Hey Everyone!

It's official, I have a few snakes (girls that just want to be baptized because they like the missionary) hahaha!  We are teaching their families, so as long as I stay close to my companion I think I’ll be safe haha! 

Well, the beginning of the week was really rough. We had no one to really teach and we had no idea what to do, so we went through the old registros.  We searched and searched and searched, buuuuuut we struck GOLD as we've set a ton of baptismal dates with a few families!!!  God has blessed us so much, we just gotta keep praying that things will go smoothly so that they can continue to have that desire to follow Jesus Christ. 

One of the things I studied this week was sincerity.  When I was teaching, I really felt like I lacked something, and God showed me what it was after I prayed, sincerity.  When I realized that, I did my best to just give my focus to these people when I'm teaching and LISTENING.  Well, once I changed it, that's when we hit the goldmine and the people came.  I know that not all blessings come as quick as this most of the time, but God does perform miracles. 

One miracle is getting back to the gym!!!  There's a gym in our area, so we made the choice to go take care of ourselves and get memberships to go in the morning.  I love taking care of myself so this is a huge blessing for me. 

Here are some scriptures that touched me this week...

Moses 7:28-40

28 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?

29 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?

36 Wherefore, I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also, and among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren.

40 Wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the workmanship of mine hands.

He cries when we sin and when we are afflicted.  He loves us so much and wants us to be happy.  Living the gospel of Christ has blessed my life so much and I hope that you will let Him into yours!

Love,

Elder Pomar

Hey Everyone!

It was a really tough week this week from a teaching perspective.  Thankfully Elder Summers and I are really good friends so we continue to encourage each other.  Since transfers and Elder Lakey leaving, we have dropped a ton of our investigators because none of them were progressing. The entire week Elder Summers and I went through the old records of people and visited them. Some didn't live there anymore, and others just said "no hay nadie" meaning no one’s here, even though they are right there in the house. So frustrating.  We thankfully did find some new people to teach Gods word, but it came through hard work. 

One of the hardest things was being verbally spat upon. People honestly hate gringos here (because USA is the best!!) but it gets really old when everyone says "hello" in an Argentine accent.  Some yell "Satanas," meaning Satan or "your mom's a *****" and other really crude things at us. I could have gotten really upset or hurt, but I honestly felt a glimpse or like a similitude to what Jesus Christ might have felt at the time just before dying on the cross.  Before His sacrifice, He bled from every pore in the Garden of Gethsemane, betrayed by His own apostle, beaten, spat upon and mocked.  To end His life, He was hung on a cross with nails driven through His hands, wrists, and feet, with a crown of thorns on His head, and killed by His own people. 

People might ask why would God let such a thing happen to His son, and why did Jesus accept this plan?  Because He loves us.  He knows each and every one of us so perfectly: our desires, our pains and afflictions, our strengths and weaknesses, and who we are.  Jesus went through all of this and suffered for the sins, pains, and afflictions of the entire world and for every one of us, so that He could understand us and we could have the opportunity to return to God's presence after this life. 

I took a picture in front of this huge statue here in Villa Maria Argentina, it's of Jesus holding His cross.  We should always remember His sacrifice for each of us.  Many churches neglect or overlook what happened on that Easter Sunday.  He conquered death and was resurrected so that we too would have the opportunity to be resurrected in a coming day.  He loves us so much and His hand is stretched out to everyone who will accept Him.  We need to reach up, be baptized in His name, and into His Restored Church.  He loves us all so much, but only if we take this step to be baptized and be born again by water will we ultimately accept Him and His atonement. 

Thank you for your prayers and support.  God knows you, loves you, and will do everything He possibly can to help you if you take this step to accept Him.

Have an amazing week! :)

Love,

Elder Pomar

Hey Everyone!

The week flew by as we had transfers and Elder Lakey is leaving me!!! :(  It's ok though because Elder Summers, also from Utah, is pretty awesome and we get along really well. He has a huge desire to do the work and to serve others. 

Lesson of the week: God brings to pass miracles, even when we don't recognize them with our physical eyes.  We got up Sunday and called people to help us give Juan Carlos a ride.  No one answered.  We recognized "the ox in the mire" and called a taxi to take us to his house and then to Church.  We only brought 60 pesos, which got us there and that's it!  He has vertigo and can't walk very long distances.  I prayed to God for a miracle, but I no one could come pick us up.  Juan Carlos mustered up the courage to walk with us all the way to the church despite his vertigo.  We walked, and walked, and walked until we finally made it. He was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and received the Holy Ghost as a guide for the rest of his life.  What a blessing!

I realized then that God performed a miracle. There was no way that he could have walked all the way to the Church on His own strength.  It took forever to get there because of how slow he walked, but we made it. God answered my prayer, Juan Carlos was confirmed.  I could have prepared a lot better, but thankfully God was merciful when we came up short. 

So, look for the tender mercies every day in your lives. God helps us so much because He loves us so much.  Sometimes we just don't look for His hands in our lives.  I know this gospel is true and that He answers prayers, sometimes just not the way that we expect them :)

Love,

Elder Pomar

Ps.  I found Voldemort at the park hahaha