W.O.W. . .This past week was definitely
the best week of my entire mission!!! It was amazing! I haven't ever been
filled with so much love in my being before and I have never had such a
desire to do the work of my Savior and Redeemer. I don't even know how
I'm going to be able to describe this week in words, but I will try my
best. First things first, I'll answer a few questions. One, no I was not
allowed to take pictures at the firesides and cultural event because of
security reasons and because the mission presidents wanted us to be a
perfect example of being disciples of the Lord. So we avoided looking
like tourists. Two, my foot hurts constantly. If I run it does tend to be
more sore at night. It throbs from time to time, but it doesn't halt
the work. Nobody would ever know it hurts me by the way I keep working
and how happy I am! Three, yes please get me signed up for BYU Provo. If
for some reason I don't make it in, I would not like to go to BYU
Idaho. Not interested. I'd rather go to ASU, I think, or go run at some
smaller medical based school. BYU Provo is my first choice, though. Four,
I think I want Kevin to come to Argentina more than anyone else so he
can have a sneak peak at the mission life and help in his preparation.
Five, My companion would LOVE to get some pictures. He really wants
some. Please send the package soon because we get packages and letters
at big events and we will have interviews in a few weeks. It'd be nice
to already have the package for that. Any more questions? If not, I'll
attempt to describe my wonderful experiences from this past week. . .
On Monday, we had a great P-Day and afterward we went
and taught two lessons to the group of girls (Zoe, Marisa, Jona, and
Agustina) and to Mirtha. They are our five baptism dates right now.
Mirtha is progressing so well! She's so desirous to learn more and to
get into the water! The girls are still very excited for everything as
well. We reviewed the Plan of Salvation and with Mirtha we read more
from the Book of Mormon. We ended the day perfectly!
The next day, Tuesday, was the beginning of our
crazy traveling this week. We went for our weekly visit to Dolores for
the district meeting and it was great! We talked a lot about goals and
our areas. We reviewed the plan for the weekend and then we talked a
about a few other things and afterward we ate lunch and headed on our
way back. It looks as if this month every companionship in our district
will baptize! That's our goal. I hope it really comes to pass. We're a
little worried about the Hermanas Widerburg and Rodriguez. After
sleeping on the bus back to Chascomús, :) we went to the same two
families as yesterday and taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and
how it changes us to not have desires to do evil. It was great! We
invited all to go to our baptism on Thursday.
Wednesday was a great day! We taught six of seven
discussions and it was packed full! We found a few new members with
desires to reactivate themselves. One being Silvia. She's a thin, tall,
librarian type looking lady. Very smart. We had talked for a bit with
her the other week and we decided to talk to her about the scripture
passage about faith and works in James. It worked out really well! We
talked about the saving power of the Atonement and how we can all be
saved through the merits of Christ and our own merits, meaning our deeds
and works. She loved it! She put her own goals to get activated and is
determined to do what's right.
We also had the opportunity to talk to some other
families but most importantly, we began to plan the baptism in depth and
make arrangements for that. We called everyone and their mom to go and
to bring snacks and food for a mini celebration afterward. Everyone was
so excited to have a baptism!!
Thursday came along and the preparation for the
baptism started. We had to figure out how the hot water works, how to
get the font to plug up, how to keep the water warm, make the programs,
iron the clothing, and get the church clean, oh and buy some facturas
(doughnut type things). We finally got everything done and we had
about twenty minutes to just get our breath after having run around all
day. It was all ready. A few members showed up early and then we left
in a taxi to go find the group of girls who want to get baptized! They
all came except Marisa because her parents wouldn't let her. We got back
to the church and we started the baptism. It went along fine with the
exception of crazy and irreverent kids. There were more investigators at
the baptism than members! It was perfect! ha ha! All the girls that
live with Ludmila in the house came to see the baptism! They all loved
it and wanted to get baptized too!! We are hoping we can get permission
from the parents and government to teach them all! We could have about
ten more girls coming to church! Awesome! Well, anyway, at the baptism,
my companion gave a mini talk about the Holy Ghost. I did my first
confirmation in my life! It was pretty cool! I have passed on the gift
of the Holy Ghost now! It felt so good to help someone else receive such
a wonderful gift.
After the baptism, we had a mini party and talked
with as many as possible about the church and we wanted to get everyone
involved. After a bit, we had to kick everyone out because we had to
hurry and clean before the taxi came to take us to the plata.We BARELY
made it in time! ha ha! That night we spent the night with the elders of
Villa elvira A and we took all the mattresses and slept all in the same
room!
On Friday we got up, studied, and then headed out to
Banfield to get prepared for the fireside with Presidente Eyring, Elder
Christofferson, Elder Ballard, and the Area Presidency. In Banfield, we
had an entire mission meeting! Never done before. And we took a picture
as an entire group! It was legit! I had so much fun being able to see
everyone! It was pretty rowdy except for during the meeting. We finally
were organized, got into our buses and headed off toward the West
mission to get seated for the fireside. We sat and studied for about
forty minutes and then President Eyring and his party arrived. We all
stood up, of course, and it was amazing to see him! He was so tall and
just full of love. Later on in his talk he shared with us a portion of
his patriarchal blessing, paraphrasing that his gift is to transmit
love. It was way cool! Anyway, Elder Christofferson spoke first. He
speaks Spanish, so he went ahead and did it all in Spanish. He talked
about our calling and the sacredness of this work and a few other
topics. Afterward, Elder Ballard got up and addressed us with an amazing
talk about his grandfather who is the general authority who over 80
years ago dedicated the lands of South America to the Lord and
missionary work. He shared about how the first sacrament meeting was
only about 10 or 11 people and there were only 4 members there and they
spoke German. He then shared the prophecy that his grandfather shared
about South America. He stated that this land would not sprout fast like
a sunflower and then quickly die. He said, rather, it will start slowly
and small like a great oak tree. And after years of hard work, South
America would become one of the leading lands for the Lord's purposes.
Then he explained that we are still in that small growing phase. It gave
me a hope and vision of Chascomus and the rest of this beloved country,
Argentina. I imagined in my mind thousands of saints and the power of a
nation with the gospel truth. It was very comforting and I felt more
love for my mission land.
Afterward, we had the privilege to hear from
President Eyring and it was just inexplicable. I have the hardest time
coming up with words to describe this moment. It's something my soul
will never forget for having felt the spirit so strong. He spoke to us
about love, how he received his testimony and how we have such a sacred
responsibility. He was so desirous to help us and to give us a portion
of the spirit he felt. He also explained the way the spirit touches his
heart as he calls missionaries to their missions. It is truly an
inspired process! He finished talking about being happy. My motto in
life has always been just to be happy and enjoy every moment! He hit
right to my core. He helped me realize some things that are of most
importance to me.
That night, we spent it with the elders of El
Triangulo and Don Orione. I was able to reunite with Elder Herrall from
the MTC and to be with Elder Castillo again! We were a total of 8
missionaries in the immensive pench! They own an entire building and
yard! It's a cool pench. That's were my daddy, Elder Vergara "died" [left from] on his
mission. It was cool to be there! Anyway, we stayed up late talking and wrestling over all the mattresses in the same
room. Ha ha! It was really fun!
On Saturday we got up early and headed to Banfield
for a zone meeting. We talked about the importance of the sacrament and
that our investigators can feel it to be able to go to church. It was
great to grow together and be as a zone again. Afterward, we went out to
eat at McDonalds!! Americanness!! Yes!! ha ha! Then we headed back to
the chapel to get ready for the cultural event that night. We
basically did a mini mission meeting like the day before and we all got
on the buses and headed off for the Independiente Soccer stadium. We
got there and got into a big line waiting to enter in. So apparently, we
showed up in time for the practices and we didn't know anything that was
going on! So they told us to run onto the field through the tunnel and
everything and we ran out to the middle of the field and all the youth
there just went wild!!! ha ha! Everyone was clapping and cheering for
the missionaries! ha ha! Then the announcer told them to stop and got
order again. ha ha! It was a blood pumping adrenaline type moment,
though! It was funny! So we got organized on the stands and they got us
all ready for a practice. After the practice, we just had to wait for
the real deal! As the sun went down, more and more people showed up at
the stadium from all over! The stadium was filling up fast! I saw
members from all over! Most importantly, I saw the members of Tomás
Flores and I was so happy to see them! Some came and gave me gifts and
to other missionaries! I got to talk to a few for a little while! With
so many members coming and saying hi it was funny to watch when someone
yelled, "Elder!!" and then six hundred missionaries turned to see who it
was! Ha ha! It was cool though because we were like celebrities!
Anyway, the event started and it was SOO cool! SO
many youth dancing and singing and all the cultural dances were amazing!
There was this one part where these two guys did this super cool boot
dance! They were doing some amazing things and I hope I can get a video
of that someday! Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to use our cameras,
let alone bring them! But when we went down to get onto the field, I
found myself with Elder Tanner Lebaron! It was way cool! He just got to
the North mission a bit ago and it was cool to hear from him. Then we
entered onto the field singing "Called to Serve" which in English has only
two verses but in Spanish it has four! SO we sang a lot and it was
amazing! I looked around and I saw thousands of saints and it was just
amazing! I couldn't hold back my tears and I cried because of joy. I was
so happy for Argentina that so many people were there to see such an
event and that so many more members were all around the country. I saw a
glimpse of that vision that Elder Ballard's grandfather had. It was
beautiful. Afterward, we had to wait in the stands for a while and we
saw even more members and missionaries from all over. I ended up being
with a hermana who actually finished her mission today, Hermana Flores.
She was just standing a little off from other people and she was just
tearing up watching over all the saints thinking of leaving the
mission. I wanted to give her a big hug, but obviously I can't, so I
grabbed Hermana Widerburg and told her to go give her a big hug for me.
It gave me a glimpse of what the end of my mission would be like. I
don't want it to end and I'm only going to have 10 months left here in
just a few weeks. . .
Anyway, after getting lost trying to find the buses
and waiting for the last one to show up, we finally made it back to
Banfield and then headed on back to the same pench for another
sleepover. This night we were more tired, but still didn't get to bed on
time because we were talking and telling jokes all night!
Sunday, we got up extra early to make it to
Avellaneda for the re-dedication of the temple. We finally got there
after taking three trains and dragging our luggage around the mission,
ha ha! It was an amazing ceremony! I was glad to see it happen again!
Then, afterward, my ward from Tomás Flores came up and just tackled me
with a big group hug! I miss them all so much! It was wonderful to see
them! I took a picture with most of them. They called me Uncle Cowan! ha
ha! It was such an honor to be called a part of their family. They
still want me to move into their ward some day, ha ha! It was so great
to see them again! We finally headed off to the bus station in
Avellaneda and then took off for Chascomús. We are back here and we were
so tired yesterday that we slept like babies last night!
We are now SOO excited to be back in our area and to
work with our all!!! I know we will have more success now. President
called me and told me that he will be coming for a day or two to work in
Chascomús in a week. I'm really excited!! Anyway, we are on a spiritual
high and it's amazing. We want to be the best missionaries possible
and I'm just so happy!!! :) I love the gospel and I love being a
missionary! I just want to spread this joy to everyone! Thanks for your
letters. I hope you're all doing fine! I love you all!! I have to go
because I went over the time to write such a long letter. Chow chow!
Love,
Elder Blake W. Cowan
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