Buscar Por Milagros

Hola!

Hope you all had a great week! Its kind of weird that its like 200 degrees in the middle of November, going to have to get used to that haha! 

So, this past week was super crazy so I dont have a whole bunch to say haha..I went on divisions twice and had to go to San Fernando to do my visa stuff, and we got to go to the TEMPLE!! It was super crazy, because we were walking back to our pension Thursday night and we got a text that said "Your session for the temple tomorrow is at 7 am and you need to be here by 6." We had no idea we were going to the temple, so it was a very nice surprise. We had to wake up at 3:30 though, but it was worth it and amazing :). 

So this week, our baptisms were postponed, but they will be held this Saturday! We found a couple more possibilities this week also, so looking forward to working with them! 

President asked us to study Ether 12, so I want to talk a little about that. This chapter is all about Faith, and is something that as a mission we are striving to work on and increase every day. Studying this chapter really made me realize that the Lord is preparing many things for us, many miracles, but it is according to our faith! If we truly believe that we are going to go out and find someone to teach that is ready to hear the Gospel, its going to happen! So one thing that we do as a district is every night we have a conference call and one part is the miracle for the day. Every day, we have to find a miracle! Some days, they are small, but the important thing is that we have the faith to have miracles, and that we are looking!

So this week, I challenge you all to look for a miracle every day, and thank the Lord for it! I promise that as you do this, your faith will increase and you will feel His hand in your lives even more!

I love you all and hope you all have an awesome week!

Elder Yeoman

Weekly selfie because he knows his mama needs to see his sweet face!

Jace forgot to bring his camera to the Buenos Aires Temple on Friday. I added this picture myself. Another elder took pictures and will email them to Jace.  Hopefully he can send them next week. 

Bautismo!!!

Hola Familia y Amigos,

Hope you all had an awesome week! This week was really special for me because I had the first baptism of my mission so far, and I got to perform it so that was pretty special as well! It is really hard to explain the feelings of that....knowing that I got to be a part of the Lord, through His Gospel, changing the life of someone. Directly after the baptism, I could see, with tears in her eyes that she without a doubt knew how important this step was for her. It is really incredible what this Gospel can do for people, and I am very blessed to be a witness of it all!

We didn't really have a whole bunch of luck finding people this week, but we were kind of caught up in teaching our other investigators (that is an okay trade off with me ;). But, our other investigators are progressing well, and there should be another baptism on Saturday! 

During my studies throughout the week, a couple things stood out to me that I would like to share. One, as missionaries we always talk about what our purpose is and what our objective is....but what is the objective of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, put simply? The Gospel of Jesus Christ, put simply, enables us to be purified and cleansed from sin through the Atonement, so that we may receive the greatest gift of all, Eternal Life. As missionaries, we invite other people to repent, allowing them to have the opportunity and make the decision to be purified and cleansed from all their sins, so that they may know true happiness. This reminded me of a talk I heard in the MTC. I cannot remember who gave it. However, he said that there is a very simple reason  that people don't accept the Gospel when we teach it. They simply don't understand what the Lord is giving them.  If we taught in a way so that they truly understood the opportunity that the Lord is giving them, they would want the Gospel in their lives.

I know that this Gospel is true, and the only way. I know that by living these simple principles, we are promised Eternal life, a promise that is greater than all! I know that Jesus Christ lives and loves every single one of us.  I know that every single time a soul is brought to repentance, He weeps! Because He knows that His Atonement, His sacrifice, His work and His Glory, was exercised. 

Te Amo Mucho!! 

Ponderize- Alma 33:23

Elder Yeoman

Elder Yeoman's first Baptism on Saturday 11/7/15

Elder Yeoman and Elder Avalos at the baptism on Saturday

Lots of happy missionaries in The Chacabuco Zone!
(Elder Yeoman in center of back row)

Apparently, Elder Yeoman is the tallest person around that can help reach things up high!! ;-)

Semana 8 in Argentina

Hola Everyone!! Hope you all had an awesome week!

This week again was full of miracles.  It is always amazing to see the hand of the Lord in every aspect of this work! So we had a meeting as a whole mission this past week jueves (Wednesday). The President of the 70 in our area came to talk to us. He and President Ayre talked about our goal as a mission, 1600 baptisms this year..and how we have to work harder than ever to reach this goal, because we are still missing around 500. 

They talked to us about faith..and this is what I got from it.  The Lord, through His representatives has given us this goal, and with all things that come from the Lord we also have been provided a way to accomplish these things. It is now up to us, up to our faith, our diligence, our work that we can accomplish the goal that the Lord has set for us. Reading in the Book of Mormon, I have realized that literally nothing has come to pass without someone not only having faith, but exercising it. That is why we have the Book of Mormon, that is why we have the plenitude of the Gospel in our lives..because of faith!

There is a reason why it is the first teaching of Jesus Christ, because without faith, we cannot progress. Another thing that I really liked about that meeting was these 2 questions:

Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

What do you believe in Jesus Christ?

I think the majority of the world can say that they believe in Jesus Christ, but what about the second question? I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and His Gospel is the ONLY way. What we believe in Jesus Christ is what leads us to act, leads us to repent, leads us to exercise our beliefs.

This work is incredible and I am so humbled to be a part of it. A scripture I love has come to my mind a lot this week..it is in D&C 31:13

Sé fiel hasta el fin y, he aquí, estoy contigo. Estas palabras no son de hombre ni de hombres, sino mías, sí, de Jesucristo, tu Redentor, por la voluntad del Padre. Amén.

Sorry, I can't copy and paste in English.  You guys can figure it out haha! But it is so true, when we are faithful, commited to following the example of Jesus Christ, always exercising our faith, He will ALWAYS be with us. That is a grand promise that I want in my life, and I know you all do to. 

Les amo mucho!

Elder Yeoman

I think the only time Elder Yeoman has pictures taken is when he is eating! I am so grateful for the wonderful church members in Argentina who send me these pictures. :-)

Elder Yeoman eating pizza with ward members. 

Yes, there is a McDonalds in Buenos Aires!

The Ice Cream Sword!!! This picture was taken before it dripped down Elder Yeoman's tie and onto his pants!

Elder Yeoman and his companion, Elder Avalos 

Semana 7 in Argentina

This week was full of miracles! We started off this week like fire and with a hunger to find people ready for baptism, and it really paid off. The Lord blesses those who have faith, are diligent, and obedient! 

So this week, we commited 4 people to a baptismal date, and they all came to church Sunday! They are all a bunch of capos! (I asked Jace about this term and he said capo means  "the boss”, which is a slang term used in Argentina. In other words, they are super great guys!!) On the way walking to church Sunday, one of them asked me "Elder Yeoman, if I am baptized and take the sacrament and remember the Savior and repentance, am I clean again?" I was shocked because we haven't taught him about the Sacrament yet, or the importance of it..but I was like YES!!! YES THAT IS EXACTLY RIGHT! It was awesome!  I really feel good about these investigators progressing and entering the waters of baptism! I can tell that they really want to follow their Savior, and there is no better way to do that than by following His Gospel.

3 of the 4 are brothers, and they were a reference from a less active family (that is key), members help so much! The other one, Richard, was just a random contact we felt that we needed to talk to on the street. I know that Heavenly Father knows our plans for the day, and every single day puts someone in our path that we need to talk to. It is up to us to be able to find that person! 

Yesterday was the election in Argentina, so we werent allowed to proselyte! This was weird..we couldn't go out and work haha..I didnt know what to do with myself. But, we had lunch with the Bishop and his family..and his wife is an incredible cook (the reason I've gained 25 pounds) haha..so we ate for like 3 hours.

Every answer to every problem we can have is in the scriptures. I can't even describe all the times I  have received answers directly from the scriptures...for my investigators or for me. I testify that Heavenly Father knows us personally, that He knows everything we need in every single situation, and that if we put our trust in Him and exercise our faith, we will receive answers!

I love you all and hope you all have an awesome week! I feel your love and prayers every day! This is the Lords work, and I am blessed to be His representative! And as His representative I testify that He lives, and He loves every single one of you. A way is prepared for everyone! 

Ponderize for the week: 2 Nephi 25:26

Elder Yeoman

Elder Yeoman and Elder Avalos with the Bishop and his family in Parque Patricios

Night time view of the Beautiful city of Buenos Aires

Weekly Photo in Elder Yeoman's Apartment :-)

Sunday Tacos with members from Parque Patricios

Lunch with the Bishop and Family

They seem to ALWAYS be eating!! Elder Yeoman says the food is AMAZING!!

I love this picture!!! Hermana Casariego fed him something spicy!!

Semana 6 in Argentina!

Hola Todos!

Wow! This week was so eye opening and crazy! I don't accurately know how to describe it in words!  I want to start off by saying thank you to you all for all the support, experiences, and love you share with me! Without such amazing family and friends, this would be so much more difficult. Never think that your email doesn't mean much to me, because every single one does! However, sometimes it gets crazy busy and I am not able to write as much as I would like to you all. So today was translates (transfers)! Luckily, my companion and I are staying in our area! I am really happy about that! He is getting down about things because this will make it 6 months that he has been here, and no baptisms. This area is tough, but I know that we are here for a reason, and I assured him that we will find that reason and we will have baptisms..SOON! The Lord wants to see our faith, love, and determination! And that is exactly what we will give Him! 

I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve these wonderful people. I also made a promise that an English word will not come out of my mouth this transfer.  It will be tough, but I know that it is what I need. I have already felt like my Spanish has really come along, and I know it is only because I am changing my attitude, and putting more trust in the Lord.

Now, for the part of my week that blew my emotions out of the water. I had the opportunity to go to the departure devotional for the missionaries who are going home this transfer.  My companion wanted to see one of his former companions and we got permission to go. So, these things are huge in our mission.  The missionaries get to invite all their converts, all the members in their wards that they grew to love, total! So, me being new, I didnt know anyone outside of my zone. I got to hear the testimonies of Elders and Sisters leaving. One of them really stuck out to me. His name is Elder Da Silva, and he was an assistant who left today. But something really hit me. He was absolutely distraught and could not fathom the thought of having to leave Argentina. I saw him talk to all these people whose lives were changed because of him, along with a bunch of other missionaries. People came from all over to see these missionaries who changed their lives forever. It finally hit me! Things finally clicked. That is who I want to be! 

I want to be the missionary that never wants to leave..that my biggest fear in the world is one day that this will be over, and I won't be a missionary anymore. I want to change lives, bring people into the fold, into happiness that they would have never otherwise dreamed of! That is why I am here, and that is the joy of the Gospel! 

Let us all take a moment and realize just what we have..the promises and blessings from having the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. Things get hard, but I promise that if we never let go of our faith, we will always be happy! 

I love you all, and hope you all have a great week! I know my Savior, Jesus Christ lives, and is there with us through everything, every step of the way! 

Elder Jace Yeoman

Jace sent this picture to me as a joke.  He has always laughed that missionaries seem to always be giving a "thumbs up" in pictures.  Before he left for his mission, he vowed to never take the typical missionary picture with a "thumbs up" pose!
(He said he would always hold up his infamous "3-point" sign as in the above picture!)

Semana 5 in Argentina......Creo?

Hola Everyone!

I am shocked every single week how fast time is going! We have 3 companionships in my ward and we are all having trouble finding people to teach! So, we fasted for our metas (goals) and I am really feeling good and confident about this week! That's what it is all about, faith! We have to have the faith and desire to accomplish our goals, or we never will! So our last progressing investigator fell through this week because her dad, who lives in Peru, wouldnt allow her to be baptized :(. She was so ready, and even passed the baptismal interview, but it was a last second thing. But, we did what we could, and the seed has been planted! My companion and I have been trying to look for more ways to get the members excited to get involved in missionary work! We were sitting there in companionship study one day thinking, and we buy these chocolatada shakes, which had writing on them like this: Lunes-chocolatada con un amigo..Martes-Chocolotada con su estudios..etc. So we were like...WE GOT IT. So we made a 7 day calendar for specific things that the members can do to help us in the work, and get them excited for missionary work! We printed it out and gave it to all the families in the ward Sunday!

Fast and testimony meetings here are incredible! Nobody gets up there and tells stories, or their life experiences. It is an hour of people testifying of our Savior. The Spirit during that meeting was so strong. The people here are so humble and it is awesome serving them!  One thing that I am learning and comprehending more and more every day by being here on a mission, is just what exactly the Savior did for us. Not only did he give His whole life for us, but He also provided His Gospel, the ONLY way we are able to live with our Heavenly Father again with our families. Stop and think about all the blessings that entails, it is truly remarkable. I will never be able to comprehend all of the Atonement. None of us will. But what I do know, and can testify of with all of my heart, even in Spanish, is Jesus Christ is my Savior! He lives, and has provided a way for all of us to know true happiness. All he asks is that we have faith in Him, repent, and endure to the end! "If ye know all these things, SEE THAT YE DO THEM."

I dont have much more time, but I love you all and feel the love and support of you all every day, along with my Savior! The greatest thing we can do as members of the church, is share the Gospel! Never forget what the power of your knowledge and your testimony can do for so many around you! 

Transfers are next Monday, so my next Pday will be on Tuesday....so, Mom don't freak out when you don't hear from me on Monday! Haha!

Okay, I broke the news to my parents last week, so I will tell you all now..Since I arrived in Argentina, I have gained 25 pounds hahaha! These members love me and feed me lots!! ;)

And for my family: Ponderize for the week - Mosiah 2:41

Love you all!!

Elder Yeoman

I have to take selfies because having a camera out in public isn't the brightest thing to do in Argentina. Haha! This photo was taken this morning. 

One Month in the 'Tina!!

Wow, its already Monday again..and I've been here a month! I hope everyone is doing well and had the opportunity to listen to every single second of conference, because it was AMAZING! So, the first session I watched in Spanish, so I didnt get as much out of it as the other sessions, but it was still good! Something interesting I thought of though about watching in Spanish- Yeah I know generally what they are saying, but not all of it so what I do know along with what the Spirit is telling me makes up the difference. So I dont know if that makes sense, but it does to me haha. But all the other sessions I was able to watch in English, so instead of telling you all about my week, I am going to focus on some thoughts and impressions from Conference.

1) To serve at the capacity the Lord needs us to serve, we have to see His children through His eyes. This is charity, and if we have not charity, we are nothing. I know that charity is something that does not come easy, after all it is the pure love of Christ. However, it is essential! In all that we do, we must have charity! This is something I am praying for ever day!

2) "Elder Yeoman, stop serving your mission and start serving His" - This one hit me hard, I need to stop looking at fixing my problems and my trials and difficulties, and look to only fixing and healing the problems of those I serve. I am here to serve my Lord, and that means that I need to do it His way.

3) I wasn't called for the things I have done or didn't do, but rather because of the things I will do through Him! I love this! Heavenly Father knew exactly what He was getting when He called me to this mission, someone far from perfect, but someone maybe He can work with! Well I can testify to all of you that if we are able to submit to His will, we can become who He wants us to be...which is the only way we can reach our full potential!

4) The path of happiness is through families and a Mother's love has to be divine. Well, I have the best family in the world and I know without a doubt that we will be together for eternity. I also know that without families, we could never have the joy and happiness that was intended for us! I love my family so much, and the Gospel is the reason for our happiness! Also, I know that a Mother's love is divine, and that if anyone can love me or come as close to loving me as much as the Savior, through all my faults, it is my mother! I love my parents so much, and know that they were given to me so I can have a taste for just how much my Heavenly Father and Savior love me. Also, a part that stuck out to me with that is Elder Holland said "In temptation, behold your mother." Wow, that is extremely powerful, because I would never want to hurt my Mother. I know you all feel the same, so when faced with temptation, behold your Mothers!

5) Always put your trust in the Lord. This has been one thing that I am really building a strong faith and testimony of and know that this is the only way we can make it through mortality. There are days where I don't have any idea how I am going to make it to the next, but there is always something that happens, something little even, that gives me the comfort and strength I need to carry on! That is the strength, power, and love of the Lord!

6) Doubt and faith cannot exist together- This is so true! On a mission, it is easy to doubt, easy to feel that you aren't good enough, easy to feel that things are too hard! But I can promise, it is so much easier to have faith and show it in all that you do, because when we can do this, we cannot be brought down!

7) Ponderize- I loved this haha! I am currently ponderizing 2 Nephi 31:20, I hope that you all choose to do this, and maybe sometimes ponderize the same verse as me!

8) Ultimately, Christ is our judge. This should bring us all so much joy and comfort. Our redeemer, our Savior, the one who endured it all, who took upon Him every sin, trial, hardship every single person has in this life, who has infinite mercy, is our judge. He taught very simple, but pòwerful doctrine. Doctrine that comes straight from the Father. Exercise faith, repent, be baptized, receieve the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end! I testify that it is only through these simple, yet sometimes hard to comprehend, doctrines that we will be received into Heaven.

I can't explain enough or even begin to try and get you all to think how much the Savior and His atonement mean to me, and how grateful I am to have the fullness of the Gospel in my life! WE all know how blessed we are, so next time you think "I can't do it," Think of someone who really can't, because they have no knowledge of these truths, and go heal them.

I love you all and so does the Savior. Never let go of the Iron rod, and do everything in your power to live the simple doctrines and truths of the Gospel! 

Elder Yeoman

In Elder Yeoman's email to me, he said that he loves the food in Argentina so much that he has gained 20 pounds already!!! I am just thrilled that he isn't losing weight!! 

Hard Rock Cafe Lunch during pday today with Elder Avalos, Elder Daynes and Elder Edmonds

Elder Yeoman with his companion, Elder Avalos

Selfie while studying

I forgot to post this from Chacabuco Zone Conference a couple of weeks ago.