Monday, November 26, 2012

Rivadavia...

Yellow!
Wow, I am just super stoked to be in this new area in a totally new environment even though I moved just right next to my old area. I have the coolest ward ever! We are going to have just a bunch of success with how everyone wants to help us out. I am really looking forward to this transfer. My comp is awesome and speaks spanish like a champ. We don´t have any dogs(what a shame, I will have to find some and make them my own), but we have a pair of lovely women just below our apartment(don´t worry ma, it is just a little chiste(joke). I will hopefully show ya some pics next week. I miss Líbano Ward, but it was a pretty smooth transfer.

We had some great success in just the first week of this transfer. I had to run around doing some interviews for Los Pinos, another area in my district, because they are just baptizing a ton! I know that Heavenly Father has sure prepared a lot of His children here in this zone to hear this message and change their lives. We almost had a baptism this weekend, but this lady was working a lot so it will have to be this weekend. Her name is Romina Mesa. I still haven´t met her yet because we have been on exchanges already every time that they have gone over there. Ha ha. But I hear that she is just awesome and has a huge testimony of the gospel. We have visited other families and it looks like we just have a ton to work with. We had 5 investigators come to church. Our ward mission leader is a stud and helps us out a ton. We also have 4 ward missionaries that help us out a lot! Rivadavia, my new area, is a bit more on the high end than Líbano. There are a lot of richer neighborhoods because it is closer to downtown San Juan. The members here feed us suuuper well because they are a bit more well off. I am okay with that. We have Walmart in our area. The institute that all of the youth in San Juan attend is attached to our chapel. So we have instant access to pool and pong. We live right under a panadería(bakery), so most of the time(mornings and nights mainly), there is a sweet aroma of freshly baked bread flowing throughout the apartment. It is lovely to sleep to. Our bishop is a pretty good guy. From what people have told me(gossip), he is an "okay" bishop. Our stud mission leader knows that very well so he basically makes the decisions for the ward, when it comes to missionary work,and just says that the bishop trusts in him. Ha ha. My area is a lot bigger than my last area so we have to take a lot more colectivos(buses) around everywhere. The attendance in sacrament meeting is an average of about 120(much better than any ward I have been in). What is the normal average of the attendance in our ward every week? Curiosity. The bugs are really starting to come out now so I am starting to apply the spray even though I am already covered with bites. Elder Egbert is a super awesome missionary. He speaks the language like a pro. He took like a million years of spanish before the mission so I think that may have helped him out a bit. Elder Johnson emailed me and told me that he got robbed by Elisabet´s house(well, it was known to be one of the most dangerous parts of our area) the other day. Ha ha. He said he wanted to punch them but he got a spiritual prompting to not do it(probably because he would get sent home or something), so they got away with his watch. I can´t believe I missed that part of my son´s life! What a shame!

Thanksgiving...Well, sadly it was not that great of a holiday here. It was still a bit loco because we were getting all accustomed due to the transfers the day before. We tried to buy a pavo(turkey) from the carnecería near our apt, but the smallest they had was a pavo for 3 kilograms for 140 pesos. Now what poor missionary is going to be able to afford that? I celebrated by calling my elders in my district to express my gratitude towards them even though I had not even met them yet. I think the Navidad will be a bit better of a holiday. I am sure that there will be members fighting over who wants to have us in there house to pass the holidays with them because they are all so great...and rich. Ha. I can´t believe that it is just around the corner already. We are gonna be talking over Skype again for the second to last time! I hope we can find a good spot unlike last mother´s day, that doesn´t pause and drag. I am super stoked. I may or may not write a poema de la Navidad for you guys to enjoy. I wish I could send some presents home or somethin! I saved the rest of my Christmas for the 25th, so at least I will have something.

I am glad you guys had an awesome thanksgiving. I don´t have a ton of time to reply(sorry), but I will get to it next week!

To add somewhat of a spiritual thought at the end of this letter, I will throw down a scripture that I really like and I use often in lessons. It comes from D&C 130:20-21
20 There is a alaw, irrevocably decreed in bheaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all cblessings are predicated—
21 And when we obtain any ablessing from God, it is bybobedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

We learn the importance of the heavenly principle of obedience. I add my testimony to the truthfulness of this scripture. We can receive specific blessings if and only if we are obedient to the commandments of God. God made the plan this way so that idealy, as long as your are keeping each and every commandment by faith, you will never get lost and wander away from the iron rod into the dark mist.(1 Nephi 11) Grasp to that rod with all that you have, no matter what the circumstances whether they be if a friend makes fun of you, if the situation appears to be too hard, or even if obedience seems impossible. God will never make any commandment impossible to obey(1 Nephi 3:7). So go about knowing and obeying the commandments that you have in front of you so that God can open the heavens and pour out bounteous blessings upon your head and the head of all your family.(Malachi 3:10). I love you all a ton! Always rememberin ya in those nightly prayers. Thanks!
Un abracito,
Elder Larisch
La iglesia es verdadera
Sorry I could not send any photos. I will try again next week.