Email Letter - 25 February 2009

Hey Fam,

So some big news this week…IM MOVING!! I’ll be moving to a place called Paso De Los Libres, Corrientes. It’s just right across the river from Brazil. I’m pretty excited and I’m going to be a Zone Leader as well. My new comp is Elder Rapp. I don’t know him but I hear he’s pretty cool. One of the coolest things is that Elder Avalos (my trainer) is in that zone as well so I will have the chance to work with him again.

I guess hard work does pay off. President Del Castillo called me yesterday morning to tell me the news. I was very happy. I answered the phone and he said “Elder King the Lord has called you to be a Zone Leader” I found that very cool the way that he said it. Not I have called you but the Lord has called you. It made me think a lot about why I’m here and what I’m doing and who it’s for.

The Lord has called me to serve him and now I have an even greater responsibility to do it in his way. I’m sure that it will be very humbling which is always a good thing for me and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

I have learned a lot here in Reconquista and I won’t ever forget the people or the branch that my comp and I with the Lords help have put together to function. It has helped me prepare for where I’m going now and for other leadership opportunities that I will have in the future. I’m happy to be putting my reading of the church instructions book down and to start reading Preach my Gospel again.

I will have about a 12 hour bus ride which is something that I’m not looking forward to but I will willing sacrifice my night in a bed for a night in the bus to get to my other area.

I have seen miracles here in Reconquista and it was very emotional yesterday saying goodbye to the people here and in Villa Ocampo. The Speranza which is the family that has been trying to reactivate was probably the most emotional because they kept thanking me for helping get them back to church and back on track in what they know is true. It was hard to say goodbye to them and to my baptisms but I know that they will be taken care of by Elder Alarcón and his new comp.

I’m looking forward to writing next week to let you all know about my new comp and area. I love you guys and hope all is well. Take care.

Tay

Email Letter - 18 February 2009

Hey Fam,

Things here are still really good. We are actually really bored on P-days because there is nothing to do. I think that today we are going to try to see if the Catholics will let two Mormon missionaries into the cathedral to take pictures. You will be sure to know how that goes because I’ll send pictures if they allow it. That’s the fun that we have here in Reconquista.

Nothing really cool has happened this week to tell you about. Last Saturday we went and taught that girl that we did the practice baptism with two weeks ago to put a baptismal date with her for this week and she told us that she didn’t want to get baptized. Yup you read correctly, she doesn’t want to get baptized. She still comes to church and goes to young women but doesn’t want to get baptized. It was like a dagger to the heart. It’s sad when you know that someone has a testimony and does everything like a member and nothing is keeping them from receiving salvation but they just don’t want to. It was a hard day for me but we will continue to try to work with her.

One big thing did happen on Sunday! The story goes all the way back to before I even got here. While I was in Resistencia waiting for my bus to come here I had like 5 Elders come up to me and tell me about a less active family that has two ex-missionaries that live right by our house and the church. These 5 Elders told me that if I could get this family in church that this place would turn around and guess what....THEY CAME ON SUNDAY!!! They are awesome. One of them was branch president right after his mission which was less than a year ago and now he’s dating a non member that wants to get baptized so she is dragging the whole family to church with her. I’m so excited! They are going to start working hard to help us with this girl so that she can change her life around and so that they can do the same with theirs. There is hope again in Reconquista! Ha-ha.

We also had a visit from an ex-missionary from Chile. She was way funny and loved to talk. We took some pictures with her which I’ll send sometime but it was cool and she is the second ex-missionary that I’ve met while being here. They always have funny stories to tell. Other than that it’s been just another week.

I think of you all very often and love you lots! Take care.

Tay

Email Letter - 11 February 2009

Hey Fam,

This week has been a good one. Our practice baptism went well and I think that we will put a date with her to get baptized next week sometime.

It has been really, really hot the last few days because it rains in the mornings and then the sun comes out in the afternoon and makes it super humid. I feel like I’m in the middle of a football game but with a shirt and tie on because I sweat so much. It’s crazy. Yesterday there were some members laughing at us because we were sweating so much and then they reminded me that it’s snowing in Utah right now. It was a shot to the heart to hear about the snow.

We have been working hard and actually have had a lot of success finding people to teach. The problem is that I think most of them just want to listen and not really read or pray and that’s the key! If they don’t do that how are they ever going to get a testimony? Its hard sometimes to know what we’ve got and teach people that don’t really want it for themselves.

The Branch is wearing me out. My comp always talks about how stressful it is for him but all he does are interviews and leaves everything else to me. I’m stressed and it’s hard to take care of a Branch and be a missionary. I think that maybe in the next set of transfers we will get some help or I will get moved.

Even though it’s hard finding new people to teach and actually having people come to church it has helped me to stay happy and focused in the Lord's work.

I think about you often and I appreciate your prayers on my behalf. I love you guys. Take care.

Tay

Email Letter - 04 February 2008

Hey Fam,

It’s been a good week. On Sunday we had President here visiting for a capacitation (training) for all of the branch presidencies. We also had our interviews with him that night. With all of the stuff going on and all of the interviews he had I had lots of time to talk with Hna Del Castillo and their granddaughters that are here visiting from Buenos Aires. They were really funny.

We asked the Hna if she could drive us somewhere and she responded “Elder King I don’t know how to drive and when I tried to do it in Resistencia I got in an accident so President said that I can’t drive anymore.” We all thought that it was pretty funny. We tried to tell her that it’s a lot more calm on the streets here and that we would help her but she just wasn’t going for it. She’s a nice lady.

Last week we had two of our investigators tell us that they had gotten answers! It was a little weird but as they explained what had happened and how they got it the Spirit filled the room. It was an awesome experience. We explained to them the importance to follow that answer and they agreed to get baptized. That’s just the first step though. They have a long wait to go but we are hoping to have a baptismal date for the end of this month.

Also I will be doing something pretty unusual for the first time this Saturday. We were talking with another one of our investigators whose family just got baptized a few months ago and she was telling us that she knows that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet but that she wasn’t going to get baptized so I started asking her questions like Are you afraid of water? Would you get baptized if Christ himself told you to or would you tell him no as well? She told me that if Christ told her to get baptized that she would so we opened up to Matthew where it says if you’re not baptized you can’t enter into the kingdom of god and explained that importance of that and then she said that she was afraid of water so we told her that we could have a practice baptism this Saturday to see if she likes it and then we will just baptize her next week. It’s weird that we are going to be practicing a baptism but if that’s what it takes we will do it for sure. It’s this girl’s salvation! I’ll be sure to let you know how that goes next week. Ha-ha.

That’s all really that has been going on. We are all good here and just busy busy busy all the time with the branch and the work. I love you guys. Take care!

Tay