¡Buenos Dias!

Hey family! How are you all doing? Wow first holiday away, sounds like you guys had a good time at Melissa´s house, I did my best to not think about you guys (as far as missing ya´ll), but just to remember and thank my Heavenly Father for everything that I´m blessed with and you all were for sure at the top! Everything is so opposite here that you guys talking about setting Christmas stuff up makes you seem a little crazy, Argentina is getting hotter and more humid! I hate to be negative, but humid is a terrible terrible thing. Period. Sweating every minute of the day is definitely a funny experience and also mind blowing coming from the dry area were we live. In our Pinch we only have one fan that really works and it´s really small so we probably look like so funny sprawled out in the night from the heat. Again I´ll thank my Heavenly Father that I´m blessed to be a deep sleeper cause I´ve been sleeping great! :)

This week has been filled with new experiences and a lot of self-learning. I´m feeling more and more comfortable where I´m at and I´m loving the people. This is such a different place filled with so many goobers, but the people, the culture, and just our day to day routine is amazing and I truly am taken back when I think that I´m actually doing this. Occasionally I´ll catch a glimpse of Elder Lewis and I walking in a mirror and my heart will start going nuts cause I see two Elders up ahead until I remember that it´s me wearing that black plaque! This is such a holy and sacred calling that I´m anxious to be a part of and seriously love! One of you asked if I love it here and love the people? At first I wanted to just stay positive (such a blessing in our lives to stay positive through afflictions), but now more than anything I´m being taught how to love by these amazing people here who usually I can´t understand.. but my heart is filled. I'm so excited to keep learning of this culture.

This week we lost that girl and her son, they called us one day and told us that they were moving to another area so that was a bummer because she was progressing so well I thought, so now we are on the move to find new investigators. This has been great for me to learn more about the spirit and always be aware of the still small voice in my life because being led to those who are prepared is definitely hard and definitely can´t be done alone, I have a lot to learn, but the best way to learn is practice right? Also we´ve been visiting that lady that we baptized last week, Norma, and it has been amazing (sorry, I know I use that word too much but it´s fitting) before she was really shy, wouldn´t talk and would hide her smile, but now she´s a new person. She is pulling jokes on us now and laughs on multiple occasions when you are there. I never realized what baptism can do. The light of Christ is given to everyone, but when people take upon themselves Christ's name there is a difference. There is a physical light that turns on and bears testimony that this work is true, that bears witness that Jesus Christ is the only one who has the sacred power to change us, it has been eye opening to Elder Lewis and I that baptism is the real deal.

For P-day today we went to the capilla (church) to play some good ol basketball court soccer with the priesthood brethren today. My first experience with some South American soccer. These guys are for real!! They are super competitive when it comes to soccer so I was a little worried coming into it but had a great time! Elder Lewis told me this is where I earn respect with the guys.. initiation maybe? so I went to the goalie box. Safe place where a lot less damage could be done! haha I had some saves and then lost it for our team, but the next game I scored a goal? Miracles happen. Ha, no it has been a fun day today and good to get to know the priesthood in the ward more, they are all strong and have a lot of responsibility because of how small the ward is. Great guys! Then, mom, we went back and deep cleaned the bathroom! ha I think I take after you cause I couldn´t handle it anymore, thank you for that... I miss your clean a lot!

Well gotta fly, but I wanted to share with you guys one of the best lessons I´ve learned so far. From Alma 29:4 it talks a lot about how Heavenly Father will bless the desires of our hearts as we work at them. I´ve spent a lot of time thinking about our testimonies, how I sometimes wish that I could notice a leap in mine and sometimes wonder if it has grown. Our Savior doesn´t bless us like that though. If we are DAILY doing things to help it grow, it will change so slowly that we don´t notice. But as we look back on our lives we see how far we´ve come. The Savior is so tender in His actions and in His teachings are sometimes so mysterious to us that we don´t recognize how tender His love is and how much He blesses us! Desires are so important and working to achieve them is even more important. If we desire Christ more, daily be like Christ then ¨when He appears, we shall be like Him¨ and can rejoice in the daily experiences we´ve had to know our Savior. I love you all and give thanks for you in my life and for my Redeemer, He lives and because He lives we can be like Him.

Have a great week!
Elder Jolley

Elder Lewis and Elder Jolley