Love you lots!
Well this week sure was a doozy, a real dandy, a real twister! Peep the following:
Elder Gueto and I, the dark and white chocolate, are officially a team! That is, to say, Elder Martinez, (yes, our favorite Mexican romantic) set sail as the new asistant with my good father Elder Jones to tear it up, up top! I´m rather excited to have Elder Gueto at my side with Cerrillos, (him and hosts of angles). We´re 22 missionaries now, 8 being sisters. It´s real great;) Elder Gueto is so so funny, from Cartagena Colombia, loves loves loves to talk with everyone, with the members, the missionaries, to make jokes and have a great time! ¨So alegria¨
He is a lot like our beloved President Barreiros in that sense. Presidente Barreiros is super open, super loving, is learning spanish and therefore mixes the porteguese a lot, but speaks with so much confidence, he communicates perfectly, even though his gramar is coming:)
Veronica and her family are progressing so so so very well. They all came to church (again, Valentina only for a bit, she felt rather ill). Veronica is officially a NON SMOKER!!! Yeehaw! She went from 20 Cigarettes to 0 in a little more than 2 weeks! The Book of Mormon, the eye of faith, and Jesus Christ work miracles with the people. She invited her Brazilian cupcake-making, entreprenuerer girl friend to listen as well, Mariza. Mariza commented to Elder Martinez last night when he said goodbye, Ï know you have a message for me.¨ Well of course we do, therefore he shared his testimony with her. She´s really excited! I don´t think we´ve ever recieved more gifts from anyone. Veronica works for a company, Entel, and she has given us lots and lots of merchandise.
Genesis, (19) has been participating much more now. She read Enos and really liked it, and will start very soon reading from the beginning with Mariza.
We had a great lesson with Cora this week, one of our dates for the 28th, and she was very excited to come to church again this past week but for some reason, didn`t make it when we went to go pick her up in the morning. What a shame, but I know she´ll progress. She needs to actually get married as well (shocker, we didn´t know!), and so won´t make her date for the 28th. Our ward is now 4 sisters, and us 2. Sister Carter (Orem) and Sister Rojas (Uruaguy) are going to be teaching her now, they should be able to form a lovely connection with her.
One of our other dates, Fransisca, didn´t make it either. She is experiencing some challenges from her family, but I know that as we put more focus on her family, on her mom (she has been less active), it will be much much easier for her to progress, as she won´t be supporting her family in the gospel alone!
We had a leadership meeting in the Barreiros´s home. It´s super nice and gorgeous, they live in the wealthier part of Santiago (wealthiest part, that is). It was really fun to congregate there with all the missionarys, to take a tour, eat pizza outside, give account, play their piano, eat their food, and feel the spirit there. Their son James (15) is super super skinny, and fits in really really well with all of us missionarys there. Nifftttyyy!!!;))
Carmen, (88) passed away this week. She was a temple worker who had been bedridden for a while. As missionaries we could attend/watch over a lot of the viewing services, and there were lots of opportunities to speak with her neighbors, friends, and relatives there who were not members. There were a lot of neighbros who did not know they could come to church! Who didn´t know it´s open to the public, one doesn´t need to pay, how it looks, etc. We were able to give a brief tour to them, and recieve a few references with a LOT of potencial. I know that God gives us opportunties to share the gospel, always, so many of those people don´t have the same orientacion we now have. It was so easy to ask them, ¨How do you feel?¨and share with them a little more, help them feel better, and invite them to hear more, to come back.
I was able to play the piano for her viewing for more than an hour and a half! It was so good to be able to help people feel the spirit through music. People are so receptive to music. Thanks mom and pops for the lessons! I played lots of hymns with variations. Several people later came up to me and said ¨Thank you for the beautiful music, we felt so good.¨
It´s fun to speak with Elder Gueto and Elder Martinez in English. I tryed doing an English accent for a while, but gosh! It was really hard! They understood it pretty well, and they both speak really well too! PME chapter 7.
I love your stories of Ralphie, and of Powell! I´ve been praying for you all, that you´ll be kept safe, but not that you´ll be too safe or cautious;) That will be loads of fun, say hi to erbody for me! Where are Marcus and Waverly going on their missions?!
I love the temple as well,
I remember when we went as a mission, I had not been in the celestial room for a year to that date. I walk in, and I feel the spirit so so strong. The light is super bright, their is a wonderful heaviness,a weight of the spirit.
It was amazing! Keep going as much as you can for me!
I´ve felt extremely happy this past week in the mission. Due to I think 3 main things,
I´m trying to pray at regular intervals, giving thanks for specific things often, for example, thank you we could contact the taxi driver, or that we had a good lunch, or that we can do internet, etc.
When a situacion, action, or person isn´t doing something I feel is necesarily relevant, or I feel impatient, I think of 3 good things about that person, and 3 good things about why they would do what they are doing- that is, why it´s necesary, or good, or useful, or ok. I find I have a lot more love for them, and comprehension at the same time.
Ocupy my mind not only with prayer, but with scripture. Memorize a scripture, or a Preach My Gospel phrase, or hymn verse daily! (Sometimes It´s hard alone, but with that goal as a companionship it´s much easier!)
Smile more! Smile Smile Smile! A big cheesy smile!
Question: What was my baptism like? What did we do? How did you feel? Who came? What did we eat? What was I like? How did I feel?
I don´t remember as much as I´d like. I know the family came, I felt like I was under for an etnernity, and when I came up, I felt as if I had been born again!
After, Tyler and I think Stratton teased me and made me sin and unclean, ha! Lasted a while, eh?
I uploaded lots of photos!
I KNOW that Jesus Christ is our savior, that we can always improve our future and that of others through our testimony or smile! I know that God is our heavenly father, and as such, we have divine inheritances awaiting. I know that this IS THE church of Christ, his organization on the earth, I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that Thomas Monson is such today. The Book of Mormon makes me Happy! It makes us like God!
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
With love!
Elder Tasso
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