los misioneros futuros!

Fue un gran placer hablar con su familia ayer. Tiene una familia muy linda!!!!

saludos

               Elder Yaicate

Argentina Resistencia Mission

Spiritual witness is more powerful than any evidence by study.

Everyone,

October 15, 2014

So, this week we visited lots of interesting and great people. We tried to visit our investigator named Ricardo but we didn't find him. We instead found his two daughters Rocio and Claudia and we taught them a lesson.  They seemed really interested so we got their address and visited them at their house and found their mom. We taught them all more of lesson one and Claudia is reading the Book of Mormon. We haven't had too many lessons with them but they are very accepting and have good questions. If they all read the Book of Mormon they will probably choose to be baptized. We are excited for them.

We also hunted down a few "less" active members. We found one sister who said "Elders! how are you? Come in" or something like that in spanish she was excited to see us. We talked a little. She said she had had a problem with something in the church and was back in her first church.  We left her a Book of Mormon and we hope she reads it again, and she was showing us how she marks a lot in the bible so that almost all the versus are marked. It was an interesting conversation. We also found a member who we asked if he was a member he said I was. He said the last elders did bad stuff and were expelled from his house and he quit going to church. It was sad I was sad that he had had that experience with missionaries. They should not be missionaries if they don't want to do their job.

It's sad when people don't accept a Book of Mormon. It truly testifies of christ. We have been giving pretty much everyone a Book of Mormon. I hope that they will read it. I know that it is a true book and that by studying it we can have many questions answered about the bible and God. I know that it is true by study and by the spirit, but the spiritual witness is more powerful than any evidence by study can be. Everyone can come closer to Christ by reading it.  

P.S. It's Mother's day in Argentina next week and President Franco said we can call home so I'll be calling you or skyping you next Sunday night.  And, don't worry, I'll get to call or skype on your Mother's day there, too.  :) 

Elder Dallin Skouson

Two pictures of a district meeting.

¡Conferencia! and the power of prayer.

Everyone,       

October 6, 2014             

So, this week was pretty good. We printed out little tickets to invite people to the conference but only had 1 less active attend. We didnt' have very good attendance. We had the Saturday sessions in the church here in Campo Largo which is pretty small. I got to use my computer background to run the modem from the only phone jack in the office to another room and the computer from there to the biggest room.

We found the conference on the LDS page but I thought it was going to be miserable because the women's session last Saturday had many stops. I was praying really hard we wouldn't have that problem. We thought it was going to work but 10 minutes before it didn't work... so we tried and tried and tried with no success. We prayed and 30 minutes into the conference we were able to find the session in spanish on youtube after reading some stuff in english and spanish about how to get it. Then we only had to reload the page one time each session.

Watching General Conference on Saturday October 4, 2014 with our branch

The Lord works in mysterious ways to answer our prayers. Even if it is through what appears to be a trial it may be an answer to a prayer.

Also, we got to watch the priesthood session in the church over the internet it was much easier and we could use youtube thanks to the recent change that we are able to view it over the internet. It was interesting as well to hear a talk in spanish. Super weird that the lips matched up with the words.

Sunday we rode in a free government run large van to the largest chapel in Saenz Peña and I got to watch the sessions on Sunday in english. I got a lot more notes out of them Sunday.

We talked to almost everyone one day.  It's kinda funny when we see people that go into their house and their kids come out and say, "Oh she went to Buenos Aries or the moon or wherever," but it's a little disappointing that it happens more often on our second visit than the first.

We are working a lot on less active families and we are having some success. We ran into 3 new people one day. Ricardo was a man that I contacted by his house. He was easier to understand than most. We also have been talking to a woman named Blanca and she is harder to understand. She is talking to us and her pastor so it is hard with her. She is also really looking for a response to her prayers about the Book of Mormon, but last time she was telling us all the dreams she had for a while. Also her son is kinda interesting. We asked if she was home one day and he said no. We started to leave and she came out with chairs to to talk to us. So, I don't know what to do with that. I'm getting much better at contacting as well. Every time I try I improve.

Thanks for all your support and prayers. 

Love, 

Elder Dallin Skouson

Our Zone having fun! I think. :)