Dang it Argentina...why do you hate Chileno's so much?

I'm blaming it on being half Chilean, but we got pretty screwed over this last week haha.  First, our electricity got shut-off because the previous missionaries living here forgot to pay the bill before leaving haha.  

What a blessing that we had enough money to pay it all off...oops, the problem is that we mistakenly paid the electricity bill for our neighbor rather than paying our own so now we've got to go pay for ours!  Now

we really don't have any money, so we think..."I guess we'll inform the bolsero of our problem to see about getting our money reimbursed."  So we get the approval for the reimbursement, but we can't get our money

yet soooo...I hope that I can survive with 50 pesos lol!

Next, our escogida (elect investigator) lost interest and we can't even contact her.

....come what may and love it oh my goodness!

We've been trying really hard to not put the blame on God but to be patient with all the ridiculous things that we are passing through in La Quebrada here in La Rioja.  When God gives us trials, it's because it means that

He trusts us. 

Oh, and by the way...the tea pot filled with boiling hot water fell and burned my leg with a ton of 3rd degree burns...but that didn't matter as Elder Samayoa and I are still walking like crazy and even running in the mornings.

At least, we had an awesome p day with the whole zone playing soccer and relaxing. It is a really pretty place all the way up here. Even though it’s a very tough area, at least I get to look at some pretty views.

Thank you for your continued prayers.  The wind hasn't been going our way but "the miracle doesn't come until after the trial of your faith"

Love you all and praying for you❤

Love,

Elder Pomar

So yeah, hard week...

Our investigators are basically gone, except a couple haha!

Here's the miracle of the week.  We swung by to have a lesson with Hector and his girlfriend about marriage.  The girlfriend is SUPER CATHOLIC, but Hector wants to be baptized.  He told everyone how he had a dream.  He said that he prayed before going to bed and then that night dreamed that Jesus Christ came to him telling him that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was the true church of God and that we as missionaries were sent as angels to him.  Incredible!!!  We extended the invitation to his girlfriend Olga to pray also.  Hopefully, she prays with a sincere heart so she can receive an answer too!

That's basically it, just another hard working week. 

God answers prayers, pray to Him and he WILL answer if you have a sincere heart.  This is Christ's church and it's true!

By the way....6 months out on the mission today!  18 more months of grinding and baptizing baby! ;)

Love,

Elder Pomar

Well, I love this place!  A lot of missionaries give this place a thumbs down because it’s "hard to baptize there" but it’s so awesome!  It's nice to be where the mountains are and its awesome to be with an amazing companion.  We work really well together due to both of us focusing on baptizing, not just planting seeds.  Right now we got some really good candidates for baptisms so it's exciting!

We actually had a big miracle this week.  So we were walking to one of our appointments with a part member family and we passed by a young girl outside.  After we passed, Elder Samayoa was like "Yo bro, we gotta go talk to her after. She'll be your snake!" Haha we laughed and went to our appointment.  Well, on the way back, I felt like we should go back. We visited her, gave her a pamphlet and set a follow up appointment.  During our visit, she said that her mom got baptized in some church in Córdoba. In that moment, I didn't think much of it as we left.  So at our next appointment, we arrived, she told us how her mom gifted her a bible of some sort.  We went to go on and talk about the Bible and then the Book of Mormon came up.  When I pulled it out, she said "that's the book my mom gave me!".  We put a baptismal date with her in a couple of Sundays to come.  We praying that things will go through as it would be a miracle!

Right now, the mission is a blast.  I'm trying to enjoy this time as much as possible because Elder Samayoa will probably be transferred soon, and by the way...there are a ton of lazy missionaries here haha.  I am praying I can have 2 transfers with him.

So Spanish is a little rough up here.  When a word starts with an r or it's a double r, they make a "sh" sound.  It's ridiculous. I absolutely hate it!!  Haha that's all I can say for hating this area because I really love it here!  Our tiny branch is really sweet, and it's nice to be able to practice my Spanish everyday 100 percent of the time. 

Also, everyone thinks I'm Mexican haha.  Only one person has called me Chilean.  Still working on the accent but its coming.  My goal is to be mistaken as a native by the end of the mission. ;)

Well, that’s all folks. This church is true and I have one question for all y'all...Do you know how much Christ loves you?  Ask Him in prayer and he'll tell you I promise you.

Love,

Elder Pomar "Gringo Trucho"

Ps. I never told you all, but where I served in Villa Maria, Elder Christofferson served when he was a young missionary.  It was a pleasure to walk in the footsteps of an Apostle for 3 transfers.  BTW The MAC (Mision Argentina Córdoba) is the best ;)

Well, I'm out of Villa Maria! I'm not even in the Providence of Cordoba anymore, I'm in freaking La Rioja!!!  It's nice because it totally looks like Cali with the mountains.  I'm glad I got here during the winter because during the summer it can get up to 130 degrees!  The weather is beautiful right now am I'm gonna enjoy it!

My comp is super chill.  His name is Elder Samayoa from Guatemala.  He's a stud, obedient, and a hard worker.  I am so excited for this transfer.  The only thing is that our branch is TINY!  Like 15 people at the max!  We have to take a colectivo (bus) to get to the church, good luck with getting members to church haha!  So, let's change things up here in this high desert area and get them to church!

Well, I had to leave to get to the capital Cordoba at 10:30 pm, and then I took a 6-hour colectivo all the way up here from 12 am to 6 am.  Yeah, I'm dead but a little nap helped a little bit haha.

Elder Summers, my "stepfather" in the mission finished!  It was so sad to see him leave as I love him so much.  He's a complete stud and I can't wait to be watching him run track at USU when I get back.

Malena got baptized!  It was a sweet treat right before leaving the area for transfers.  Well, I grew a ton in Villa Maria. Fun comps, fun times, and a lot of spiritual experiences.

Now, this is gonna be a ride.  It's possible that I will be here until Christmas.  I've gotten a lot of experience being with my old companions and I'm ready to rock and roll out here!

My Spanish is going to be growing a ton being immersed out here.  I love this mission, even when it can really suck sometimes haha!

Que Dios les bendiga

Con amor,

Elder Pomar

Ps.  I got nametags that say "Pomar Ott" with my mom's maiden name too!  In South American countries people usually carry both last names.  Thought it'd be a sweet way to show the Chilean side of me.

Pps.  I get to wash all my clothes by hand now!!! 🤓