If we want to believe we can, it is a choice.

This week went by too quick. we worked hard and had some good experiences.

The member that came out with us had a good time. He asked to keep a Book of Mormon to remember going out with the missionaries for the first time. I remember going out with he missionaries it's a good spiritual experience. I always felt happy afterward. I like to imagine that's how he felt too. He also told us that he believes in werewolves. You should avoid places out of the city at night with a full moon and keep your legs together if they are around because if they run between your legs you become one too.

We found a man named Tomas who was a little drunk and we tried to teach him a little bit but we opted to come back a different day. and when we got back he was less drunk and still happy to talk to us. He want's to stop drinking and smoking and we are trying to help him out. He told us he has been doing better with not drinking so that is good.

A different man that is not addicted (he says) but can't stop drinking or smoking alone named Alipio came to the church to turn his Book of Mormon into us. Again.... We are trying to help him understand the things and be able to stop. He likes listening to us but he just seems to not understand too much. This time I wrote his name in his book and he understood it was a gift I think.

We also found a lady named Alejandra that at first seemed less interested but we left her the Book of Mormon, she read 2 Nephi 31 and next time we passed by had good questions and asked if she got baptized would her kids have to get baptized too? We are going to keep working with her and I hope to be giving good news next week.

Diego was also super excited to come to our multi stake conference this last weekend. He was saving coins for the bus and everything but didn't get there. He is very quiet and we are worried his girlfriend he lives with is controlling so that doesn't help but we are going to see what happens there.

We have also been teaching Alejandra that is in an abusive relationship and it is just a very hard situation for her. we are hoping to be able to help her and she is reading in her Book of Mormon, that is really helping her a lot. We are going to see what we can do there.

The multi stake conference was cool. We got to hear from Elder Cook and Elder Hales. They talked a lot about missionary work and also about keeping the sabbath day holy. They recommended we make lists of things to do and not of things not to do.

We also talked to an atheiest. He said his leg was broken and that he prayed a lot for it to be healed. He said he prayed and waited and prayed and waited and it only got better when he finally gave up on God and went to the doctor and they fixed him up. It was a very good reminder that we must do our part we can not just pray and ask but we must seek actively. Even this man's miracle did not help him believe, it caused him to forget God completely just because he didn't understand the simple means by which God brought to pass the healing.

That experience went right in line with the multi-zone conference we had this week as well. We talked a lot about faith and how God can help us in our work. We must work actively and seek his guidance. President told a story that happened in Campo Largo with Elder Yaicate and his new companion after I left. They had a baptism in the afternoon so they went to fill the baptismal font up in the morning. They turned the spout on and left it. They came back at mid day to find it mostly empty and no more water coming out. Elder Yaicate went up on the roof to start bringing buckets of water down from the tank that feeds into the building. they got all the water they could and still didn't have enough. so they prayed Elder Yaicate on the roof his companion on the ground below asking forgiveness if they had done wrong and seeking help. a little while later it started to rain hard and they filled the font with rain water from the roof and everywhere they could get it. They were able to have their baptism.

If we look for it we can find miracles in our lives and if we actively ask and seek to do our part we can really see that they are miracles. If we want to believe we can it is a choice.

Elder Dallin Skouson

This is where they put the garbage in a residential neighborhood. the sign says:

Esteemed Mr. neighbor: please throw away the trash around 9:30 pm because the horses break the bags and get the sidewalk dirty. thank you.

A poster we made for our investigators. We played simon says and then we gave them this poster "the Lord says"... it worked out really well. the kids liked it and Diego, the man we are teaching did too.
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​This was government land but now it's a neighborhood of quickly built houses. It doesn't quite capture the atmosphere but it does give you an idea.

Dallin is in the middle row behind Sister Franco, (in red on front row)  the mission presidents wife. 

If we go ready to learn and are focused, the spirit can teach us a lot.

This week was short.

We were able to have another lesson with Alejandra. 

She is a lady with an abusive boy friend.  She has been reading the Book of Mormon and told us she has decided to get work to move and denounce her boyfriend.  That's going to be a big week. Her daughter had a fever so she couldn't come to church this week, but we are hoping she can do everything she has to to get her life to work out.

The couple we found in the bus are very nice people we have been working with them and so far they haven't been able to come to church. They want to follow the path of God but it's been hard for them so far to complete with the things we ask them to do.

We also have been rather guided by the spirit to find people that will listen and then we have been guided to teach well so they understand and decide what to do.

We also had our Zone activity today. We played volleyball and ate some and watched a movie. it was fun.

I am very grateful for the church, if we go ready to learn and focused the spirit can teach us a lot.

Elder Dallin Skouson

He will guide us to the miracles

This week we saw quite a few miarcles contacting and finding with the spirit.

We did divisions with the zone leaders and we had some good experiences in their area. We went looking for a part member family and we knocked the window next door that sells fruit. We asked if he knew them and he said, "yeah they moved 2 years ago." We decided to knock anyway and a 50 year old man came out. He told us he wasn't really interested, But then he said you can talk to my daughter.  We were a little confused and he went back in and started sternly saying sal! sal! (come out, come out). then he moved some chairs around and said passen (come in). We said permiso (I have no idea what it means something like excuse me but it is polite to say it when you walk in a room or out of a conversation) and walked in. Finally after a little more coaxing his daughter came out crying. She told us she is stuck on drugs and can't stop no matter how much she tries and promises her dad. She got a drug addict boy friend who she was supposed to help out, but he just ended up helping her in. We taught the word of wisdom and she said she was thinking about going to a church to have it help her. We for sure showed up at the right moment. Just another lesson about how important good friends are.

Back in my area:

We also went to look for an investigator we had, and we knocked twice on the door and she didn't come out. We decided to go clap at the house next door and a lady answered the door we had just been knocking. She was the investigators sister and she brought chairs out even in the cold and told us she was looking for help to help get her family back united and happy. We taught the restoration and she told us that even though she will be moving she will be reading the Book of Mormon a whole lot to be getting help out of it.

We also found Laura while visiting some investigators and we went by her house last night. We asked her if she had ever thought about why there are so many churches. She said, "I always ask which one is the true church." We explained that you just have to pray, read the Book or Mormon and ask God and he will guide you.

While we were teaching her we also found her friend who told us he wants to just come to church to see how it is and keep going if he likes it. We are hoping he is looking for the spirit because he will be able to feel it when he gets there if he is.

The investigators we were visiting when we found Laura was Diego and Mayra they have been looking into the church since before I got here and they came to church right before I got here. Diego had left right before I got here but this week he got back. (they are just a very unstable couple. They break up and then are living together and then break up) we are hoping to be able to help them get to the point that they are stable enough to get married and baptized or one of them makes the decision to split up and get baptized. We will see what happens. Diego has a lot more interest in the message than Mayra so we are looking at how we can help him progress. Diego started reading again and praying and he just seems so much happier. They don't understand much but he recognizes that he feels good when he reads the Book of Mormon, prays, and goes to church.

With them we actually were thinking hard how to teach and we decided to teach obedience. It all started in our companionship study with a role play practice where I felt a little bored as Diego and we ended up with a game of simon says (it worked really well with Mayra's 3 kids) and then teaching obedience and giving them a poster with pictures of praying, reading the Book of Mormon and going to church all cut out of a pamphlet.

We also found an old investigator that never made it to church or anything. We were able to teach her and her son and she is making lots of excuses why they have never been to church. We explain that there is always opposition in these things and that sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven. Her son who then wasn't participating said, "I want to go to church." He has a fear of being with a lot of people and was excited. She was less excited and they didn't show up because the people in the cemetery were moving her mothers body this Sunday morning. We are going to do all we can for this Sunday.

We all have duties and things that God hopes that we will do. When we look for his help and pray in faith then follow his guidance he will guide us to the miracles that he has put in our way. When we look for them they can help us be much more grateful.

Love,

Elder Dallin Skouson

Contactamos un colectivo

So, this week we got up the courage and did it!!!! My last companion said that while he was on his temporary mission in Mexico they would get up in front of the bus and talk to everyone. The companion that wasn't talking would pass out pamphlets. When I was in Clorinda a pastor would get up in front of the bus and talk to us but we had never tried it. Elder Smith and I decided we wanted to. We were super nervous but we had a zone meeting so we had our chance.

We got lucky, the bus wasn't too full, but there were some people at least. I asked the driver if i could talk to the people, he said, "go for it" almost rolling his eyes so I did it.  I introduced us and presented a little bit about the Book of Mormon and quoted a scripture I like. Elder Smith passed out pass along cards to everyone. We then went and sat by a couple that looked interested in what we were saying.

Their names are Ignacio and Antonia. They have a little baby too. We had a nice conversation. We gave them a Book of Mormon. They passed us their address and they actually seem rather interested.

It was pretty hard to get over the fear, but then in the end it was a lot easier than it looks and we ended up with a new family to teach. Kinda like a roller-coaster, you go up the hill build up suspense then you go down and it actually isn't too bad, but in this case the reward is a lot better.

We also have been teaching Alejandra who made it to church 2 weeks ago. She had the dream about her family being together again. We went by her house and her old boy friend was back. He is abusive. We talked to him a little bit and he works as a night club guard. He is a big guy and not interested in our message. We talked to Alejandra and she said that her relationship with him is based on fear. They get together and then separate a lot. She also wasn't able to get to church this week. Pray for her a lot. We want to help her out and are going to try to help her get the courage to talk to the police about what is happening.

We also did divisions with the other elders in our branch. They are a little less than excited and I got to go to their area for the day with Elder Lorenco. We doubled the number of charlas for the week and we were able to clean the apartment a little bit, We took out 6 Walmart bags of garbage (they are playing the game of whoever it bugs most cleans it). We were able to also find a man in the exact right moment. He injured his foot so he was home and had time for us to talk to him.

It's also been way hot here. I'm not too excited for summer again.

In the end it was a good week and we worked hard.

I have been trying a new tactic to study. I will look up a topic in the topical guide and read all the scriptures in the Book of Mormon on the topic and condense it down to just short thoughts. It gives a pretty good idea of how I can improve and what else I can do. It helps me really understand the idea I am studying. I'm not sure why I've never tried it before.

I know that God will give us the help we need when we need it. I recently was studying and felt the peace that we can feel when we are in the temple. It helped me to really focus on what is important and avoid sin. It is so true that wickedness never was happiness and that the devil tries to destroy our peace. We can all set goals to be able to have more of that peace in our lives.

Elder Dallin Skouson

Week 1 in Corrientes. We're seeing some miracles.

Well, my first week here went well. I started talking to everyone. We didn't have many plans the first day so we just contacted just about everyone we saw. It goes about like this.

We knock they come out. If they look like their going to be friendly in the first place we talk with them and try to apply the gospel to their lives. If they look like they don't want anything at all we offer to give them a pass along card, they usually will take it and as they walk toward us we can be cheerful and hope it can make them happy enough to talk to us. It usually gets them talking a little bit.

We have had some very interesting contacts. We knocked one house and an older woman came out and said, "I'm a Jehova's witness." We said, "that's great, you believe in God and in Jesus too then." She told us, "yep I believe in God, Jesus and the Virgin Mary, because she is in the bible too." We asked her some more questions and she told us that the pope had said it was good to listen to the Jehova's witnesses about 2 weeks ago. Interesting.

We also talked to a woman that told us that she would not change churches if God told her too, but she would do it if the Virgin told her to.

So basically here many of the people have apostated from the catholic church. There are a lot of statues of Gauchito Gil (I don't think he is actually even a saint) here as well.

We also saw miracles. Our branch president is a blind man from birth. It is interesting talking to him. He didn't see how tall I was until he tried to touch my shoulder. He has come out with us a few times now. It is really cool that he is very willing and even volunteers to accompany us in the street. He can follow us putting his hand on one of our shoulders and we guide him.

He came out with us when we went to visit our investigators that came to church the Sunday before I got here. They are Diego and Myra we went to visit them and Diego wasn't there. He had left the day before and until last night he still hadn't come back. She was obviously quite upset. I felt the spirit help me know what to testify of to a woman that I had never met before that helped her be calmer after we left. The spirit guided my words for sure. We were able to have a very powerful lesson with her. We are still working with her and are going to try to help her figure out all the problems she is going through.

We also saw a miracle with one woman that we contacted. She was very distracted but we left her with a Book of Mormon and 3 chapters to read to respond to some questions she had. She had a brother that had committed suicide and she had a lot of questions about all sorts of things. We passed by the next day with our branch president. She had read the 3 chapters and told us that she had felt the same way that she felt when she had had a dream. She dreamt that she was with her brother and also her Grandmother who had passed away and her Grandmother said we are all together again at last. She heard about temples in church and we explained that they can help us do the work for those that have passed on. She accepted a baptismal date for the 22nd.

Elder Smith told me he used to not like talking to people so much, but we talked to so many people that now it's not too bad. We don't waste too much time walking. We are always talking to someone when we can. It sure makes things go more smoothly when we give it our all. it really is true that the best cure for being a sad missionary is working hard.

In my last area the Elders have had a really hard time finding Agustin and I'm not sure what has happened with Susana. But in the future everything will work out. We for sure helped both have hope and see that they can stop smoking at least. Some day they will get baptized.

Here there is a mall and McDonalds and Walmart. It is almost like being home, but the milk still comes in bags and there are no marshmallows here.

Love,

Elder Dallin Skouson

Here are some pictures of my new apartment and see if you can spy the peanut butter in each picture.  Yes, we have peanut butter.  Yay! 

This is a little wooden alligator that I got.  It wiggles back and forth. 

Look what I've got?! 

More of our apartment

I'm now in the dark pink section at the top right of Argentina.