Week #72: CHAU URUGUAY, HOLA ARGENTINA

Yoooooo!!! Wow so much happened this week I can't believe it. First things first...we got transfers!!! I received a somewhat surprising transfer and I'm extremely excited. For those who dont know, my mission is awesome because you can potentially serve in 3 different countries while youre here. We have a brazilian city that you can serve in (and youd be forced to learn portuguese) and there is also 3 argentine cities that you can potentially serve in. Well...I cashed in and I'm getting sent to Argentina!!! It's still very close to Uruguay, just crossing the big river between the two countries, but it is a lot different. I honestly couldn't be more excited.

There are only 12 missionaries in the Argentina part of our mission, but we are going to be working our tails off to teach the argentine people!! Gonna miss Uruguay, but Ill be back soon enough!

But with every new area, there is the saying goodbye to the people that youve come to love so much and have changed your life. Thankfully, they were all happy goodbyes, but it is still sad! Ill be leaving the people who have changed me so much over these past 6 months.

I read my favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon, Alma 26, and theres a verse there that I love as a missionary. I didnt baptize thousands of people like Ammon did, but I did get to teach and baptize a few, and Id say I have tasted of this same joy that Ammon teaches about in this chapter. But in verse 7, Ammon speaks about the lamanites that he had taught and baptized and says, "But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are his; and he will raise them up at the last day."

I will continue to communicate with these people for the rest of my life, but I have done my part to teach them the doctrine of the gospel, and I now know, as Ammon knew, that they are in the Lords hands, and they are His! God has his plan for these people, just like He does for all of His children! This message is true and it was go forth unto all people! I cant wait to share it with the people of Argentina!!(:

Braxton saying goodbye to all the members and friends in Salto! 

Braxton braves an Epic rainstorm in Salto! 

Week #71: El arrepentimiento diaria

Yooooo what is going on everybody! It was a memorable week out here in Salto!!! Great things continue to happen in the Lords vineyard like always!  This week we had our interviews with President Dunford and they were great. I honestly wish everyone in this world could meet Pres. Dunford and just feel the love he has for every person he comes into contact with. He makes you feel like a million bucks and gives you the motivation to just be better everyday. He has taught me so much about the gospel in a very short amount of time, and I will attempt to match his love for the rest of my life. 

In my interview with him this past week, he challenged me to do something, like I'm sure he did to many missionaries. It's daily repentance. I've heard that phrase many times, and taught it to many people, and I thought I understood what it was. Well, Pres. Dunford taught me in under 5 minutes what Daily Repentance REALLY is. Daily repentance is waking up every morning with something in mind that we can do better in, and then, pleading with God to give us the strength that day to complete our goal to be better. Throughout the day our specific goal should be on our minds, and we should constantly  be attempting to be better in that aspect of our day. As the day ends, we should be doing some reflection thinking about what we did different that day to be better and complete our goal...and then before going to bed, we offer a prayer to God and do some follow-up with Him, by telling him how we did. Whether we feel accomplished or not, we need to communicate with our Father in Heaven and let Him know what we feel. As we accomplish our specific goals to be better everyday, we go to bed feeling accomplished and we feel the love of God in our lives more, because we are really trying to be better. 

God never asked us to be perfect in this life, He only asked us to give a daily effort to be more like His son. I have started to do this just this week, and I can promise everyone that the blessings are real from daily repentance. Our Heavenly Father has pleaded with us many times through His Prophet Russel M Nelson, that we might repent every single day so that He can heal us and bless us more abundantly. Testifico del amor de Dios, que es real por cada uno de nosotros. Lo sentimos al arrepentirnos cada dia para esforzarnos a ser mas como nuestro salvador, pero nunca llegaremos a sentir este amor tan grande si no vivimos la ley del arrepentimiento.  

Great week with the mission AP's and President Dunford visiting Salto. 

President Dunford with the missionaries in Salto.

Pday Adventures! 

A great Pday fishing! 

Some members invited Braxton over for his BIRTHDAY! 

Birthday package!!! 

Week #70: Bautismo de Maicol

Happy late Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed a giant turkey with some great football. Sadly the great day of Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Uruguay.. Pero es lo que hay. It's okay though because Maicol got baptized and that was a whole lot better! 

I don't feel like Ive told you guys enough about Maicol. This guy is literally just like one those guys in high school that everyone loves because he's just so cool and friendly and is just a stud. Maicol was introduced to the gospel when his girlfriend started to send him simple texts with scriptures, quotes, and phrases about God. Before that, Maicol had zero belief in God. He simply didn't believe He existed. I still remember the first lesson we had with him...we shared Alma 32, that we must plant the seed of belief in our hearts and with time and a lot of work, it grows into a huge tree that can't be knocked down by outside forces. 

He planted the seed about 2 months ago, and he is already getting his own tree. He has a testimony and understanding of the gospel better than most, and he knows that God exists and loves us. Maicol I honestly would say has taught me more than we ever taught him. He shared his testimony after being baptized, and I couldn't stop smiling for the whole night. He knows the church is true, because he did the work necessary to receive the answer from God!

This morning in a district meeting, our district leader shared with us Alma 31. The last verse really struck a chord with me because it said that Ammon and his brothers were so blessed by the Lord that "they had no affliction that wasn't consumed in the joy of Christ". They for sure had their afflictions, but they weren't felt because of the joy of the gospel. I shared a comment with our district that we have this same promise...as missionaries, we probably have a lot more afflictions on the mission, than we ever did before. But we're also a whole lot happier than we ever were before as well. I thought about how that was even possible. To any logical mind that doesn't make sense at all, that we would have more problems, but we would also be a lot happier. It is because as we have a focus on Christ in our lives, He takes those pains away from us and they are not so hard to bear. Our trials are consumed in Christs Joy as we center our lives around Him!

Maicol Baptism!! 

Brax and his companion Elder Johnson