$33 Big Macs

I asked Jace what his subject line $33 Big Macs means since he offered no explanation in this email. He said that it is because he has probably eaten 10 Big Macs this past week! He says that the church members always feed them a huge meal at lunch since that is the main meal in South America…. and at night they are so hungry!! I also wanted to include a quote from one of his personal emails to me today. “I miss you guys too, please don’t think that I don’t. I would be lying if I said I didn’t….but it’s so AWESOME here!! I Love it!!” That is all this mama needs to hear! Even though it is the Christmas season and such a special time for families to be together, I have such great comfort in knowing that Jace is exactly where he wants to be, doing exactly what he wants to be doing and he is in great hands!  My heart is so full.  We are sooooo excited to Skype with him at Christmas! It will be the best Christmas gift ever!!!!

Alana

Holaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I hope everyone has had an amazing week and a great holiday season. My Christmas is a little different this year, since it is 110 degrees haha, pero bueno! But this Christmas will be one that I will never forget! A Christmas where I am able to share with all the people here in Argentina the importance of our Savior! Because Ha Nacido Un Salvador!,

This past week we had so many miracles. We really haven't done anything. The Lord is preparing the people and we are lucky enough to be at the right place. He doesnt just help us with this work. He is this work! It is His work, and people are prepared through Him. Someone stopped us in the street and basically said "Hey, I want to be baptized!" Okay! we can help you with that!  It's amazing! The rest of a part member family has decided to be baptized also!! Something My zone leader told me when I only had about a month in the mission was, "Elder Yeoman, the difference between a good missionary and a great missionary is a great missionary believes in miracles." That hit me hard, and I will never forget it. It's not important what our talents are. What is important is the realization that the Savior has His hand in all things, and it's up to our faith and what we truly believe! 

With that, I was thinking about these short past 5 months on my mission, and everything that I have experienced, seen, and been a part of. I have literally seen the purification power of the Gospel change lives, save families, and strengthen my conversion in a way that I will never be the same. It is something that I will forever be grateful for.  It has given me a perspective much more eternal and has increased my vision. The Gospel of Jesus Christ isn't a way of life.  It is the ONLY way of life that we can reach the level of happiness that our Heavenly Father espera of us! Through His plan, centered on families and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I promise and testify with all of my heart that we will have all the happiness in the world..in this life and the eternities! And as we do so, we will feel of the love the Savior has for each and every one of us. We will begin to understand a little bit just what this plan means, and just how important the Atonement is in our lives. As a representative of Christ, I know He lives, and I know exactly what He wants from each of us. We will have difficulties, struggles, feelings of doubt and feelings of not being able to do it anymore, but our Savior, our Redeemer knows that feeling, and felt it for you personally..and we are all enabled to have His help..Venid a Mi!

This Holiday season, I want you all to think for a little bit about what life would be like without this knowledge that we all have, without the Savior..and then I want you to realize that there are millions of people who have those feelings every day, because they dont know what the Savior has done for them. But we do! We know exactly what He has done for us, and we need to Bring the World that Truth! 

I love you all, and I am so thankful for everyone's love and support for me. This season, come to truly know your Savior.. because it will be the best thing for your life, and for all of those around you!

Tengan Una Buena Navidad!

Elder Yeoman

Baptism this week!

Time is Flying!!

Hello Everyone!!

Hope everyone is having fun in the cold haha! Its starting to get pretty hot here, I step outside and start sweating haha, but its all good :).

So this week, Elder Kelly and I were working hard to find people to teach, and we were talking to a bunch of people but we really weren't getting any interest! We were contacting member references, working through members in everything, but nobody was showing interest. So we got to Saturday night and we didn't have anybody to come to church with us, so we were kind of bummed about that. There was someone that came up to talk to Elder Avalos and I a few weeks before, and we talked to him a little bit and invited him to church. We invite about 1000 people to church everyday, so honestly I didn't think anything about it. But then he came to church that Sunday. So we talked to him after church (a week ago) and he told us that he has a super busy work schedule and he got lucky to get off that week. He said he didn't know if he would be able to come again. So I thought to myself that he wouldn't progress if he doesn't come to church so I kind of just shut that thought out of my mind for the rest of the week. 

Luego, we get a call this past Saturday night..and it was him!! He called us and told us that he wanted to go to church. So we told him that we would pick him up for church Sunday. He came with us, and it was actually Stake Conference, and a member of the Seventy came because our stake president got released! So the meeting was super spiritual, and we committed him to baptism next week! 

This is the Lord's work, and it strengthened my testimony so much and helped me to realize that we just need to work hard. We need to always do everything we can to cumplir with what is being asked of us. And I know that if we can do that, we are entitled to endless blessings, miracles, and help from the Lord! In some of my hardest days on the mission, there is always something there pushing me and helping me along. 

I know that sometimes things are tough. Everyone has trials. Everyone has difficulties. If I could give any advice, among the many things I have learned in the past 5 months..TRUST THE LORD! Someone who has given us everything and paid the price of every sin of every person, only wants our best and our trust. And I promise that if we are doing our best to follow Him, and we put all our trust in Him, He will provide!

Turn that doubt into trust, and seguir adelante!

I love you all!!  (And I have received confirmation that ya'll still can't guard me ;) Haha!

Elder Yeoman

 (Jace is clearly forgetting some english words as he types his emails. I usually edit them, but just decided to leave the spanish words in there this week!)

Pday Fun with the whole zone today!!

Elder Yeoman and Elder Kelly's weekly selfie!!

Se Fueron las doce Semanas

Hola!!

Hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving, even though it wasnt nearly as good without me...but still hope it was awesome!! And I hope ya'll ate an extra plate for me ;)

Well, I am done training!! So now I'm a normal missionary haha! I'm pretty excited about being able to work in the mornings now too! Elder Avalos left, which I'm pretty sad about! I learned a lot from him and I will definitely miss him. My new companion is Elder Kelly from Las Vegas. Here is the funny part. He trained Elder Ayres (My companion in the MTC)! He is awesome and I know we will have a lot of success together..and work super hard! Also, he is a huge college basketball fan..like huge!! Just a side note ;)

Now I will be leading the area for a few weeks until Elder Kelly gets used to it! So Im a little nervous about that, but the Lord will help me through it all, and lead us to where we need to be! Richard, who was baptized 2 weeks ago is now preparing to serve a mission..and comes out with us to help teach a lot! I'm so extremely happy for him and just thinking back on how much of a miracle it was that we even found him, I can really testify that this is the Lords work! There are miracles all around! 

Something that Presidente Ayre told us in a mission conference this past week is that our faith can soften hearts and help prepare them to hear the Gospel! This really hit me..that the faith that we have can prepare the hearts of others so that they are ready to recieve the truth. Faith is something that I study a lot as a missionary, and it is so true. If we have faith, we have hope..and if we have faith and hope..it leads to charity! And that Charity is what can realmente change the hearts of those around us! 

I am so incredibly blessed to be a part of the Work and Glory of the Lord, and I glory in Him..and testify that it is only through Him and His Gospel that we can be saved. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior..and that through Him, everything is possible. 

Any struggle, hardship, trial you all are going through..just dont worry about it, it will all work out, because the Savior is ALWAYS with us!

I love you all!! Hope you all have an awesome week!

Elder Yeoman

Saying goodbye to Elder Avalos  

Elder Yeoman with his new companion, Elder Kelly

Elder Yeoman was excited to see his MTC companion again, Elder Ayres 

Another Chacabuco Zone picture

La Mas Loca Semana en mi Vida

Hola!

Hope everyone is doing great! Im sorry but I literally have no time to write today, because we had a huge asado as a zone! But this week was insane haha. I think I went on exchanges 3 times because everyone was having trouble with baptismal interviews, but I dont have time to tell you guys about it. It was a really fun and tiring week though, and we had a baptism so that was great! Just know I love you guys a ton and I will have more time next week!

The church is true, and Christ lives and loves each and every one of you!! 

Elder Yeoman

It was a short and sweet email this week, but Jace is doing great! They had a zone asada  (a barbecue) and it took up most of his p-day today!  I also got a few pictures and a video of him from members in his ward this week!  I love technology!! It is such a tender mercy to receive unexpected pictures and sweet messages from the wonderful people in Argentina! They truly love Elder Yeoman and say that he is an “angel” to them in the Parque Patricios ward family! They also tell me that they love his humor! :-)  

Alana

Chacabuco Zone Pday Barbecue
Elder Yeoman, Elder Avalos,  Elder ?,  Elder Bonafacio and Elder Daynes

Baptism this week!

I received these pictures on Saturday from Juan Carlos in Elder Yeoman's ward. This picture is a selfie taken with the young men in the Parque Patricios ward. 

They love Inca Cola.... a very yummy Peruvian soda

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