Merry Christmas!

Twas the noon-time of Christmas
And all through the room
The Stocktons were waiting
Their hopes in full bloom!

You see, they were waiting
For the house phone to ring,
A message from Andrew
They hoped it would bring!

And lo! And behold!
(With a minor delay)
A call from Argentina
Did brighten their day!

His voice, it was merry.
His attitude, catching.
His English was goofy --
(He hasn't been practicing :)  )

He heard news from home,
And expressed thanks and love
For the letters, support,
And the prayers sent above.

He told us of life,
About people he teaches,
His joy serving others
And his hope that he reaches ---

Those who search for the truth,
Who seek something more,
Who are anxious to hear
A new "clap" at their door.

His greatest delight,
His joy and his treasure,
Is sharing the gospel
And blessings unmeasured.

He works very hard,
And makes sacrifice too,
But it's worth it, he says,
And there's much work to do!

He loves all the people
He encounters each day,
And hopes he can touch them
For good on their way.

He sends love to his family,
Each one cherished and dear,
Says "hello" to his friends,
And to be of good cheer!

He reminds us of Jesus
Whose message he shares,
A message of love,
That amidst all our cares --

We too can have peace
If we'll follow His way,
If we'll come unto Him,
If we'll share love each day.

We all felt enriched
By his message and voice.
In his service and love
We can only rejoice!

As we wrapped up the call

(Which came much much too soon)

Tender feelings of love

Filled our hearts, and the room.

Our wishes to all,

 Friends and family so dear ...

"May the blessings of Christmas

Stay with you all year!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

With love,

The Stocktons!

December in Jardines

December 17, 2012

Dear Family,

...Oh no! I´ve been naughty and opened up my Christmas package ahead of time! A lump of coal for me! :-o I assumed it was a pre-Christmas package because I thought the Christmas lights were to decorate for December. Ah well! I was told recently that the package from Becca arrived, so... that will be my open-on-Christmas box! (Reminds me of the time Mom caught Jacob and I under the bed in the very act of opening up my Christmas present - a brown Bionicle! Remember that, Mom?)

(It's hard to send any 'surprises,' as we have to declare all the contents of the box on the customs form. Thus the confusion ...)

But I did indeed feel your love as I opened it, and I send you my love and thanks in return. :-) And I love the music! All the music you sent is fantastic - and Elder Wing and I are enjoying it. I am particularly liking the Fernando Ortega CDs. There´s a great feel of honest worship to his songs - it´s not fake or over-the-top. The Hallelujah Chorus (Handel's Messiah) is a big hit here as well. Also a big hit is the fudge and the other snacks, which Elder Wing and I have been treating ourselves to the whole week long. I also finally opened up one of those peanut butter packs yesterday. Mmmmm! I was missing it.

Well, we had an awesome week this week. I´m happier than I´ve ever been on my mission! I feel more capable than ever, and like I´m doing more to help people than ever before. I love to see the change in the lives of the people that we´re teaching. They´re really beginning to get a small taste of what God has in store for them if they continue in the Gospel. And that makes me happy. I used to wish to find people who were all ready to be baptized, and just needed to be taught. But now my desire is to find people whose lives I can help change. The Gospel is a marvelous thing that really makes happy those who follow it.

One of our investigators is doing great. She is developing the habit of reading the Book of Mormon with her kids. She told us that she´s found that when the kids are sad or bored or misbehaving, that she can say ´Let´s go grab the scriptures and read together!´ and all the kids come surround her on the bed and she reads to them out of the Book of Mormon. (The real Book of Mormon, which it turns out they like better than the picture book.) Hurrah! Please, if you would remember her in your prayers, pray that she may withstand the opposition that she´s experiencing and have the courage to do the right thing.

This past week we went to do some service for some investigators -- painting the outside of the building where they work. It turned out that the paint was really thin and hard to apply. I think I ended up painting more of myself than I did the wall. We´re going back to finish painting this Wednesday.

Another investigator is really educated about the Bible! He started telling us about the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, and about callings that should exist in the church, and other things similar to that. I think the more he finds out that the Restored Church fits with what he reads in the Bible, the more he is convinced that it really is the same true church. (Although he was a little surprised to find out that we were Anciants - or, Elders - in the church.) But we don´t think he´s praying to ask God whether these things are true yet, which is vital. He needs to have that spiritual conviction.

We found some fantastic new investigators this week -- a (married!!) couple from Paraguay. They moved here to Argentina a few months back and are building a house to live in. Their 3 kids are in Paraguay still, and it´s hard for the parents to be here without them. When they finish the house, the kids will move here with them. They grew up in another congregation, but as adults they became disillusioned with it. Now they are going around to various churches, looking for a good church to raise their children in. We told them we can give them even better - the true church of Jesus Christ. They are going to start reading in the Book of Mormon, praying, and attending church to know whether it really is. 

Another investigator is a woman from Perú. Her sister and cousin were baptized in Perú years back. She was introduced to the church, but never got very far along the conversion process because of how much she had to work. Now she is looking for some way to bring more unity and happiness to her family. We told her we can help her with that!

The Gospel is just great. It makes people happy. We are so lucky (blessed) to be members of the church.

I´m learning a few phrases in Guaraní! That´s kind of fun. ´Yah yo toe pahtah´ (say it like it reads) means ´See you later!´ If you want to gain a Paraguayan´s confidence/interest, speak Guaraní to them.

Elder Decker and Elder Sampson baptized a family of 3 on Saturday. That was nice to see!

A Family Home Evening with some investigators went great. We played the guitar and sang ´Noche de Luz´ and we felt the Spirit. And, we had panchos, which are like hot dogs but twice as long.

I will call home probably about 4:40 Argentine time, which would be 12:40 your time. Sorry, that´s right around lunchtime, I know! We´re allowed 40 minutes to talk, so we´ll have enough time for a good chat.

I love you so much! Take care, have a great week... pet the kitty for me. Merry Christmas. :-)

Love,
Elder Andrew Stockton

December 2012

 

Hard to believe, 

but one year has come and gone!

Happy hump day, Elder Stockton!

November 30, 2012

December 3, 2012

Hello, dear family!

This week saw lots of miracles here in Jardines. We´re teaching some people that are just... really cool. I´m so lucky (blessed) to be here and be able to interact with these fantastic souls. They bless my life, and I hope to be able to bless theirs. May I tell you about a few of the awesome people/experiences of Jardines?

One of the investigators we are teaching ... was a referral from the elders in Jardines B, who contacted her on the bus. She´s from Paraguay. When she was a child, her aunt and cousins converted to the Gospel. She spent lots of time with them, and so she grew up going to Primary and Family Home Evenings. She was never able to be baptized because her parents wouldn´t give her permission. When she was 12, she moved here to Argentina and lost contact with the Church. Now we´re teaching her and her 5 kids, all of whom are under the age of 6. 

When we had our first lesson with her, we invited her to prepare to be baptized in the church, and she accepted. Part of that preparation is going to church, which is the commitment that is hardest for investigators to keep. We knew it was going to be especially hard for her, having 5 kids to take care of. But she told us, ´Elders, I am going to do everything in my power to get to church on Sunday.´ That´s something you rarely hear as a missionary. We arranged for a sister in the ward to come and help us get her there to church, and we showed up their house at 8:40 on Sunday morning to pick them up. All of them were dressed nicely and waiting for us. I think that may be the first time that has ever happened to me on the mission! It was quite nice!

Then we hit an obstacle. Our plan was to take the kids and walk the block to the bus stop, then take the bus to church. But when we got there, we were informed that a bus driver had been killed that morning and as a result none of the buses were running! Augh! We tried to call for a remis (taxi), but none of them were running that early in the morning. We tried to call a member of the ward to come pick us up, but no one answered. We were there almost an hour before thankfully, a brother from the ward called us back and came to pick us up. In the meantime, I was able to exercise the talent I´ve developed on the mission of keeping children entertained. I pulled out a ´Friend´ magazine and some colored pencils, and with that was able to keep them from getting bored and noisy while my companion tried to find a way to get us to church.

At last we were able to get there, and we had a great meeting. During Sacrament meeting, I looked over (from where I was at the piano) at our investigator, expecting to see her distracted quieting her children. But what I saw was just her, holding her months-old baby and looking at the speaker! The members had totally taken charge of helping her with her kids, so that she was left free to concentrate and feel the Spirit. That was nice to see. I feel like we´ve got good members here in Jardines.

That´s all I´ve got time for! Love you so much! Talk to you next week.
Elder Stockton

Pictures from Andrew's last days in Bragado:

Adela! We had a great last lunch with her, with the zone leaders there. We didn´t tell Adela I was leaving, because she has this habit of getting up during the wee hours of the morning and walking down to the bus station to see Elders off - which she really shouldn´t do.

December 10, 2012

Hi! I´m writing to you from a cyber near the offices today, because today is ´Renew-your-documents´ day for my mission age-group. How are things? I can feel some of the special Christmas spirit when I think about home - the tree and the lights and the heater vent... and cookies and Christmas music. And, sitting on the couch with a blanket and a sleeping kitty on your lap, while eating peanut butter crackers and reading a book. (Don´t worry, I only think about these things on P-day! ;-) But, let´s see - it looks like we might be able to give the pench a little more of a Christmasy look with the contents of this package that I picked up from the offices...! This is to open now, right? It´s not a to-wait-for-Christmas box? (If it is, I´ll only find out next week, by which date it will be too late!) Thanks much! I´m getting spoiled with all these packages!

Well, we had a good week this week. Some of our investigators are progressing really well! In fact, the woman I told you about is progressing better and faster than I´ve ever seen! She came to church again on Sunday. It was a little harder with the kids this time, but she still enjoyed it. She seems so happy recently. The other day we asked her what kind of change she´s seen in herself since she began investigating. She she told us how the Gospel has given her a hope for her life, a reason to live and to fight every day. This week she asked us about the temple and about eternal families, without us even bringing it up. She obviously has her sights set beyond just baptism - she sees the real reason for following the Gospel! He children are happy, too. They loved Primary and were anxious to return. This week we gave her a Book of Mormon Picture Book to read with her kids, so that they (and she) can get to know the Book of Mormon stories and people.

This week we made burritos, with refried beans that my companion somehow obtained here in Argentina, and tortillas made with empanada tortillas. Not quite like what we eat at home, but... at least enough to make me say, Mmmm, good!

I got a HUGE sunburn the other day after being in the sun only an hour! The problem was, I was in a normal T-shirt (we were doing service), and the skin on my back and neck that is usually hidden under my collar was exposed to the sun. It didn´t take long for me to be burned, burned, burned... I´m a little better now, but it was making me pretty uncomfortable for a few days with my collared shirts!

It looks l like Christmas is going to be good here! On P-day the 24th, our whole mission is going to the temple (for the first time, woohoo!), then back to the offices for a mission-wide lunch and devotional. Should be good!

And the day of, a phone call home! We need to arrange the time to call next week, because we won´t be emailing home the 24th. How many hours ahead of AZ time is Argentina? I´m looking forward to it!

Well, that´s all I´ve got today! I love you all. Keep that Christmas Spirit in your hearts! Thanks for your prayers!

Love,
Elder Andrew Stockton

From ´The Gardens´

November 26

Hello, family! Yep, the feelings and dreams were confirmed - I´ve been transferred out of my dear area of Bragado! Sad, but, ah well. On to a new adventure in el barrio ´Los Jardines´ (The Gardens). It certainly is a change! (And, I´m curious... how did you find out about the transfer? Does sister Carter put the transfer video on the blog for people to watch?) [Yes, she does, and yes, we did.]

My initial impression about Jardines A is this: It´s an area rich with potential ... Elder Wing and I have prayed and talked and have set a goal to baptize 5 people this transfer.

My companion is Elder Wing, from Utah. He arrived in Argentina around 4 months back, after serving a temporary assignment in Tennessee. He makes fantastic pancakes, and has already taught me how to make homemade pita bread. (Mmm!) Next up on the list is empanadas.

I have recently become profoundly grateful for the excellent plumbing I experienced in the zone of Chivilcoy. Let me tell you about how our shower works!
First, you have to turn a knob to start the water flow from our well into the bathroom.
Second, you have to turn another knob to start filling the shower tank with water.
Third, you have to flip the switch to start heating the water, wait 25 minutes until the water heats, then flip the switch off so that you don´t burn/melt anything.
Finally, you can take your shower. You have about 10 minutes of water, and as the water level gets lower the water pressure does the same.
And afterward, you have to turn all the knobs off that were on.

There´s a similar but less complicated process for flushing the toilet... and the bathroom sink doesn´t work. So... we´ve got some pretty complicated plumbing here! I think that this pench wasn´t actually totally finished when we started living it. The stove also isn´t connected to gas from outside - we buy big tanks of gas and hook it up. But the size and layout of the pench are nice, and after we do a little bit of spring cleaning I think it will look quite nice! And other pluses - next door live some members from Paraguay, who make us things like Paraguayan Soup (not actually a soup at all) and who wash our clothes for us. Ahh! There´s something to be thankful for. Another nice thing about the area is that the members give us lunch every single day. (And just as I was getting to really like spaghetti...)

More about the area: It´s huge! There were no buses in Bragado, but here there´s no other way to get around. You have to take a bus to get just about anywhere! 

This area is divided in two - Jardines A and B. The split happened about 3 months ago, so this is actually considered to be a fairly new area. Generally I think that when 4 elders share a ward, they also share an apartment, but not in this case. The 2 elders in Jardines B are Elder Decker and Elder Sampson. I know Elder Sampson from the MTC - we weren´t in the same district, but we lived on the same floor so we talked some. And here´s a funny thing: At the transfer meeting, before the actual meeting had started, I was talking to Elder Sampson. I told him that I was leaving Bragado, and he said, ´Oh, great! You should come to Jardines with me!´ I told him I would think about it and get back to him after the meeting. And then, lo and behold... Elder Stockton was transferred to Jardines A.

I´m glad you had a happy Thanksgiving! They don´t celebrate Thanksgiving here, but Elder Wing and I had a lunch that was very similar to a Thanksgiving feast on Friday with some members.

And I got your care package! I opened it up this morning and was thrilled to find my very own fruit slicer. And it´s so fancy! Thanks so much! And the Christmas music will be great! ´Tis the season, indeed. Tell Margaret I say hi... and give her a pat for me.

Well, that´s all I´ve got for today! It´s looking like it´s going to be a great transfer. Thanks for your letters, thanks for the pictures... best wishes from me here. I love you all!

With love,
Elder Andrew Stockton

The Last Week of the Transfer

November 19

Hello, dear family!

I'm writing to you still from Bragado, though how much longer I'll be here I'm not sure. Hermana Spinelli had a dream the other night that I had left Bragado, and woke up quite upset that I hadn't gone to say goodbye before going. Imagine her surprise when that same day, Elder Hougaard walked into her store, not with me but with the zone leader, and jokingly told her that I had been sent home! She thought her dream had been made reality! 

Apart from that, Elder Hougaard dreamed last night that I had left Bragado and that he had stayed to train a new missionary here. And I've just had this ominous feeling recently that this chapter of my mission is finishing. We'll see whether these presentiments (is that a real English word?) really imply a change or whether they`re nothing. Our leaders will call us tonight to tell us whether we are staying or leaving for this next transfer.

Well, we had a pretty good week this week! It was our turn again for the zone leaders to visit, so we spent the week doing splits with Elder Young and Elder Griggs. It's always fun to go find and teach with another Elder. Everyone has different styles of teaching and contacting, and I can almost always pick up something from them. At the end of our week together, we had interviews to discuss what we learned and what we can improve upon. Elder Griggs told me that I've refined my teaching since the first time we went on divisions (this was my 3rd week of divisions with Elder Griggs). That was nice to hear! I'm almost at the year mark now. Wow. Supposedly now is the time when time starts to fly even faster. Everyone says the second year goes by like the blink of an eye.

We've started listening to Christmas music! Kind of weird since it's so hot outside.

My bike tire went flat again... and we realized that because of the thinness of the back tire, it was just going to keep going flat. So we got permission to get a new cover put on the back tire. It goes a lot faster now! (And no punctures yet.) We also got the seat raised and the handlebars tightened on the wicked witch bike. (The new one. It's the wicked witch bike because the seat was so low - we were sitting straight up when we rode it, and it was really uncomfortable to pedal.) So we are in bidness! The next task is to have brakes put on the old bike.

We had some good banana bread experiences this week! Hermano Coradeghini had requested that I find the recipe for banana bread so that we could bake it in a family home evening. So that's what we did on Monday! (It feels like a long time ago, actually.) It turned out really well! Later, I happened to spy a sign that said that bananas were on sale: 2 kilos for 10 pesos. (15ish bananas for 2 dollars.) Of course they were brown bananas (that's why they were so cheap), but brown bananas were exactly what we were looking for! So the zone leaders made 4 more loaves of banana bread while we did weekly planning, and we shared with some investigators who had a birthday. Now we've got a family home evening this night with one of our investigators, so we bought ingredients to make more banana bread. Quite tasty.

Well - that's all I've got time for today! Things are going well here, and it sounds like they are at home too. I hope you have an awesome week! (Ha - I had to think just now to remember what time of year it was there. I was imagining summer, but I guess it's not so!) Love you so much!

Companion study --
do they wear skirts in Argentina?

Visiting some investigators in the hospital
with their new little arrival

love,
Elder Stockton

An entertaining tale (tail?) or two

 Hello family!

November 12

Here's some fantastic news: We got our sinks fixed! Ha ha! No more draining pasta in the bathtub for these elders! Also, my bike broke again - the chain snapped. So we had a new chain put on, and the great thing is it actually fits the bike right! So now I don't have to get off my bike every couple minutes and put the chain back on. And with those two things, our quality of living just shot up. It's super nice. The next thing on the list is to buy a new bed. (Mine collapsed about 3 weeks ago while I was standing on it, cleaning the ceiling. I've been feeling like a hot dog as I've slept for a while, folded into the matress. Gotta fix that.)

I'm a little short on time, so I'm going to borrow Elder Hougaard's description of this event to his family:

So the other day we were going around visiting people with our Elders Quorum president, and as Elder Stockton so gracefully got into the car, he ripped his pants all the way up the back. Thinking it was not a big rip he got out of the car at the next place and started walking, as we were walking the Hermano called me back to the car and pointed out the problem. I looked over at Elder Stockton and there he was, standing at the door waiting with a big old hole in his pants haha! So I walked up to him and informed him that the hole in his pants was a little bit bigger than what he may have thought before haha. Elder Stockton is a stud though and just took it like a champ! :) What a great kid haha. Luckily one of our investigators sews for a living and so we went over there and they fixed his pants right up for him.

Yep, that was a fun one. God works in a mysterious way sometimes. Because before ripping my pants, we didn't have plans to visit Marcelo (whose wife stitched up my pants). But when we went, we found them at just the perfect moment to teach them a lesson. The whole family was there and available to listen - including the wife, who we had never been able to listen to the lesson because she was always working in the other room.

Other experiences:

The other day, we bought a big bag of facturas (donuts and churros) to eat and to share with investigators. We arrived at Alicia's house and shared a couple. Then I asked Alicia to show us her fig trees, so we left our stuff on the outside table where we were and she took us around the house. When we came back, we caught Alicia's dog in the very act of licking the last of the sugar from the sides of the bag. Oh well! At least the figs were cool. She says that she goes and picks kilos and kilos of figs when they start getting ripe. Kind of like what our yard will be like in a few years, no? (For Dad: There are 2 trees - she says they are both the same type: 'breva' figs.)

Just like at home!

Well, that's all for today! It's great to get your letters. I'm impressed with Jacob's beard. He looks a lot like dad in days now past.

Have a fantastic week! Thanks for your love and prayers.

love,
Elder Andrew Stockton

November 2012 - Revisiting Lujan

Happy November, family! Can you believe it?

All right - I´ve much to write about this week. It seems like so much happened, and all in just a week. Wow. I´ll try to get it all in!

First off... we got bikes again! Hurrah!! The long-awaited day arrived, and suddenly we are able to do so much more than normal! We did better this week than we´ve ever done before. In fact, the whole zone of Chivilcoy did better than normal! Each week, we can see the results of all the other zones and areas of our mission. And this week, Chivilcoy came out on top! Quite a change from a year ago, when Chivilcoy was either last or second last every week. We´re seeing the change in campo that President predicted, and that we´ve been working towards since getting here! It´s nice to be a part of that, and I´m happy for the success of the other Elders and Sisters in Chivilcoy. I love my zone! We´re all good friends, despite the fact that we only see each other once every 2 months or so.

On Thursday a General Authority came to our mission - Elder Jorge F. Zeballos. My companion and I were excited to go and learn from him. Unfortunately, we stayed up late on Wednesday night getting ready for it - shining shoes, organizing, etc. I say unfortunately, because we also had to get up at 2:00 in the morning to get there in time. So, although I´m sure that the talk was very good, I honestly didn´t get anything out of it because all of my energy was going into keeping myself awake. Rats. That was a good opportunity I missed. But, lesson learned - next time I´ll choose to follow Mary´s example instead of Martha´s. 

But, here´s a fun thing: The ´Mission Tour´ with Elder Zeballos took place in... Luján! So I got to return to the place of my mission ´birth´. It was fun to walk around and see the city that I spent my first couple months in. And, even better, three of the very members that I had been hoping to see there in Luján happened to come into the chapel during our 5 minute break, and I so I got to talk to them. That was nice! Tender mercies.

Getting home was tricky. Due to a recent rain, parts of Luján are totally flooded - including the Catholic cathedral (see photos) and the bus station. Ack! So there were far fewer buses leaving Luján than there normally were. We waited a few hours for a bus, but one wasn´t coming. So, we took a bus to Mercedes, waited for a while to take a bus to Chivilcoy, then waited a while to take a bus back to Bragado. While we waited in the bus terminal, we formed a missionary choir and sang hymns, which was fun. 

I gave Elder Hougaard a haircut. He bought a pair of electric clippers, and gave me one first. Then, a few days later, he taught me how and I gave it a try. It turned out really good! Maybe you can see it in some of the pictures.

We bought ice cream to celebrate Arnaldo´s baptism and ate it outside. That was fun!




We really are being blessed to be instruments in God´s hands, in finding and teaching people.

And, we met and taught an English teacher. In English!

There are lots more experiences that I would like to share, but I´m afraid there´s just not time! It´ll have to wait until next week. 

Thanks for your love, your support. My favorite part of P-day is reading your letters and imagining how life is for all of you! Have a wonderful, wonderful week!


Love you all so much!
Elder Andrew Stockton

Baptism to finish up the month!

Hello, family! 

Well... lots of things happened this week! But I´ll start with the best:
We had a baptism on Saturday! It was a fantastic event. He was so ready to be baptized and to make this lifelong commitment to follow Christ. Did I already tell you that he read through the Book of Mormon in 3 weeks? (We asked him where he was reading in an appointment one day, and he said he was ´almost finished´. Turned out he had finished the whole Book of Mormon and was almost finished reading the Guía de Estudio para las Escrituras, which is like the Bible Dictionary in the Spanish Book of Mormon.)

The service was very nice. We planned it all pretty well. The only problem was, we got back late from an appointment and were only there 15 minutes before the baptism started! Ack! That´s not quite enough time. Well, it is, but... it´s more stressful. Better to be tranquilo during the baptism and be able to focus more on the significance of it.

We started with a song, then heard some talks. Then Elder Hougaard and I sung Divina Luz (Lead, Kindly Light) as a special musical number. (Surprise! More on that later.)

His son baptized him, which was great. As a result, his family, plus Arnaldo´s wife, came to church the next day for the confirmation. I hope that they will all keep coming! We all felt the Spirit!

After the service, we had refreshments and talked. Then, Elder Hougaard and I took him to the chapel and played/sung the real musical number we had prepared for him. (At the last minute before the baptism started, we realized that we had set up the baptism in the room that didn´t have the piano in it, so... we had to just sing it. But the version we had prepared involved Elder Hougaard singing and me playing the piano, and was quite nice.) He liked it.

He was confirmed yesterday in church, and today we´re going to his house to start teaching him the missionary lessons again! It´s nice to have been able to be a factor in his conversion. I´m realizing that the Lord really could do his work without us. It´s a blessing and a privilege to be able to help in the work of rescuing our brothers and sisters who don´t have the Gospel.

Other fun things that happened this week:

The other day we were talking to the Spinelli family in their business on the way home. They found out that Elder Hougaard´s birthday was a few weeks ago, and that we hadn´t done much celebrating because he didn´t know any members yet. They chastised me for not having brought him over to their house for lunch. Then we left and went home to the pench to plan. About 10 minutes later, we got a phone call from Brother Spinelli - he told us he was outside the pench and asked if we could bring him a few Books of Mormon to give away to friends. So we walked out there and that they had gone to buy us pizzas and caramels to celebrate his birthday. They also gave us some cool ´Argentina´ bandannas. I don´t know when or where I could ever wear them, but they´re nice to have anyway.

We went out to work in a fantastic Argentine storm. We got to the point where we were slogging through mud and water up to our knees. (See pictures!) It´s raining again now, actually. Pretty cool!

A few weeks ago, our kitchen sink broke. We started washing all our dishes in the laundry sink. Well, this week, our laundry sink broke. So we´re washing all our dishes in the bathtub. Time to call a plumber, methinks.

Eggs are cheap! Lots of eggs!

Ice cream?

Time to finish up! Love you all so much. Thanks for your letters, your support, your love. Have a great week!

love from,
Elder Andrew Stockton

More October

October 15, 2012
Hello, family! It´s great to hear what´s happening at home! Weird to think that you are experiencing the opposite weather - it´s getting colder there while everything is green and sunny here. (And, getting sunnier - I foresee some hot months coming up.)

Elder Wells was transferred to a new area

As you saw, we had a transfer meeting last Wednesday. And as you guessed (and I hoped), I´m staying in Bragado for another round. And I am confident that this is the transfer that will finally see the harvest of fruit we´ve been working for, as well as set up for an abundant harvest in the future. 

My new companion is Elder Braden Hougaard, from Utah. He started the mission a month and a half after I did, but he´s only been in Argentina 4 months because his visa took a long time getting through. (It seems that I was lucky! I got mine after just 3 weeks of waiting.) This is his second area. He came from a very busy city area called Caseros, where no one would stop to listen or talk. So he loves campo, where just about everyone is willing to stop and chat. 

Does Elder Stockton look like a "giant among men" to you?

Elder Haugaard and some members

I´m happy because we have a companionship that will work together, improve together, and give the work our all. From Thursday to Sunday, we taught 3 lessons with a member present and 6 other lessons, found 11 new (good) investigators, set 4 new baptismal goals, found more than 40 separate houses to return to and teach, and reworked our map and organization of our data to facilitate more effective planning. 

Our contacts and challenges have been powerful. Our lessons have been powerful because we´re working in unity. We have the Spirit. And in addition to that, Elder Hougaard is just a good guy. So, we´re having a good time, and we are looking forward to this transfer. We have high expectations, and we´re giving everything we´ve got to the work. 

Of course we´re still far from perfect, but we recognize our imperfections and are trying to improve, and that is making a lot of the difference. I foresee a lot of personal progress this transfer, and a lot of progress in the Branch. I hope it doesn´t sound like I´m boasting. I know as to my strength I am nothing, but I will boast of my God! ...And I´m really excited for this transfer.

So, wish us luck! And more than luck, wish us health (My comp is a little under the weather. Must be my cooking?) and success!

No other news, really... just a request: If you happen to be thinking about sending a package my way within the next few months, here are a few things I definitely wouldn´t mind having:
1. a new head to my electric toothbrush (I won´t tell you what happened to the old one.) [Check]
2. a metal fruit cutter that cuts apples into slices. [Check]
3. a washing machine [Hmmmm]

I love you all! I hope you have a great week, each of you. We should thank God for letting us be together as a family. :-)
Take care!
Elder Andrew Stockton

October 22, 2012

Well! It´s been a good week! It seems like lots of stuff has happened.

This week we ran into a problem that I have never had to deal with before - a problem that other missionaries have recently started experiencing in the mission, and that President Carter says he hopes for every missionary to be confronted with: we have too many people to visit, and not enough time! If we visit only our current investigators, 2 or 3 times a week (which is standard), we´ll finish the week with over 40 lessons. Wow! Generally we finish the week with about 15. And in addition to that, we have to go see all of the people we found last week who said we could come back and talk to them, and we have to find time to visit the members and strengthen them. There´s just not enough time! The large size of the area and our lack of bicycles also complicate things. So I´m sure that this transfer is going to help me to learn better how to organize and plan. We´ve also decided to tighten up our metaphorical nets - we can´t afford to spend our time visiting those people who have to be convinced to listen to the message of the Gospel. We´re looking for those who are looking for it. So that means discerning who, among our investigators, is really going to progress. It´s not actually very hard to see - those who keep their commitments progress, and change. 

Does the dog count as an investigator?

Last Saturday was the Bragado Horse Festival, celebrating the founding of Bragado some years back. We took some pictures of the gauchos riding around on their horses. ´Gaucho´ means cowboy - and they´re real Argentine cowboys. Kind of fun! 

Fun things:
Earlier in the week, Elder Hougaard and I went to visit a man who we had made a return appointment with. His house was next to a bar. Our guy wasn´t there, so while my companion fixed an appointment to come back another time, I talked to two guys who were sitting at a table nearby. One of them was a cool guy who really wants to change his life. When I wrote down his address, I found that he is the dad of one of our other new investigators! Hey! Cool! How often does that happen?

Argentine kids are incredibly cute.

On Sunday, we went to pick up an investigator for church. She didn´t come out for a long time. As we were waiting, we saw a gaucho (cowboy), who beckoned us to come and talk to him. (I already knew this one - I had contacted him before.) We did. It turned out his horse had escaped, and he wanted our help to go catch it. So, we helped him get his horse back, and made an appointment to come back later and help teach him the Gospel. 

Domestic Duties

Super cleaning day

This is what is left if you boil water in a pan until it all evaporates. So… that´s what we´re drinking. From what I can tell from what the members have told us, it might be arsenic.

I love you all! Thanks for your letters. I hope you all continue doing well. Talk to you next week!


All my love,
Elder Andrew Stockton

No, Elder ... we walk and ride bikes, remember?

 

Someone taped our ´Jesus´ pass-along card to their door… along with Gauchito Gil and a Catholic saint.

A beautiful day in a beautiful park!

October

October 1

Hello, family!
We had another good week this week - full of walking, contacting and teaching. This month we`ll also include baptizing to that list. :-)

I thought maybe you`d like to know a little about some of our current investigators!

The family of 6 was sort of progressing but, sadly, unwilling to do what it took to come to church. After 3 weeks we had to drop them. Although we love people and want them to progress, they have to be willing to put forth the effort to do what is required to gain a testimony. [Other contacts have also fallen through.]
That`s the way it goes sometimes! No conversion is ever easy, but is riddled with challenges and obstacles all along the way. We just have to keep trying, and to get more and more effective at following up and staying in touch and keeping people in the processes, helping them to overcome obstacles and reach the goal.

Here are some of our other investigators:

[We are teaching] a 24-year-old guy who is studying to be a chef. We found him knocking doors 3 weeks ago. He was interested to hear what we had to say, so he let us in and we started to teach him about the Restoration. We wanted him to come to church on Sunday, but weren`t able to get in touch with him the day before to firm up the plans, so the likelihood of his coming was only about 10%. Imagine our surprise when we arrived at the chapel, bummed because the investigators we went to pick up had failed us, to find him already there. He told us, `I told you I`d come!` That rarely happens. And he stayed and was alert and attentive for all of Sacrament Meeting! 

Later, we taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ - that is, about faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As we talked about faith in Jesus Christ, we learned more about his religious beliefs. He believes in Gauchito Gil*, one of the `popular saints` of Argentina. We discussed how Jesus Christ is the only one who can cleanse us from our sins, because of His love and atoning sacrifice for us. We invited him to pray and ask God if Jesus Christ is real, and if He suffered for our sins. He said that if he receives an answer, he will take all of the faith that he has formerly put into Catholic saints and put it into Jesus Christ. 

So, he is progressing nicely. He`s a cool kid.

*Gauchito Gil is a Robin Hood-type cowboy saint, not officially approved by the Catholic church. Many people here put up shrines and give offerings to Gauchito Gil, hoping to be blessed with better health, help finding work or help escaping the law. If you want more info, you can probably look him up on Wikipedia.

[Another investigator] is a 70ish-year-old man who teaches guitar and has a radio show where he reads and analyzes poetry that youth send in. His wife is an inactive member, and his son is a former branch president. He investigated the church once in the past, but didn`t progress towards baptism. Now, he feels like it is time to be baptized. We`ve taught him the majority of the lessons and he accepts everything that we teach, including the Word of Wisdom which we thought might be a problem. He is blazing through the Book of Mormon and coming to church every week. We expect that he will be baptized this month!

Well, rats. Do you know I`m already out of time? I've got to learn to either type faster, or to not go back and keep revising what I've already written. Anyway. It was a good week. Other things:

We had a zone conference, where President Carter came and told us how to BE better missionaries. It was really good!

I got sickish for a day, but we kept working and that day was really successful. And, I'm better now.

Anyway! I love you all so much. I loved to see the pictures and how happy you all look. It makes me even happier just to see you. In almost no time we`ll be back together again. I fondly look forward to that time! (But still appreciating this time! I don`t want it to go TOO fast.)

Love you so much!
Elder Stockton

October 8

Dear My Family,

Ha ha! We get a temple in Tucson! How fantastic! And what a General Conference! This was one of the best ones I can remember! I got to watch every session, happily. Most of the members opted to watch Conference on their home computers, but there were a few there with us in the chapel. When President Monson announced that a temple will be built in Tucson, I couldn´t restrain an excited yell and a fist-pump in the back of the chapel. (I hope that was appropriate.) Tucson will have a temple. My home will have a temple! 

I guess it´s almost like a tradition for us in our family to, when the Prophet announces where new temples will be built, cross our fingers and hope and pray that he´ll announce ´Tucson, Arizona.´ And on Saturday... he really did! I was so excited! I would love to have been at home with you when the news was announced, as I am sure that you too must have shouted for excitement and joy. (Well, except maybe Mom, who was in the chapel.) (Well -- I did let out a little shout too -- along with the Tucson missionaries and a handful of other people in the chapel! Couldn't help it!) How special. Shortly after the conference I received a phone call from Elder Bower (who is now in my same zone - with Elder Correa, my former companion. Lucky Elder Correa, to get 2 Tucsonans in a row!), and we excitedly surmised together about details regarding the future temple. What will it look like? Will it be a big or a small temple? Will it have an Angel Moroni? Where will it be located? How long will it take to build? Who will dedicate it? Will we get to participate in the cultural celebration? Will it be done in time for us to get sealed there? (Heh, heh.) Cool stuff.

So, yep! Conference was fantastic. A few of the talks spoke directly to me, like the one about exercising faith, and Elder Holland´s. (Man, talk about someone who can be ´distinguished for his zeal towards God, and also towards men´!) The only thing I want now is... to listen to them again, in English - especially Elder Holland´s talk. I got a lot out of the Conference in Spanish, but it´s still better in the native language. Some of the speakers dubbed their own talks in Spanish! (Such as Elder Scott.) That was cool!

Transfers are this Wednesday. I´m hoping to stay in Bragado to start seeing the fruits of my labors. I feel like Bragado is at the point of bearing fruit! It´s almost there! I wouldn´t want to leave now. But we´ll see what the Lord has in store for me. I should find our later tonight. (Spoiler alert ... it appears from the mission blog that Andrew got a new companion, but gets to remain in Bragado. We'll know for sure next week.)

I thought about buying cow brains in the store today. (Okay, not for very long, but the thought did cross my mind.)

I sent off two big envelopes of letters that I´ve been saving for the last 3 transfers. If you could redistribute it, I´d be grateful!

Hey, I forgot to comment last week! I´m super excited that Julia got her mission call! Heh heh - actually, I read first on my email that she had been called to serve in San Diego, California. Then I went back to the pench and read a letter that I recently got from her, which informed me that she recently turned in her mission papers. The internet wins in the contest of speed. 

But hey! So cool! She had talked to me in the past about the prospect of maybe serving a mission, but now it´s for real! I think she´ll be a great missionary. And, know what else is cool about that? Well, recently the church made some special training videos for missionaries. They go hand-in-hand with Preach My Gospel, demonstrating principles of teaching in action. They focus on the missionaries in a district and their investigators. Every missionary currently serving in the field knows who Sister Voyles, Sister Zaldivar, Jynx, Elder Christensen, Elder Murray, Amor, and Germán are. (Those are some of the missionaries and investigators featured in the training videos.) But, where did the experiences in the videos all take place? In the California, San Diego mission! So who knows? Maybe Julia will get a chance to teach some of the same people featured in the videos.

So, let´s see. What else has happened recently? 

Well, it rained SUPER HARD, the hardest I´ve ever seen it rain here. And I was caught without an umbrella! Miraculously, my scriptures remained dry (those protective cases really work), but everything else on or about my person was thoroughly drenched. Anyway! That was kind of fun.

I have felt my testimony strengthened as I´ve remembered the importance of having faith.

We ate an asado (barbecue) with another family in the ward, which was fun.

That´s all I´ve got time to write today!

I love you all, and I think you´re fantastic. Best of luck to each of you, in all that you´re doing. Mom, please say hello to Grandma for me and tell her that I love her.

Have a great week, I´ll look forward to hearing from you again next Monday!

Love,
Elder Andrew Stockton

September News

September 17 -- This Fantastic Week!

Well, hello! It's wonderful to hear from you, as always. We had a great week here. A very long week with no P-day last Monday, but a great week even so.

So, where shall I start? The temple celebration? It was fun! It was very well done - I can't even imagine how much work it must have taken to put it together. I bet the leaders of the project are relieved that it's over. There was lots of singing and lots of dancing. We even had a part, marching onto the field singing the 4 verses of Llamados a Servir (Called to Serve). 

The celebration took place in a futbol stadium (er, soccer stadium), so they made good use of the giant screens and camera resources that they had.The whole thing looked pretty professional! (Except for maybe the small children, who would smile and wave every time they saw the camera point at them.)  But I think the best part was just being there for such an event. It was good to be with a group of saints gathered together to celebrate the dedication of a temple.

We spent almost all that night traveling, and arrived in Chivilcoy in time to get a couple hours' sleep before heading to the temple dedication. I was actually kind of sleepy and had a hard time focusing for the first couple talks, but when President Eyring got up to speak and then offer the dedicatory prayer, I was wide awake and able to appreciate it. I felt the Spirit there very strongly. I felt that God was watching us, and I felt close to Him.

So, that was the 2nd part of our special weekend! After the dedication, we returned back to Bragado, finished up our week, and then went straight into the next one! And, we had quite a bit of success this week. We found a total of 15 new investigators, which is more than I've ever found in a week with just me and my companion working. And even better, we were able to go back and visit quite a few of them during the week. (Sometimes you have a first lesson, but they disappear and you never get to have a second lesson.) We were very blessed.

[We have had a lot of contact with a very nice family.] They're some of my favorite ward members here - they occasionally feed us lunch, and they are always eager to help out and to share the Gospel. They bought a new pair of nice shoes as a gift for my companion because he was needing some new ones. And the other day, I asked them if they knew a good place to get a haircut. They directed us to a barber, and after I got my haircut I found out that it had already been paid for. They're a cool family. 

Anyway, my companion wanted to do something nice for them, and so with some of his birthday money he bought them an asado, which is a huge, delicious Argentine barbecue. They cooked it, and we all went yesterday after church to eat it. But! They also arranged for us to teach a lesson to [a relative] and her boyfriend. So after the asado, we got to teach what turned out to be the best lesson of my mission so far. 

We taught about the Plan of Salvation - Where we came from, why we are here on this earth, why badness exists in the world, and what happens afterward. They were very interested, very attent (is that a word? My English is suffering) to what we were teaching. They asked good questions and really understood the message. Afterward, we transitioned the lesson into our purpose as missionaries and invited them to investigate the church to the end of being baptized. We then talked about the Book of Mormon and its role in helping us know whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of Jesus Christ. We explained what it was and gave them a copy. Then we asked them to read and pray about it. Then Jonathan surprised us by saying, 'But I don't need to pray. I already know this book is true.' He and his girlfriend then expounded on what he had said. How? They said, 'Because we can see it in you. You two are illuminated! There is something different about you. And it's not like it's you, but it's like God is with you.' Wow! How great to have someone recognize that, and trust in that. It gives me confidence that the Spirit is with us. It was a good lesson.

And I'm out of time already, but other experiences, in brief, were:

Following a prompting of the Spirit to go contact a certain family on the street, we found a fantastic family of 6 to teach, who have baptismal goals set and are progressing nicely.

Rain was predicted for Sunday, but we prayed hoping that it would be sunny so our investigators would come. And, it was!

I love you all! Stay strong, enjoy life!
Love, Elder Stockton

September 24

Hello, family! I´m having a good day today - hope you are, too. It was nice to read your letters.

Well, this week we had the traveling zone leaders with us again, but for the whole week this time. Elder Wells and I were on splits with Elder Griggs and Elder George this time. Elder George is fun. He was in the marines, but converted to the church and a year later came on a mission. He´s in his last few weeks already and will soon be heading home to Mesa, AZ.

This week was good, in different ways than last week. I learned a lot of things while on splits with the zone leaders. One thing I learned while I was on divisions with Elder George. He would often stop at a house (seemingly randomly), knock it, and we would find a receptive person there. The first time this happened, we were walking down a street when suddenly Elder George said, ´Wait!´ We turned around and went back two houses, where Elder George knocked. A man named Sebastian opened the door and let us in after hearing our invitation, and we taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel. Afterward, we talked about how he had looked for the Spirit to know which houses to knock. He told me, ´My goal during me whole mission was to get to the point where I could feel which house before reaching it. But I always seem to get the prompting right after I pass it.´ Then he told me that every single baptism he has had on his mission came from going back to knock a door that he felt prompted to knock. Wow! I wonder how he got so in-tune with the Spirit so as to be able to feel when there was a door he should knock. I sometimes do, but not with the frequency that he seems to. I guess that comes with practice, looking for and knowing how to recognize the promptings of the Spirit, and following the promptings you receive.

At the end of the week, Elder Wells and I each had a private interview with the zone leaders to discuss what we had learned during the week, and where to go from here. They told me that the next hurdle for me to pass on my way to becoming a better missionary is planning. It´s true - I struggle with planning. There´s a lot of information to keep straight. I guess the more organized I can be, the easier planning will be, and the more effective. So, that´s what I´ll be working on in the future!

Well, hmm. It seems that today is an Argentine holiday, which means that we´re being cut short. (Really, I think that Argentina might have the most holidays of any country.)

But I hope that each of you has a fantastic week! Love you much! Thanks for your prayers and your support. Say Hi to my friends for me! And the kitty.

Love you!
Elder Stockton