Dear Everyone,
This week was a very busy week. We did a whole lot of stuff and a lot of stuff happened. First off, we lost some time this past week because of zone conference and doctor’s appointments but you know what, we did the best we could with the time. We did some divisions with the priests in the ward and got to find a whole lot of new people. So this past week we passed by all the old investigators and inactive members to see if they had anyone we could teach and baptize. And boy did we hit the gold mine. We found a whole lot of people that want to listen to us. So we were going crazy trying to run to different appointments.
Yesterday (Sunday) we had 9 investigators in sacrament meeting. The most ever in my mission!! I was so freaking excited. We had to work for the 9 though. In the morning, we past by a group of kids that we said we would pass by them. There were four of them, 2 of which counted. Then right after them we passed by a family who the father is not a member. We got to church with three investigators by us working. Three more showed up on their own and that was pretty cool. Then, we get to church and one of the members that we asked to bring someone forgot. So we did divisions because I had to teach the second hour and so my comp took one of the priests and they went booking it fast. They found three more and almost had two more but they didn’t want to come. And so in the end, we had 9 come to church. And also we have 4 baptismal dates. Two of them for this weekend. We are just going really hard right now. I almost don’t have energy to write on the computer.
Also, I have been trying to learn some Spanish sign language. We have a deaf investigator that other missionaries have tried to teach but he never got hooked with them. I have had a good relationship with him the whole time I have been here and little by little I have been trying to win his confidence. So we went by Saturday to try and convince him to go to church because he doesn’t really like church because it’s boring. So in my broken sign language, I said “you go church tomorrow, Sunday” He liked how I tried to speak with him and so he responded and we needed a little help from his sister, who got baptized recently, to translate for us. In the end, I ended up telling him that when I was little, I had a hearing problem. Obviously mine wasn’t even near as bad as his but I nevertheless had a problem. He liked that I told him that and he agreed to go to church with his sister and grandma. And you know what?? He went!!!! It was so cool. So I sat next to him during the first class then I had to do other things but I talked with him during the class. He taught me some more words and so now it’s getting funnier to speak with him. Hopefully we can get a baptismal date with him somewhere in the near future.
So like I said earlier, we brought some kids to church also. The kids are 6, 8, 8, and 11 years old. One of the 8 year-olds has a baptismal date with us because the parent aren’t members but the grandma is and so she will be taking him to church but he has been saying that he wants to be baptized when he turns 8 so we are going to do it. It has been great to see and the tender mercies of the Lord here in the mission. As much as I don’t like to wash my own clothes or walk in the blistering sun everyday, it’s all worth it. So, so worth it.
So that was my week. Not all of it because I don’t have enough time to tell you all everything. Maybe after the mission you all can ask all the questions you want. Happy February tomorrow!! I love you all and be safe this week.
Love always,
Elder Pickett
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Yup, that's cool...
Dear Everyone,
Week 1 being district leader, AHHH!! Wow, there is so much to do and worry about. But of course I am loving every minute of it. It’s tough but so worth it. This past week was interesting because of how busy we were. Tuesday was a normal day. Wednesday rained like no one’s busy again. No, I haven’t bought rain boots yet. But it’s ok because I don’t think it will rain for awhile. Thursday we had to go to the church offices in Capital. We spent all afternoon there for a doctor appointment for my comp. Then Friday was the leadership meeting that went all day long. We got back late to our area. Then Saturday and Sunday we tried to make up for what we lost. We went on divisions with members and they helped us a lot. Sunday we had three investigators show up. We have 3 baptismal dates for the 5th and 11th of February.
It’s a little bit harder to work as district leader and do work in your area. I thought it was going to be a little easy but OK. So we have a newbie in the pench. He is from Peru and is really quiet. Doesn’t say anything or laugh…. Nothing. It’s really weird. I tried talking to him and he doesn’t say much. Oh well, I’ll try to keep being nice. So like I said, we have 3 baptismal dates. They are pretty much chill. One of the girls is 9 years old and already knows everything. She was just waiting for us to show up. How funny! We just reviewed the first lesson with her and she was telling us what happened. Pretty much the coolest thing ever. All her family is members and she just turned 9 so she is under our control now. This next week is going to be another busy week because we have zone conference tomorrow and then Wednesday my comp has another doctor’s appointment. Thursday is a shorter day I think and hope that that is it. I might have to do a baptismal interview Friday also. Wow, a lot to do. Yesterday we had the most people in church I have seen in Villegas. We had 123 people in church. That is a whole lot of people compared to the other ward that shares our building with us. They had 43 people. Big difference.
My comp is a pretty cool kid. Kinda quiet at the beginning but now he talks a little more. He is a pretty big guy from Magna who went to Cyprus High. Played football and wrestled. He is 21 years old and has 9 months on the mission. I’ve had to get used to him little by little. Not a very social guy which is very hard for me because I am a social bug. I love talking to people. Especially people in Villegas. I love Villegas with all my heart. There are some of the best members I have ever met here in Argentina. Seriously they love the church here. There is just too many good things I can say about this place. I just really love it. Well I ran out of things to say. Enjoy your week!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! GRANDPA PICKETT, LELANI, AND ALY!!!!!
Love
Elder Pickett
Week 1 being district leader, AHHH!! Wow, there is so much to do and worry about. But of course I am loving every minute of it. It’s tough but so worth it. This past week was interesting because of how busy we were. Tuesday was a normal day. Wednesday rained like no one’s busy again. No, I haven’t bought rain boots yet. But it’s ok because I don’t think it will rain for awhile. Thursday we had to go to the church offices in Capital. We spent all afternoon there for a doctor appointment for my comp. Then Friday was the leadership meeting that went all day long. We got back late to our area. Then Saturday and Sunday we tried to make up for what we lost. We went on divisions with members and they helped us a lot. Sunday we had three investigators show up. We have 3 baptismal dates for the 5th and 11th of February.
It’s a little bit harder to work as district leader and do work in your area. I thought it was going to be a little easy but OK. So we have a newbie in the pench. He is from Peru and is really quiet. Doesn’t say anything or laugh…. Nothing. It’s really weird. I tried talking to him and he doesn’t say much. Oh well, I’ll try to keep being nice. So like I said, we have 3 baptismal dates. They are pretty much chill. One of the girls is 9 years old and already knows everything. She was just waiting for us to show up. How funny! We just reviewed the first lesson with her and she was telling us what happened. Pretty much the coolest thing ever. All her family is members and she just turned 9 so she is under our control now. This next week is going to be another busy week because we have zone conference tomorrow and then Wednesday my comp has another doctor’s appointment. Thursday is a shorter day I think and hope that that is it. I might have to do a baptismal interview Friday also. Wow, a lot to do. Yesterday we had the most people in church I have seen in Villegas. We had 123 people in church. That is a whole lot of people compared to the other ward that shares our building with us. They had 43 people. Big difference.
My comp is a pretty cool kid. Kinda quiet at the beginning but now he talks a little more. He is a pretty big guy from Magna who went to Cyprus High. Played football and wrestled. He is 21 years old and has 9 months on the mission. I’ve had to get used to him little by little. Not a very social guy which is very hard for me because I am a social bug. I love talking to people. Especially people in Villegas. I love Villegas with all my heart. There are some of the best members I have ever met here in Argentina. Seriously they love the church here. There is just too many good things I can say about this place. I just really love it. Well I ran out of things to say. Enjoy your week!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! GRANDPA PICKETT, LELANI, AND ALY!!!!!
Love
Elder Pickett
Monday, January 17, 2011
HAPPY MLK DAY
Dear Everyone,
I know everyone is just so concerned about the transfer meeting and who my new companion is, so, I’ll tell you who it is. My new companion is Elder Hamilton from Magna, Utah. He has I think he said 9 months so another young gun. He is kind of shy and timid but that is ok. We will work on that. And another thing… I’m District Leader now… Yahoo..? jaja. Naw, just kidding. I am excited to serve in another way. Helping more people out is just what I like doing. I think I am going to enjoy my new assignment. I am the leader over two companionships. One of elders and the other of sisters. This is going to be really scary doing the baptismal interviews but I’m sure I’ll know what to do sooner or later. The Elders here say it’s really hard because one is always busy but maybe that will make focus more. This past week we have just been saying goodbye to all the members. It was kind of sad because I remember when I left my areas and it was sad. He cried a little and I cried with him because I knew of the pain he was feeling. Leaving an area is really difficult. Speaking of leaving areas, (sorry this is really random) my new comp is coming the area of Merlo 1…. AAHH!!!! I was so excited when I found that out. Here in the mission, when you receive a new companion, you have to go to his area to look for his stuff. So…. We went to MERLO!!!! I asked my new comp very nicely if we could stop by two houses. The Del Castillo Family and my next door neighbor converts. He said yes thank heavens and so we went. We clapped and the Del Castillo home and….. they weren’t home. They went on vacations Friday… NOOOO!!! I was so upset. So then we went to my converts house that is right next to the pench. They were home and so I was able to talk with them for 10 minutes before we had to hit the road to Villegas. It was a great experience. And now I am here after going to Walmart and McDonalds. So Sunday we had another huge rain storm that about drowned us also. Ja! These rain storms are going to kill me. A lot mud again and a lot of rivers. Yes there are boots here that I can use but these storms catch you by surprise. I never know when it is going to rain because it’s sunny and dry in the mornings and then all of a sudden at one or two in the afternoon, there are black clouds everywhere. Remember when I was afraid of storms? JA!! These would have scared the socks of me. It’s funny to look back at my life and realize how much I have changed.
So Marcos, Thank you so much for your talk that you sent me. Will you speak for my homecoming?? I really love that you could feel the spirit and know that it is the spirit. That makes me really proud to be your brother. I might use it for my workshops in District meeting… lol. Thank you so much Family for all the support that you show me and all the love you express. If there is one advice I could give you, my siblings, is: Listen to Mom and Dad. They know what is best for you. They love you and would never lead you astray. I have learned that throughout my life but I am realizing it now. Learn it now and don’t forget it.
I hope everyone has a great week. If everyone could read the talk by President Monson in the Relief Society session, we all need to learn a little more Charity. I love you all and I wish the best for you think week.
Con Amor
Elder Pickett
I know everyone is just so concerned about the transfer meeting and who my new companion is, so, I’ll tell you who it is. My new companion is Elder Hamilton from Magna, Utah. He has I think he said 9 months so another young gun. He is kind of shy and timid but that is ok. We will work on that. And another thing… I’m District Leader now… Yahoo..? jaja. Naw, just kidding. I am excited to serve in another way. Helping more people out is just what I like doing. I think I am going to enjoy my new assignment. I am the leader over two companionships. One of elders and the other of sisters. This is going to be really scary doing the baptismal interviews but I’m sure I’ll know what to do sooner or later. The Elders here say it’s really hard because one is always busy but maybe that will make focus more. This past week we have just been saying goodbye to all the members. It was kind of sad because I remember when I left my areas and it was sad. He cried a little and I cried with him because I knew of the pain he was feeling. Leaving an area is really difficult. Speaking of leaving areas, (sorry this is really random) my new comp is coming the area of Merlo 1…. AAHH!!!! I was so excited when I found that out. Here in the mission, when you receive a new companion, you have to go to his area to look for his stuff. So…. We went to MERLO!!!! I asked my new comp very nicely if we could stop by two houses. The Del Castillo Family and my next door neighbor converts. He said yes thank heavens and so we went. We clapped and the Del Castillo home and….. they weren’t home. They went on vacations Friday… NOOOO!!! I was so upset. So then we went to my converts house that is right next to the pench. They were home and so I was able to talk with them for 10 minutes before we had to hit the road to Villegas. It was a great experience. And now I am here after going to Walmart and McDonalds. So Sunday we had another huge rain storm that about drowned us also. Ja! These rain storms are going to kill me. A lot mud again and a lot of rivers. Yes there are boots here that I can use but these storms catch you by surprise. I never know when it is going to rain because it’s sunny and dry in the mornings and then all of a sudden at one or two in the afternoon, there are black clouds everywhere. Remember when I was afraid of storms? JA!! These would have scared the socks of me. It’s funny to look back at my life and realize how much I have changed.
So Marcos, Thank you so much for your talk that you sent me. Will you speak for my homecoming?? I really love that you could feel the spirit and know that it is the spirit. That makes me really proud to be your brother. I might use it for my workshops in District meeting… lol. Thank you so much Family for all the support that you show me and all the love you express. If there is one advice I could give you, my siblings, is: Listen to Mom and Dad. They know what is best for you. They love you and would never lead you astray. I have learned that throughout my life but I am realizing it now. Learn it now and don’t forget it.
I hope everyone has a great week. If everyone could read the talk by President Monson in the Relief Society session, we all need to learn a little more Charity. I love you all and I wish the best for you think week.
Con Amor
Elder Pickett
Monday, January 10, 2011
Enero 10, 2011
Dear Everyone,
Another has past and more things have happened. First off, it’s the last week of the transfer and so that means my comp will be leaving. He already has 6 months in this area and that’s the max we are supposed to have in each area. I will be getting a new companion next Monday. Not much going on here. Just trying to help our investigator get to church. That has been our problem the whole time I have been here. We get people to commit to get baptized but they won’t come to church. And so they don’t come to church but somehow other ward members bring more people. We are swamped with people. There are people that we don’t even have time for. This place is crazy with people who want to listen… something that I am not used to. There are many families that we are working with also. Little by little I am loving this area. The people here are great and that makes me happy. They have shown so much love to me that I am truly grateful eternally for them and all the members that I have grown close to in my mission.
So this past week rained a whole lot. The first time it rained on Wednesday or Thursday, it didn’t rain a lot and so I was just fine walking through our area. Saturday came and boy was I in trouble. It was raining pretty hard all night and Saturday morning. My comp told me that it was going to be pretty bad and I was like, sure sure, I’ve been in Rodriguez and that was all mud. Well, what he forgot to tell me was that there are rivers in our area, not streets. So we hadn’t even entered our area when I had to confront the first major river. My comp has his rain boots on that go up to his knees and I thought he was just ridiculous. Well, I was wrong. He went right through and I just stood there like, are you kidding me? So I had to other choice because there was no way around. So I jumped right in and I went walking in a dirty river. And I mean DIR. TY. Dirty diapers, trash, etc. you name it, it was in the water. So I got done with that river and I was like, great, cool experience. We kept walking to the house we needed to get to. We got to the place where we needed to turn and lo and behold, another river! But this river is an actual river that got over flooded. This river we had to go through was, in the most deepest parts, about 5 feet deep. Lucky we went on the outsides of the river and it was only 15 – 16 inches. So we get to the members house that we were getting to and I was completely drench and my comp was dry so they made me change all my clothes. They put my clothes in their dryer which is something that just spins out all the water and then put the clothes in front of the fan. I was in clothes from the 17 year old in the family who luckily happens to be my same size. All in all, it was a pretty fun, pretty cool. And no, I didn’t get fotos. Next time it rains I’ll think about bringing my camera. But that’s basically all that happened this week.
Feliz cumple-bautismo Abuelita!!! Q alegria q me diste con esa informacion. Quien te bautizó?? Grandpa? Jaja. No sabia de tu fecha bautismal. Q COOL!!! Re copado… re piola… ja sry. Hablando como pibe chorro. Te amo mucho abuelita. Thanks Grandma Packard for your letter and the fotos on the back. CUI, I get all your pouch letters. Thank you very much. Thank you everyone for your emails, your prayers, and your love. I love you all and I will talk to you next week.
Love
Elder Pickett
Another has past and more things have happened. First off, it’s the last week of the transfer and so that means my comp will be leaving. He already has 6 months in this area and that’s the max we are supposed to have in each area. I will be getting a new companion next Monday. Not much going on here. Just trying to help our investigator get to church. That has been our problem the whole time I have been here. We get people to commit to get baptized but they won’t come to church. And so they don’t come to church but somehow other ward members bring more people. We are swamped with people. There are people that we don’t even have time for. This place is crazy with people who want to listen… something that I am not used to. There are many families that we are working with also. Little by little I am loving this area. The people here are great and that makes me happy. They have shown so much love to me that I am truly grateful eternally for them and all the members that I have grown close to in my mission.
So this past week rained a whole lot. The first time it rained on Wednesday or Thursday, it didn’t rain a lot and so I was just fine walking through our area. Saturday came and boy was I in trouble. It was raining pretty hard all night and Saturday morning. My comp told me that it was going to be pretty bad and I was like, sure sure, I’ve been in Rodriguez and that was all mud. Well, what he forgot to tell me was that there are rivers in our area, not streets. So we hadn’t even entered our area when I had to confront the first major river. My comp has his rain boots on that go up to his knees and I thought he was just ridiculous. Well, I was wrong. He went right through and I just stood there like, are you kidding me? So I had to other choice because there was no way around. So I jumped right in and I went walking in a dirty river. And I mean DIR. TY. Dirty diapers, trash, etc. you name it, it was in the water. So I got done with that river and I was like, great, cool experience. We kept walking to the house we needed to get to. We got to the place where we needed to turn and lo and behold, another river! But this river is an actual river that got over flooded. This river we had to go through was, in the most deepest parts, about 5 feet deep. Lucky we went on the outsides of the river and it was only 15 – 16 inches. So we get to the members house that we were getting to and I was completely drench and my comp was dry so they made me change all my clothes. They put my clothes in their dryer which is something that just spins out all the water and then put the clothes in front of the fan. I was in clothes from the 17 year old in the family who luckily happens to be my same size. All in all, it was a pretty fun, pretty cool. And no, I didn’t get fotos. Next time it rains I’ll think about bringing my camera. But that’s basically all that happened this week.
Feliz cumple-bautismo Abuelita!!! Q alegria q me diste con esa informacion. Quien te bautizó?? Grandpa? Jaja. No sabia de tu fecha bautismal. Q COOL!!! Re copado… re piola… ja sry. Hablando como pibe chorro. Te amo mucho abuelita. Thanks Grandma Packard for your letter and the fotos on the back. CUI, I get all your pouch letters. Thank you very much. Thank you everyone for your emails, your prayers, and your love. I love you all and I will talk to you next week.
Love
Elder Pickett
Monday, January 3, 2011
What a Way to Start...
Dear Everyone,
What an amazing week!!! With it being New Years and all, it was an amazing week. Let me start off with the miracle of my mission so far. So on Tuesday we had lunch with a grandma and her husband. She has been a member for 30+ years and her husband didn’t want to get baptized when she got baptized. He didn’t feel like it was the right time. So we had ourselves a nice lunch and conversation and we shared with them a scripture and a prayer. We got up to leave to go on working when all of a sudden he said he had a present for us, after all it was Christmas. So he told us to go into his room with him and he shut the door leaving his wife in the living room. After shutting the door, he turned around and with tears in his eyes said these words, “I want to get baptized. I don’t want to wait another minute.” I was in such shock that all we could do was hug each other. It was so wonderful to hear those words out of his mouth. He told us that the time had come and he knew that he had to be baptized. So from that minute, we started preparing a baptism. We decided to put the date for Saturday the first because he would start a new year and a new life. It was the perfect day. Saturday came and everything went great. His son came to baptize him. Son baptizing father. His son has been a member for 30+ years also. It was a great tender moment. Seeing his wife at the baptism crying for joy because this is what she has wanted all her life since she entered the church. I think the sweetest moment was after he got baptized, we were in the chapel and
the meeting was over, she gave him one of those old people kisses that just make you smile. It was the most tender moment of my mission. I will never forget that moment. I love completing families. It makes me so so happy. And that was the highlight of the week.
We also had new years here in Argentina, I know, surprise… JAJA. We had ourselves an asado with a family and then we went to the apartment to chill the rest of the night. And yes, we stayed up until midnight. We got up on our roof to check out all of Ciudad Evita and surrounding areas. There were so many fireworks. You guys will not believe. We also did ching ching up there also but we did it with 7-up. It was pretty cool. So it was a pretty cool weekend and all with the baptism and with new years.
There is not much more to talk about. Just working really really hard here. Trying to baptize and convert people.
Thanks for the emails everyone. I hope everyone is enjoying the snow. It barely rained here for the first time in two weeks. I was dying of heat. But don’t worry, we drink a lot of water. We are doing really well here. Thank you for all your prayers and love. I love you all and talk to you next week.
Love,
Elder Pickett
ps. sorry its a little short. not much to say.
What an amazing week!!! With it being New Years and all, it was an amazing week. Let me start off with the miracle of my mission so far. So on Tuesday we had lunch with a grandma and her husband. She has been a member for 30+ years and her husband didn’t want to get baptized when she got baptized. He didn’t feel like it was the right time. So we had ourselves a nice lunch and conversation and we shared with them a scripture and a prayer. We got up to leave to go on working when all of a sudden he said he had a present for us, after all it was Christmas. So he told us to go into his room with him and he shut the door leaving his wife in the living room. After shutting the door, he turned around and with tears in his eyes said these words, “I want to get baptized. I don’t want to wait another minute.” I was in such shock that all we could do was hug each other. It was so wonderful to hear those words out of his mouth. He told us that the time had come and he knew that he had to be baptized. So from that minute, we started preparing a baptism. We decided to put the date for Saturday the first because he would start a new year and a new life. It was the perfect day. Saturday came and everything went great. His son came to baptize him. Son baptizing father. His son has been a member for 30+ years also. It was a great tender moment. Seeing his wife at the baptism crying for joy because this is what she has wanted all her life since she entered the church. I think the sweetest moment was after he got baptized, we were in the chapel and
the meeting was over, she gave him one of those old people kisses that just make you smile. It was the most tender moment of my mission. I will never forget that moment. I love completing families. It makes me so so happy. And that was the highlight of the week.
We also had new years here in Argentina, I know, surprise… JAJA. We had ourselves an asado with a family and then we went to the apartment to chill the rest of the night. And yes, we stayed up until midnight. We got up on our roof to check out all of Ciudad Evita and surrounding areas. There were so many fireworks. You guys will not believe. We also did ching ching up there also but we did it with 7-up. It was pretty cool. So it was a pretty cool weekend and all with the baptism and with new years.
There is not much more to talk about. Just working really really hard here. Trying to baptize and convert people.
Thanks for the emails everyone. I hope everyone is enjoying the snow. It barely rained here for the first time in two weeks. I was dying of heat. But don’t worry, we drink a lot of water. We are doing really well here. Thank you for all your prayers and love. I love you all and talk to you next week.
Love,
Elder Pickett
ps. sorry its a little short. not much to say.
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