Buenas!

Hey family!! What a great week, thanks for your emails! I love being "with" you guys and seeing what you are all up to. Things are doing good and continuing to improve here. We`re coming from a fun zone activity right now, we had a couple Peruvian elders that wanted to cook some native dishes for us (haha I was checking ingredients for pig feet! none today though). So we decided to get together and cook and play some volleyball today! We`ve had much nicer temperatures lately so that has been a lot more enjoyable!

Well we`ve had a good week, we`ve been busy! Elder Anaya are getting work done and we`re really having a good time too, he`s hilarious which has been a blessing to not focus at all on any negativity or things like that, usually we just find something else to laugh about. We have continued to work with a couple great families that we`ve found together and we really want to find more and help more, that`s the good thing! We`re doing all we can to prepare ourselves and to get out there and do as we`ve felt inspired to put down. I think I`ve told you guys about Gabriel and Andrea, they`re doing great! They are fun to go back and visit because they are always full of comments and questions. They always read and keep that important enthusiasm of wanting to know the truth. They have come in contact with a couple other preachers and stuff like that that has got them to really ponder on what they are hearing and what they need in their lives- the blessing has been that they have felt already the spirit through the Book of Mormon, they haven`t read much and know little about it, but they are led to believe that it is God's word! We had a couple talk with them on Saturday about the importance of what they`ve felt, the spirit never jokes around, but is always very precise and direct in his whisperings- they took confidence in what we`ve told them and are determined to come to a conclusion. Hopefully they will end in baptism! We`ve gone out this last week to all those who we`ve been teaching and all those who we find and had a good talk with them, I think if anything we`ve come to know better, and explained what the end result is! It is really a blessing to be a missionary, but really we don`t make a difference if we don`t bring souls to Christ- that`s the reason for our ministry! So we`ve gone and challenged 5 of our investigators to receive baptism. I`ve seen the Lord teach ME why I`m there with these people- I have grown in love for them especially as we come to understand our purpose of going to them!

On Friday we had a great exchange that we did with some elders on the other side of town. They had a baptismal interview so Elder Anaya went over there and I got to take the area! When I got to Avellaneda I put the goal to get to know the area in 2 weeks so that was kinda my test. I have gained a testimony that our Heavenly Father really helps us in our righteouss desires. He supports us and even gives us greater capacity in our work! El Elder and I had a great day! ..we didnt get into one house all day but how good I felt! Wow, can`t explain how good it was to get our there and just feet to the pavement missionary work. We didn`t stop all day and were always tryng to go to where the Lord wanted us to be. When we got back to the apartment a feeling of satisfaction came over us and we knew that we had done all we could. The next day in the morning before getting our companions we were walking on the street and saw this lady carrying a big pack on the street, we felt to offer our help. When we did she gladly accepted and as we walked we came to find out that she had a mormon friend who she LOVED and was very touched by the type of person she was. We asked her if she would be interested in hearing a message of the gospel but she one-uped us and asked where our church was- we gave her the direction not thinking much about it but then she said, "tomorrow I`ll go with you boys!" Well, she came!! Teresita was like any other member there in the church and was so friendly and open to everything that she heard! What a miracle that we had there. "When faith increases, so do miracles."

Well family that`s all the time I`ve got! I love you and hope you know that. I love my Savior, I am so glad to follow Him and to serve Him. I promise I couldn`t be out here if I didn`t know that He does live, I`m so sure of it. I don`t begin to understand all about Him; how He is and why things happen as they do, we make so many mistakes and never reach the level where we should. I stand all amazed right? ·3 Nephi 9 13-14: 

13 O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?

14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.

Love ya
Elder Jolley

 Visiting with the Elders and an Argentine Family

 Elder Anaya and I from the 16th floor apartment

 In front of the "Racing" soccer stadium

Hi famila!

FA!! QUE FRIO!! This week has been absolutely terrible for the cold! "Polar Air" as the news says! I believe every bit and the worst is that it totally tricks you! In our tower it actually stays really warm and we don`t feel any wind or anything like that so on a couple mornings we`d look outside and see that everything was good and there in our short sleeves we were comfortable but then when we left the apartment and opened the door, WOW!! It has been very cold! So we`ve had to go back up and bundle up! Scarves are a drew, I don`t feel lame in saying that either! I thought you were un chavón if you wore one before the mission but I love it now! So we´ve survived this week with the cold. Avellaneda is sweet!! It's a different form of working. This last week we hardly talked to anyone by contacts on the street just cause nadie te hace caso, everyone`s in a rush to get somewhere so we`ve had to rely a lot on the members. They are fantastic, they`ve really shown so much support to the missionary work here. Throughout the week I got to know a few of them and on Sunday it was good to present myself to the ward! Elder Lewis, Villalba and Mines (3 of my old companions) have all passed through this area so its been fun to see some of their converts and such like that! Up to right now I love the area and sigo con el mismo ánimo. I want to finish things off good in this area, lasts the best right? In the area there are 2 parts, the big city and the rural parts that are on the outskirts. We like to work more in the suburb part and outskirts- the city with all its apartment buildings really doesn`t give us a lot to do. I put the goal to get to know the area in 2 weeks and this week I`ve been able to start to manage myself in the area- with a lot of patience from Elder Anaya. Ha he`s let me try and find our lessons a couple times and with tons of confidence I take us like 4 blocks in the opposite direction! Oops. Elder Anaya and I get along super well though, he`s so funny and we spend most of the day laughing and making jokes. There is a really positive feel in our companionship and it`s nice to both be focused on improving and a strong desire to reach our potential! He`s from El Paso, Texas and has 1 transfer more than I do. He`s a bro!

Well this week we`ve worked on our planning a lot. Trying to get things going in our area has been priority numero 1. We have a few investigators that are in the way to get baptized. They`re still a ways off because of marriage and stuff like that, but we have been able to beat a lot of our metas this week! We have difficulty finding a few of them this week, but we have this kid named David that goes out with us all the time that really helps us. Usually he makes time to leave with us in the afternoon and takes us by all his friends! He has zero embarrassment to clap the houses of his friends and just insist that they listen to his "church friends." Haha we`ve begun to teach a couple new families as well. Gabriel and Andrea who we found yesterday- they`ve been really interested in the Book of Mormon and committed to ask about it in prayer. They are our bright future!

I thought this week that I was pretty experienced in Argentina, but on Saturday morning we had a service project and the wonderful hermanas cooked us up this Peruvian soup! It was amazing but had a couple ingredients that were a little strange. Here really traditionally they use all of da vaca and the stomach is a delicacy! It`s called Mondongo! It`s this white rubbering thing that on top has a bunch of brissel looking things like a sea enemeny.. algo así. It`s rubbery and well I thought it was pretty good, doesn`t have a big taste, but the pig foot they gave us.. yes had a really piggy taste! They cut the feet of little pigs then throw it in the pot to boil. Poor Elder Anaya got stuck with the graphic looking foot.. you could still see the little toe nails and on both and the foot hair was still visible! Ha I contemplated on what I was doing to my life as I ate! Haha that`s my funny experience for ya! Can`t wait to get back and cook for you guys! ;)

I wanted to share with you guys a cool scripture I found. I`ve been studying a lot about the atonement and loved what was said and also how special the opportunity to be witnesses of Christ, not just as a missionary, but as a member of His church.

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

I know that`s it`s true, that Christ paid a great price for us so that we can return to God. I know that an Atonement has been made and I have been blessed to feel how much God wants the message of the atonement made known to all His sons and daughters! The work of bringing these souls back to God is so important and I know that God supports us and works through us as we do all we can to have the Spirit. I hope we all have the strong desire to share with those around us that Jesus Christ is our beloved Savior! Se que vive y testifico que nos ama.

Hope you guys have a great week! :)
Elder Jolley

New Area

Saludos from Avellaneda, Buenos Aires!

I`m in a new mission!! Ha sometimes it feels like that when I get transferred. Our mission is so diverse, you have really rural areas, suburbs, and total city! I am in the closest city to the Nation's Capital here in Avellaneda. It is very different from Bosques. My favorite part is that we live in a skyscraper on the 16th floor overlooking all of the Capital! We have view to a couple soccer stadiums and at a distance the docks to all the boats coming in from the ocean! La Boca se dicen! I love it! My new companion is Elder Christopher Anaya from Texas! About 2 transfers ago I was his zone leader in Bosques and now we`re companions, I`m way excited to be working with him! He has a great enthusiasm for the work and is a great missionary! I was surprised and in the end sad to leave Bosques! We`ve had 2 incredible weeks that have changed the area completely and had a lot ahead of us! Saturday night was hard- I felt like I hadn`t done everything I could because of the results that I never saw! I was afraid that I hadn`t reached my potential so while starting to back I was praying a lot that I would be able to understand why the Lord wanted this change NOW!? What an amazing Sunday we had!! We got to church and saw our amazing members and as we said our goodbyes and everything I was overwhelmed with kind comments or warm wishes- things that just made me overflow with gratitude for having gotten to know these people. Like the Sons of Mosiah, we had entered their houses and taught them, served them and cared for their needs and the Lord is capable of making a much greater impact with such small actions! Anyways after taking the sacrament (Elder Jimenez had just given a great lesson about it the class before so we were all in the right attitude) it was a miracle blessing to feel the peace of the Savior- knowing that HE alone makes all things right and fair and that His grace is sufficient for us! How great that He only asks that we give all we can and He`ll make everything fall into place! Well I know that each effort we put in will someday have its fruit!

This week we were able to find a few more investigators and continue to help a few more on their way! We left Monica and her kids in good hands and hope to hear from them as they continue to progress. The great thing about that family is that they understand what this gospel is. I talked to them about the temple and how that needs to be their goal- they promised to keep going and to have that dedication to continue on in the work!

A fun event from the week was the wards first Elder Quorem Activity- the first one done in a long time at least! We cooked hamburgers and played some futbol with the jovenes and some of the mayores! Elder Jimenez and I ended up destroyed from the futbol game... since I got sick I have completely dropped exercises! Oops. But there was a great turn-out. That was done on Saturday and we had a couple members come back to the church for the first time in a while the day after! The ward has seen a complete change! They are awesome and they have done so much!

Well no me queda mas tiempo! Sorry this one was kinda short, but want you guys to know that I`m good, I`m happy and I`m very excited to start working here in Avellaneda!

Todo mi amor, besos
Elder Jolley

Hi!! Wow, we`re getting to you guys late today! We`ve been putting together a presentation for a zone conference tomorrow. We filmed a video with a family here in the ward. Turned out.. funny! Ha it`s "missionary humor" is what the family said... I`m sure that means it`s retarded! We`ll see what the effects of it are!

What an amazing week!! Don`t know where to begin or how I would cover everything. Has been a very exciting week for sure, Heavenly Father has put us to the test and never has let us down. We have had high goals ever since the sick week to try and get the area back in direction. We noticed last week that we were working good but we didn`t have many meaningful activities so we had to readjust and put some new goals this week that had everything to do with baptism!! We really want to baptize. Ha I was reading in the war chapters this week in Alma and trying to figure out the best lesson from them and I found a scripture that was everything for me this week!

Alma 58:37 But, behold, it mattereth not—we trust God will deliver us, notwithstanding the weakness of our armies, yea, and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies.

Even in the worst of moments these people had learned to trust in the promises that God had made to them and insist upon receiving His blessings! I was amazed at how much they depended on the Lord. As we went along in the week, we weren`t hitting our goals and things continue the same. We had a great experience on Friday night I think it was?.. we were at about 8 o`clock and we had a lesson with a less active member but still lacked finding a couple people and a few references for the day.. the night before though we had planned everything perfect and we KNEW that we needed this and that the spirit had helped us in our planning. As we arrived to the house we had a great lesson with the family and right as we were about to leave their kids walked in with 2 friends who wanted to talk with us. Elder Jimenez and I just looked at each other- beyond grateful for the miracle that we had received. We returned that night to the apartment having completed all our metas.

This week I also had the opportunity to go with our new district leader here in the zone on a division. I was super excited to go, I love doing changes and being able to work in other areas! He`s from Santa Clara down in St. George so we talked about a lot of things down there and I asked him if he had ever bought a sprint phone por ahi on the boulevard... he hadn`t. We had a productive day! He`s pretty new to the area and so at the end of the night we were finishing up plans and felt to clap a house that we passed by. A man and his son walk out and we begin to talk with them. We present ourselves as missionaries and then they stopped us! The dad looked us up and down and said, "chicos, do wanna come in and have a hot dog with us?" Well yes sir we would! Haha it was the easiest way I`ve gotten into a house so far. After a wonderful hot dog we finished telling him who we were and why we wanted to pass by in the first place. They didn`t want to hear anything about religion... That was one of the first times that we weren`t allowed to share our testimonies! It was a weird experience. Every time we tried to say anything about religion he got mad! So we were first wondering what to do and also wondered why the lord wanted us to go there!! Well thankfully the wife and daughters showed up and were very kind and convinced the guys to hear us out, at least hear what we shared. In the end it was a very good opportunity to find this family and be able to share our purpose and express why we desired to be there so badly! Don`t know what happened to the family but was very grateful that we were able to share the Gospel.

We felt this week like the area has just exploded. We`ve seen goals and desires fulfilled this week that we`ve been working months on, trying to help the work here. First off, how much I love the members here! It`s incredible all that they have done and what an excitement for missionary work! This week, being happy about it, one starts to think of all the things that one could have done but no.. it`s just incredible how blessed we are! I think more than anything I`ve had to change! This Sunday we had 8 investigators in sacrament meeting and several less active members return! It was a packed Sunday for us. We had organized a welcome commitee with all the organizations and it`s been hard to get it all going but after the meetings yesterday we hardly could talk to our investigators because the members had swarmed in to talk with them and invite them to different activities or family home evenings! Just amazing. They are leaving with us and passing us names of friends and just doing thing how the Lord wants! How great is the mission! :)

Our investigators are doing great. We added 10 new ones this week and were able to invite several to be baptized mas adelante in the month! We also have planned to invite a few more this next week! All works out as we remember our dependance upon God! I love and know that this work is His. He is the director and head of this church!! Couldn`t doubt it, because solo we couldn`t make this or any type of life-saving work progress, impossible.

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, THEN IS HIS GRACE SUFFICIENT FOR YOU, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ;

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and because of His love and the Atonement which He made, despite the circumstance, we can become the sons and daughters that He knows we can be!

Have a great week, love ya guys tons!
Elder Jolley

Un asado que tuvimos con algunos miembros.

A New President

¡Buenas! Que viaje que tuvieron. Me alegre que hayan pasado bien la semana. ¡Que hermoso Lake Powell! No les voy a mentir- me dio un re gana para estar allà ahora en vez de congelandome. Verano para mi necesite ser durante los meses de Junio a Agosto.. ojo me parece a mi solamente.

Well we`ve had a good week! A kinda weird one pero a pesar de todo estamos felices. I`m feeling great. 10 puntos! I remain with a cough, but that`s normal and cleans out the lungs so as far as I know I`m progressing normally. Unfortunately Elder Jimenez woke up this morning with a fever and a headache.. where have we seen that before?? So we`re taking it easy and making sure that he takes care of himself. We don`t want to return to any clinic/hospital. We`ve been able to work normally and we`ve had a lot of success this week in helping our ward out in Bosques.Since the Work of Salvation meeting there has been a large emphasis placed on getting our wards organized and as missionaries being of extra help to them. Personally these last couple weeks I`ve really had a change of heart towards our ward. They are incredible and just amazing people here! They work so hard to do their calling and improve them... can`t ask for more. We heard a quote the other day that I love, "If we do our best and are motivated by love, the spirit will inspire us in our work and the Lord WILL NOT let us fail." I loved that. We`ve worked hard with our ward the whole time I`ve been here, but now as you add love to the mixture the Lord picks things up and is able to do great things. This week we`ve been trying to gain the confidence of our members and help them know that the missionaries are there to support them in their callings so we`ve gone out with a few of the presidents of the different organizations and helped them to reach their goals or we`ve gone out and visited families at their request and reported back- all has helped us greatly to be able to help the members have more enthusiasm for their work. It has been great!! On Saturday we were able to head out with the young women's president who took us by a couple houses, we got to know the area a little more and we were able to have a couple good visits. She then helped us to find a family! :) Julia and Karen are from Paraguay and great friends of this Hermana Franco. We talked to them for a little bit and explained who we are and shared with them a message of the Restored Gospel. We were grateful to have found more people to teach. And last night we made a little "plan" with our Elders Quorum President. He called a friend of his to come over to his house while we were there, he was a little afraid that his friend would take it bad so he sent us to visit a family real quick. (we were grateful for him sending us to this Family, familia Melo, we had a great lesson with this family and felt with them the spirit really strong as we talked about the Plan of Salvation) Then casually after the visit we returned to his house, that was the plan, and we just "happened" to show up! Haha when he opened the door he was like, "oh, elders! What a surprise, are you guys working in the area?" he repeated that like 2 or 3 times. We got away with the plan though and had a great lesson with this friend. Right now we`ve been inviting the majority of the people we are with to receive us again, we try and leave them with a short message an invitation to read and a return visit. It has been kinda hard to get people to commit to listening to us. Sometimes it just goes by as a nice message or something.

Monica, Maria and Andrea are all doing really well. Monica continues to struggle with her cigarettes. She is faithful in coming to church and everything like that but what a powerful addiction! The good thing with her and all the investigators that have problems like that is that they never get worse! They always just stay the same or just little baby steps. We have great reason to be happy for that. Time just isn`t ours and we just wait! Maria and Andrea, we had a great visit with them this week. We wanted to help them get a good understanding of Joseph Smith. We went with Hermano Moya (the guy you guys talked to when we skyped), he`s a stud teacher. They still had the doubt that there was a true church. The spirit really helped us to testify to them that they would know if there was this truth if they would search those things that Joseph Smith taught and the works which he did, especially we`re trying to help them read the Book of Mormon so truly those were the perfect words given to us! We hope that they have been reading this week!

Well, President Stapley I`m sure has arrived in Utah by now and President Thurgood and his wife have arrived to Buenos Aires! What a weird experience... We knew it was coming but when it got here, super strange! We had our last meeting with President and Sister Stapley on Wednesday and there we kinda said goodbye. It was really hard to just say "thanks" because it didn`t feel like enough. He really is an inspired man and an example of Christ! He really made such a difference in the mission! Also I had the chance to have, as if it were my exit interview with him on Wednesday too and we had a good talk and he gave me some great pointers for the next chapter of life. Make sure you send him a hello when you go to his homecoming! We are very excited for President Thurgood, I don`t know him. Hardly anyone does but they say he`s an amazing guy! I believe Tuesday will be the first time we`ll see him. I`ll let ya know next week!

I was reading the Book of Mormon today and wanted to share a couple cool scriptures I found. I`ve been trying to be better about having faith and I read about the Sons of Helaman having faith and it working for them as a principle FOR power.

46 For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus.

47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

55 And now it came to pass that when they had surrendered themselves up unto us, behold, I numbered those young men who had fought with me, fearing lest there were many of them slain.

56 But behold, to my great joy, there had not one soul of them fallen to the earth; yea, and they had fought as if with the strength of God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength; and with such mighty power.

Their faith and confidence had become so strong in the Lord that they did not doubt what He was capable of doing for them and in the moment of need they were able through their faith call down the powers of Heaven and receive great blessings in their lives. I know that we need this in our lives. We have to have Heavenly Father's help in order to do the many difficult things that life requires! I also know that we need to work in order to become familiar with what the Lord can do for us- become so familiar with HIM that our confidence can wax strong in the moment when we call upon Him. It is something that is easier said than done, I`m trying to receive that faith and confidence, but as I do so I am coming to know my Father in Heaven more personally and the spirit of Christ truly comes into our lives and helps us have peace! I know that the spirit gives us these gifts.

I love ya guys! Have a great week and we`ll talk to ya next week.

Elder Jolley