CANADA AND KRAFT DINNER

Kraft dinner!

Me, Victor (great recent convert and photo bomber) and Elder Raymant

This week was super fun!  I got a new companion, Elder Raymant, and he came fresh from CANADA!  He still felt a little snowy when he got to me.

He was super excited and his energy lit me up!  I am very excited to be a missionary, and it is the best work in the world!

Our investigator, Brisa, was too sick to be baptized this week, but we are praying she will be able to next week!  She really lights up about the gospel.

This week it rained a ton, and we did some service in a park that was super cute!

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This week I just wanted to write a little about the times that I've felt most like a missionary.  These are all things that you can and should do!

I feel most like a missionary when I invite someone to come to church for the first time, and they come.  It is the most incredible and wild roller coaster ride.  

They come to the door on their own, and then as soon as they enter, they look kind of lost.  You want to be there with them every step of the way, and you want them to be comfortable and happy.  You literally forget about yourself and only are concerned about them.  (Do they know what this word means; do they know how this book works; are they hungry; I hope they aren't bored; I hope they can feel how special this is; I hope they don´t want to leave; etc.)  

Introducing people to something that is so special to you is really wild.  It is very difficult and forces you to be uncomfortable.  You might run out of things to say, and stand awkwardly, or someone might say something that is offensive...

But always, every time, I always feel good afterwards.  And so do they.  I begin to feel normal, and start thinking about my needs again.  

This is really an odd experience, but I really recommend it.  Inviting someone to something is a really great way to make a friend.  Inviting someone to come to church is something very special, and I promise you will feel your faith increase.  But the most important thing I've learned about inviting people to church is RELAX.  The lord takes care of people with enough courage to try a new thing, especially if that thing is visit his church.

LOVE YOU ALL,

ELDER AMANN

I don't have a picture of Brisa, but I do of her little brother (click on any images to enlarge):

Fresh peaches

Argentine Monopoly

LATE VALENTINE'S DAY

TRES PATITOS?  (see below)

I LOVE VALENTINES DAY!

IT IS A HOLIDAY DEDICATED TO LOVE AND IT IS ALSO MY ONLY SISTER´S BIRTHDAY!

(HAPPY BIRTHDAY KASSIE)

This being said, I think anyone can say true love isnt the same thing that is promoted today by the media.

I want to write a little letter testifying that I know true love exists.  I know its REAL.  I know it is the most powerful force on earth.  I know it is the reason why we have families and the reason we were sent here.  

I offer my humble testimony that I have found no other organization that testifies of love like the Mormon church.  

It is the most powerful force on earth.  Here´s a quote about love that I believe a whole lot.

>> I believe in the family where there is a husband who regards his companion as his greatest asset and treats her accordingly; where there is a wife who looks upon her husband as her anchor and strength, her comfort and security; where there are children who look to mother and father with respect and gratitude; where there are parents who look upon those children as blessings and find a great and serious and wonderful challenge in their nurture and rearing. The cultivation of such a home requires effort and energy, forgiveness and patience, love and endurance and sacrifice; but it is worth all of these and more.

>> I have learned that the real essence of happiness in marriage lies not so much in romance as in an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one’s companion. Thinking of self alone and of the gratification of personal desires will build neither trust, love, nor happiness. Only when there is unselfishness will love, with its concomitant qualities, flourish and blossom.

Gordon B. Hinkley 

I love LOVE AND I LOVE YOU!

GRANT AMANN

P.S. We heard some very tragic news yesterday:

Two former  sister missionaries were in a serious accident.    Sister Huband passed away, and Sister Smoot is fighting for her life in the hospital.

Sister Smoot is the sister who helped me a lot a year ago when Sophie first told me she you wanted to go on a mission.  Sister Huband I never met but have heard much about."

This is a link to the report:  https://www.rexburgstandardjournal.com/news/byu-idaho-student-dies-following-car-crash-in-malad/article_8d11a390-1452-11e8-8c2c-1fdc7dc2298b.html

Please pray for them and their families. 

I know the Lord is with them.  They are both Legendary missionaries here.  Death has no sting.

 

Elder Saenz

WORTH

GRAPE SEASON IS BACK AND I LOVE 'EM
(homage to Grandpa Joad and The Grapes of Wrath)

 

This week we had a meeting and it was the last hour of the day and I was super tired and we had to leave.  The man we had a meeting with asked "quien va a hacer la cena" which means who will make dinner and I heard "hacer la oracion" which means pray.  So I said I would and just started praying.  Afterwards, everyone was looking at me weird and after we left my comps were like "he was talking about cena, why did you pray" hahahaha ugh So even experienced missionaries can have problems with the language hahaha

This week was so wonderful.  We are learning about how to be in a trio better, and though super weird, it is a blast and remarkably spiritual.  

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I think a lot about world problems and a problem I see a lot is how women are treated.  The other week one of many friends here said "only pretty girls get famous" and although that is not entirely true, it does speak to some truths about society.  Almost the only value society gives to women is based on beauty, specifically physical.  

I think that is a problem... Where is the worth of a women in society?

I have seen campaigns saying that all girls are beautiful, and though these campaigns are supportive in idea, they drive home this cold reality.  We are sending a message that says that beauty is all that matters, so focus all your efforts on this.  This is the goal of all make up and clothing and even social media companies is this.

I want to start to focus on changing the worth of human beings, especially women.  

Thats all the time I have! 

I LOVE YOU ALL,

ELDER AMANN

ELDER SAENZ

Making sweets

Making sweets

PIGS WITH THE MOON MAN

with ELDER BRIONES

 This week was super fun!

We had transfers and my companion Elder Prosser had to go to a different area for a short time!  So now I am in a Trio with my two very good friends Elder Moon (from Utah) and Elder Saenz (from Mexico).  

Being in a trio is super weird.  We bike everywhere, we always need an extra chair, and we never know whose turn it is to talk, but it is super fun and I´m glad for the opportunity.

This week we loaded a pig on a tractor to move to an old man´s house, and man, I wish I had photos of it.  Putting a pig on a tractor is wild.  Out here in the field, I am learning a lot about what it means to be a country kid..  

We had some super spiritual experiences this week.  We left the apartment and just decided to pass by to go to a Recent Convert´s house, and he was in the park by his house.  He has been struggling with smoking and luckily we found him.  We  talked to him for a minute and he tore up his cigarrettes, and came with us to teach a lesson.  He has a strong testimony and it was so wonderful to see the spirit in action.  

I also went to Consejo de Lideres this week, which is where all the zone leaders and Sister Training leaders meet up to talk about stuff.  It was probably the last time I´ll see Elder Briones :(  I love the mission and leaving people is something that isn't as sad as it was when I started my mission.  Those I love very much, I know I´ll see again ♥

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I am grateful for leaders in the church and world.  Leaders are people who stand up, against something.  President Hinkley gave a speech about the loneliness of leadership, and it is something inspiring.  I know the Lord stood alone.  We must as well.

I have come here today without a written talk. I had one, but I discarded it. I awoke at five this morning thinking of something else. When I get through, I suppose you will say, “He should have slept.”

I am not here to preach. I do not wish to preach to you. It is easy to preach, and we do a great deal of it to young people. I would simply like to talk with you. I believe you are worth spending time with. I believe you are worth reasoning with.

I suppose many of you watched President Nixon last night as I did, when he spoke to the nation and was listened to by the world. I watched him with great interest. I observed him as he wiped the perspiration from his face, realizing, I am sure, the importance of what he was saying. As I looked at him, I thought of the terrible loneliness of leadership.

True, he has advisors. He has at his beck and call any number of men with whom he can consult; but when all the chips are down, he has to face the world alone, as it were. His advisors do not face the cannon fire of public opinion. That comes to the leader.

As I sensed the loneliness of leadership while watching him, there came to my mind some great words from William Shakespeare: “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” (King Henry IV, Part II, act 3, scene 1, line 31).

There is no lonelier picture in history than of the Savior upon the cross, alone, the Redeemer of mankind, the Savior of the world, bringing to pass the Atonement, the Son of God suffering for the sins of mankind. As I think of that, I reflect on a statement made by Channing Pollock:

´Judas with his thirty pieces of silver was a failure. Christ on the cross was the greatest figure of time and eternity.´

- Gordon B. Hinkley

 Loneliness is something that even happened to the Greatest. It is okay to feel lonely.  You are a leader.

LOVE YOU ALL,

ELDER AMANN