New Investigators - Rosio, Angeles & Daniel

August 24, 2015

Hola Hola!

So sounds like the last few days and weeks have been pretty crazy for you guys! Still really weird to think Scott, Erika and Ryan will all be in San Diego now, but I’m sure it`ll be great for all of them.

So Fabian… we taught him this week and started teaching the commandments, starting with the Ten Commandments, but he can’t come to church again for the next two weeks because his boss is going back to Paraguay. Then the week after that, Fabian is taking a short vacation to Paraguay, so yesterday he didn’t come and for at least the next two weeks he won’t be able to come. So if I don’t stay another transfer, I won’t see his baptism.  But the important thing would just be that he gets baptized, but it’s somewhat frustrating.  He works a lot and says his prayers but he hasn’t asked if what we are teaching is true and he still has yet to read the Book of Mormon, so it’s been a little difficult.

Cynthia also couldn’t come yesterday because it was her son’s birthday and they were celebrating it. Also somewhat frustrating because she said she’d come this next Sunday, unless she was in the Capital again. The good news though is that she usually reads at least parts of the chapters we leave her from the Book of Mormon. She seems to understand everything and is progressing. We changed her baptismal date to September 6, but now it`ll have to get postponed again since she didn’t come yesterday. Silvia has been difficult to find and this week we didn’t get to teach her. The good news though is we have a couple new investigators. We talked to two girls two weeks ago in the center of Lomas and they said we could pass by their house and their address was in our area! So, we stopped by a few days later and set an appointment for this last Saturday.  On Saturday we went by and met their mom and brother, Daniel. The two girls are Rosio (20) and Angeles (15) and Daniel is 13. We talked for a few minutes to get to know them and introduced ourselves and what we do, how to begin teaching pretty much. There are 13 people in their family but we only met the three kids and the mom. They are Catholic but don’t really practice. Daniel is the most religious and believing of them all. He goes to the Catholic Church on Sundays and prays. The mom believes in God but doesn’t practice. She also believes and worships Gauchito Gil (you`ll have to look that up... its big here..)
                    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauchito_Gil
Angeles says she doesn’t believe in God and Rosio said she isn’t sure. But we are pretty sure they really do know, they just don’t pray or practice. We have a lesson with them Wednesday so hopefully it goes well. After Saturday’s lesson we took Daniel with us to play soccer at the church. Usually, every Saturday, there’s some youth and men from Elders Quorum that play, but the Saturday we went with Daniel there was no one... like 3 other kids so it was pretty boring but Daniel seemed to still enjoyed it and said we are nice.

This next week also is like a multi Stake Conference. In all of Argentina there is going to be a broadcast, I think from the Area Seventy, so we`re going to be in the Stake Center watching that.

September 12th is the day of service here but in our Stake they are doing something a little different. The Church leaders here have been in communication with the Municipio de Lomas and family search and have organized a family history day in the center of Lomas in one of the government buildings. In the building there are about 30 computers and people are going to come and the members are going to help people look for an ancestor I think. There was training for it last night. I didn’t really understand what was going on, ha ha, but the idea is to spark the interest of the people in searching for their ancestors. There was a guy from the Municipio and he said they are expecting 5,000 people, which surprised me and seems like a lot but it’d be great. The training last night was for everyone, the missionaries and members, and then this Thursday there’s a training for just the missionaries, so hopefully I`ll find out more about it this week.

Also this week we have Zone Conference which should be pretty great.

Oh and for the flooding, really it didn’t flood in our area like it did last year when I was in Quilmes. There were some streets that were a little flooded but cars could still get by fine. Cynthia lives in an area that’s dirt roads and so it was hard there to walk and get around and some houses were flooded a little bit but Cynthia’s was fine. In general, it didn’t affect out area. The Hermanas in my District though, their area flooded up to their knees.

I hope things are going well and everything got squared away with the house in Logan and the moving. I miss you guys

Love
Elder McFarland

A Visit From Elder Pribyl

August 17, 2015

Hola Hola!

So guess what?? I saw Elder Pribyl this week!! Ha ha.  He is also a District Leader and this last Thursday we had a training meeting with all the District Leaders. I knew I was going see him but then Thursday morning he called me and told me to look outside my pension so I went outside and he was flippin outside the gate with an Elder that used to be in my District. It was nuts ha ha ha. It was super weird to see him after over a year, but the weird part was that actually after the first few minutes it wasn’t weird or strange. Even though it’d been so long and we are still in the mission, we started talking and it just felt like before. I don’t know, weird and hard to explain. I assume that’s similar to how it`ll feel after the mission. And probably what Scott meant when he said it felt like a dream. You get back, assuming it`ll be all different and maybe weird at first, only to realize it’s not weird being back home at all and it felt like you never left. Of course a lot more will have changed when I get back than when Scott got back, but still weird. Max, my friend from BYU, told me that some girls from our freshman ward are already getting back and others that are getting back in 3 or 4 months and I read that and it just was super, super weird to read. Like I don’t know, time is just passing by insanely fast. It’s crazy. I can’t believe it. Truly passing by like a dream.

At the training, President Thurgood told us a little about what’s going on in the mission. Right now there are 122 missionaries, the least amount of missionaries in a long, long time. But in September, 8 are going home and 22 are coming to the mission. Then in November, it’s about the same number that leaves and come.  But then in December, 8 are going home and like 20 are coming. So, in the coming months the mission will have more missionaries.  President Thurgood told me it’s very likely that in September, he`ll put 2 more missionaries in Parque Baron so we`ll have 4 Elders again. I was thinking I`ll leave next transfer but it’s also a possibility now that I might stay and go to one half of the area and Elder Gonzalez will stay in the other and we`ll receive new companions because they have a new pension on the other side of the area. But I might still go and they might do a whitewash. We`ll see what happens, but it`ll be interesting. The change in missions has been a little hard, I think, for many missionaries. A lot of us from the South Mission have noticed that many missionaries from the West Mission are very serious and very strict, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but as I talked to Elder Pribyl and have heard from some missionaries, the West Mission was very different from our mission. It appears the Mission President there was stricter. He had a lot more rules and a lot more things the Elders had to report. I mentioned when we Skyped that from the Area Presidency it’s required to only report the baptisms, confirmations and sacrament attendance and if the Mission Presidents want, they can add more. Up until now, President Thurgood hasn’t added any. And apart from the missionary handbook he doesn’t have many other rules. His way of leading the mission is summarized by a quote of Joseph Smith “I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves.” He likes to have trust in us. I think D&C 58:26-28 also describes his way of leading the mission.

26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

He expects us to be agents unto ourselves and make our own choices wisely. On the other hand, the West Mission President was the opposite. He pretty much micro managed his mission with lots of rules and lots of reporting. I’m not saying one is better than the other, just that they are different. But now it seems like it has created a little tension between missionaries and even missionaries and the members. There’s an Elder in my district that shares an area with the Hermanas in my district and the Hermanas told me he’s offending the members there. There just seems like be a lot of judging and comparing the missions going on and I personally don’t like it. So I think for a time it`ll be a little hard for the new missionaries to adjust to our mission and for everyone to kind of be on the same page and not have any problems between missionaries.

But this week was good. Fabian didn’t come to church. Cynthia was in the Capital again. Yesterday we had a good lesson with Silvia and we`ll see what happens this week. I got to go. Thanks for everything. Love you guys!

Love
Elder McFarland

Jesus & Marie Get Married

August 10, 2015

Hola Hola,

So I’m still with Elder Gonzalez and will still be District Leader. But two of the Elders in my district got transferred. There were lots of changes this transfer because I think President Thurgood is trying to mix the new missionaries from the West Mission into areas in the South Mission and vice versa. I talked to Elder Pribyl and he’s staying in his area but it sounds like he’s now District Leader so that should be good for him.

The lesson with Cynthia this week went really well. We committed her to baptism for August 30th and she said she’d come to church and we offered to come to her house and accompany her to church, but then Saturday night she called us saying she wouldn’t be able to go because it has been raining the last couple days and where she lives it’s dirt streets and she said it was flooded and on top of that she has a baby so she was afraid of trying to leave her house. But again tonight we have an appointment with her so I hope we`ll be able to reach her house. But she seems to be progressing really well. We also had a lesson with Fabian, yes the 20 year old that was a reference, earlier in the week and it went well. He also said he would come to church and he was going to meet his friend who is a member and come to church, but he wasn’t able to come either because there was an election Sunday and his boss had to go vote and so Fabian had to go in and work and his boss didn’t get back until 2. But then after church he called us and offered us dinner and we could share something so last night we went over to his home and his girlfriend was there and he did a BBQ for us but in the end there wasn’t time for us to teach. It was pretty crazy because it’s been raining the past couple of days and last night we were with him in his home and the power went out, but luckily when we got to the pension there was light. This week we have a Tormenta Blanca planned where the elders from the zone are going to come to our area and visit less actives. But we still have to plan it.  There has been poor communication between our Ward Mission Leader and the ward leaders and us, so we`ll see what happens, but hopefully it goes well. The new Bishop seems to be very motivated. We talked with him on Sunday a little bit about the Tormenta Blanca and I think as he gets settled in, things will go a lot smoother.

Jesus and Maria got married Wednesday at a Registro Civil in Lomas and we went. It was very simple and very fast.

They did some paperwork and then they called all of us in and then a woman spoke, said some personal information of Jesus and Maria and then married them and then they signed a paper.

It was kind of anticlimactic ha ha but it was still an amazing experience being able to see them get married because as Elder Ventura and I taught them they had said their goal was to get married but that they weren’t ready and so I thought I probably wouldn’t see them get married but I’m really grateful I was able to see them get married and support them

Their families were there and then us and two heramanos from the ward. I felt bad because Jesus said he hoped more were going to come.

As they left the building we threw rice at them. I don’t remember if that’s a wedding tradition in general or just in Argentina ha ha.

Then Friday was their reception at the capilla and practically no one came. We got there and there was literally like 5 people and some more people showed up but in the end there were still only a total of maybe 25 people. I was super annoyed and mad at the members because Jesus and Maria announced it and gave out invitations to the members, they just didn’t come. The family that’s friends with Jesus and Maria did a great job of decorating and planning everything, the members from the ward just didn’t show up. I felt super bad for Jesus for the poor support the ward showed.

But I think it was still special experience for them and they seemed to enjoy it.
I have a few short videos of Jesus and Maria dancing ha ha. I was really happy overall to see them get married and to take this step in their goal of getting sealed in the temple. They've expressed their desire to get sealed in a year and it would be great to see them.






This week we also had a pretty intense spiritual experience. Thursday night, as we planned, we put some old investigators we were going to pass by the following day, one of which was a woman named Silvia. So Friday we went to her house and realized we had tried to contact her before but no one answered, but this time we rang the door bell from the fence and Silvia came out and as she came closer to the fence we saw that she was crying and she asked us who had sent us. My companion explained that we had found her name among a list of people that had talked to missionaries before. Again she asked who sent us and if we came to just come or if it was for a purpose and if we knew what was going on. So I pretty much repeated what Elder Gonzalez said and told her we saw her name as we planned and felt that we should pass by to get to know her and that we had no idea what might be going on and I asked if we could come in and share something. She let us in and as we entered and sat down she told us how she had talked to missionaries before, years ago, and gone to church once and then she broke down into tears and told us that now we had came just as she was experiencing the hardest and worst time in her life because her son, German, had recently taken his life. As she said that, I couldn’t hold back the tears from my eyes and in that moment I don’t think my heart has ever hurt so much for someone else. But with that sorrow and heartache that in an instant had entered my heart for her loss also came such an intense and powerful witness to my heart and spirit of God’s love for his children and specifically Silvia. It was in that moment, perhaps more than in any other experience in my life, that I knew and felt of God´s love for his children. I`m not sure if the tears from my eyes were tears of sorrow and sadness for her or if they were tears of gratitude and love towards my Heavenly Father. It is hard to describe what I felt and I hope it’s not something I ever forget. In that moment, the Lord sent two young men as his servants and representatives to bring her peace and comfort with the good news that she will see her son again. That, thanks to Jesus Christ and his infinite atonement, her son will be resurrected and that she will not only see him again but can live with him again, forever. We taught her of the atonement, the resurrection and the spirit world as she asked us crying, where her son was and if there was forgiveness for what he had done. She told us he had psychological problems and had always been nervous but she had never ever expected him to take his life. She told us that soon after his death she prayed and felt a sense of peace but that since then that peace had left her and how she didn’t understand why and she just has an overwhelming desire to see him and to hug him again. The Lord sent us that day to restore that peace to her soul and heart and as she continues to listen to us and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ in her life, that peace can be restored permanently to her soul, never to leave again. Thanks to the great and wonderful news of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. He lives. God loves us. I know that more than I ever have in my life, as He permitted my companion and I to be instruments in His hands and provide peace and comfort to a woman that had lost her son just three weeks ago. How wonderful it is to be a member of His church, to know of the Plan of Salvation and that we have a Savior and Redeemer, who perfectly understands us and knows how to help us if we will just turn to Him.

Love
Elder McFarland

District Leader - Again

Monday, July 27, 2015

Hola Hola!

So this week was pretty interesting with some changes. The Bishopric (Bishop and 2 Counselors) in our ward changed. The Bishop was a good guy but I think he was kind of getting tired. I think it will be a good change. Also the new counselor, Demesio, does visits with us sometimes so I'm hoping with the changes we will be able to work with the ward leaders a little more. Also Jesus did't get the Priesthood, I think with all the changes going on last week, but we talked to the new Bishop and he said next week for sure. Also I don't know if I told you guys but Jesus and Maria are getting married next, Wednesday, August 5th and I think we`ll be able to go.

The interview with President Thurgood was good. The scripture covers! Yeah I knew last week I was forgetting something, but yes they fit and they`re awesome!! Thank you so much. It's nice to have scripture covers finally. I haven't gotten the ID card.

Cynthia is going to the capitol this week so we don't have a lesson with her until next Monday but Saturday in the morning we were able to stop by just for a few minutes and see how she was doing and if she read and prayed. She read a little but still hasn't prayed but she said she knows that what her boyfriend believes is good and she wants to learn more and perhaps in the future get baptized. So, I think when she returns and we can really start teaching her she`ll progress.

We don't have a baptism the 26th. Since our first lesson with that lady, Roxana, we haven't been able to have a lesson since.

But the good news is that we got a reference from a member and contacted him and he's super awesome. His name is Fabian Diaz and he's 19. He works in a Carniceria and lives alone. But he's really spiritual and wants to follow God and do the right. He went to institute with a girl once but with his work schedule it's hard. The good part is that he has Sundays off but just so happens that right now his boss is in Paraguay and left him in charge so for 2 weeks he has to work Sundays but after that he said he would come to church. We did begin teaching with him and read 2 Nephi 31:5, 9-10 and invited him to be baptized the 16th of August and he accepted! The bad news is that he won't be able to because of the attendance,  but we`ll set a new date with him. He's a super cool kid though. I feel like he's super prepared and ready to accept the Gospel. Also when we contacted him at his work, we did a contact with a lady buying meat who is Catholic but her niece and some family are Mormons and tonight we have a lesson with her.

The Hermana that doesn't understand the temple, we haven't been able to pass by much. She's older and so is her mom, and her dad is in bad health so they have to stay home taking care of him so it's almost impossible to come to church but we talked with the new Bishop and he said next week he's going to assign someone to take them the sacrament.

Also that's my blanket. Right before Elder Gonzalez got here, the mission gave us 500 pesos to buy a blanket if we wanted to. I'm not sure how I'll fit it when I leave but if I can I really want to take it, haha.

Also another change is that I'm District Leader (DL) again. One of the District Leaders got emergency transferred to an area to replace an Elder that went home, so my area and another area swapped districts and President Thurgood asked me to be DL. So my district is now Lanus 1A and Lanus 1B and El Faro. I have 4 Elders and 2 Hermanas. Not going to lie, it was a little more tranquilo not being DL and just being able to focus on training and our area but I enjoyed being DL at the same time because I learned a lot and liked the opportunity to serve. So it`ll be good. I hope all is well back home. Thanks for everything. Love you guys!

Love
Elder McFarland

The Package!!!!

Monday, July 20, 2015

Hola!
So this week was pretty interesting. There were lots of things going on. Three times this week we went over to Jesus´ house to help him fix it up and finish up two rooms but there's still a lot of work to be done. The good news is that Jesus and Maria are getting married August 5!! It's out of our area but I'm hopeful and pretty sure we should be able to go. It seems like after they get married, Maria and their baby will be living with Jesus if the house is done or not. Super awesome. I'm not sure what ended up happening yesterday, but Jesus didn't receive the priesthood. I'm not sure if the Bishopric just forgot or if something happened. I didn't have a chance to really ask or talk to Jesus about it but we have a lesson with them tomorrow. I think he should be getting it for sure next Sunday.

This week I think I ate something bad and my stomach was upset for a couple days but now it's fine. The good news is that in our mission we now get reimbursed after 300 pesos for vegetables and fruits. We get 1100 pesos a month so now it should hopefully be a little easier to eat healthier or that's the idea at least, haha.

This week we had to go to Burzaco for my tramites. Not really sure what happened but I renewed some form and now I just wait to receive my identification or something. I have no idea really but it's not a problem, haha.  It was awesome because Elder Durham (Elder McFarland's 1st companion) was there also that day with a companion and so we got to talk for a good while and I was grateful for that because it's probably the last time I see him in the mission since he goes home in 3 weeks. Then Friday my companion had to go to the capital for his visa or something so I spent the morning with another Elder.

So in terms of the work, it was somewhat hard because we had lots going on but we had some good lessons with some less actives. Really we have 0 progressing investigators so we are really focusing on finding new people and yesterday we received an answer to our prayers. We were doing visits with the Young Women's President to invite less active young men to an activity when a man and his mom waved to us. We were really confused but went to go talk to them and it turns out they are members who live in the capital and the man was there visiting his girlfriend. They were leaving the area but they gave us the address of his girlfriend so we went and contacted her and she let us in. Her name is Cynthia and she has an 8 year old son and a 9 month old baby and apparently her and her boyfriend, who waved to us and is a member, are getting married in November and then she`ll move to live with him. But for now she is living in a room with her kids in her parents house. We talked to her and her sister-in-law, Melissa, but she appeared to be a little less interested and left to attend something as we talked, but hopefully we can teach her too. Cynthia was a little more receptive. She has had a little contact with the Church over the years because of her boyfriend. She has gone to church a few times and had gone to some church activities but very little contact with missionaries, if at all. So, we talked to her to get to know her a little bit and talked about the Book of Mormon. We left her with the invitation to read 2 Nephi 31 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/31?lang=eng
and to pray to see if its true. We have another lesson Tuesday but we`re hopeful and excited and have faith that she`ll progress. Also this past week we received two references from members (I haven't received a reference since I've been here) and we are going to contact them this week. So this week we are really hoping to get the work going and work with new people.

This Wednesday we have interviews with President Thurgood, which should be really good. Oh also today, Elder Pribyl called me, haha. It was super, super weird to hear his voice but super awesome. I'm super excited to see him. I appears he is doing really well.

Also, I got your package!!! When we did tramites, we were in the offices and they gave it to me! I took a photo before I opened it. THANK YOU!! It was seriously so great getting a package, haha. I felt like a little kid at Christmas or that is was my birthday again opening something up.

I've already read the book (The Ultimate Missionary Companion by Ed J. Pinegar), but now I'm going to  go back and read it slower and study it in my free time. The socks will be such a nice replacement because I have quite a few with holes, haha. Also, the shoes are so nice, haha. I forgot what they looked like new (we sent the exact same pair that he left with), but I think I'm going to wear out the older pair for a little longer before I break in the new ones. Also, thank you for the tie clips especially the Argentina flag one. That one is sick. (Thanks Scott for the suggestion.)

And the Misison pins!! We got a Mission pin that are a little different from President Thurgood when the Mission split, but I have to find it. I can't remember where I put it, haha. But, it's great to have another one and also Elder Pribyl obviously never got one and my companion too so I gave one to my companion and I`ll give one to Elder Pribyl when I see him. Oh and the Air Heads and other candy!! haah. So good! Thank you! My companion loves the Air Heads. I haven't opened the other candy yet. I want to save it for a special moment, hahaha. And the card. The classic with the words hahah thank you. Needless to say it was awesome getting the package. I'm very grateful for it. Thank you! I'm glad you guys got to send one while I was on my mission and it was definitely needed, so thank you! Oh and the money!! I think I'm going to save it for a little while until I get closer to the end of my mission and then exchange it!!  Thanks for all the updates from home. I'm glad to hear things are going well. Thanks for everything. I love you guys so much! Miss you!

Love
Elder McFarland

P.S. from Elder McFarland's Mom.
We have been asked not to send any packages because it is very expensive to pay the fees to pick them up and it takes a lot of time away from the work for the missionaries and there is a lot of theft.  But, we knew someone that served his mission in Argentina and was going back with his wife to visit and offered to take a package for us.  We were thrilled.  Thanks to the McPhies.

No iPads

Monday, July 13, 2015

Hola, Hola!

So yesterday Jesus and Maria had an interview with one of the members of the bishopric but I don't know yet if Jesus had the chance to be interviewed to receive the priesthood. Tomorrow we are going to help him fix up his house so I`ll find out more tomorrow. Either way, I hope he will be able to receive it next week. Also, they took out the papers to start the process of getting married, but I have no idea how longer until they fill it out and get married, but they are doing well. We haven't been able to talk to his friend yet though. I was disappointed because we were supposed to have a lesson with the old investigator Saturday but then she asked us to come Sunday, but then Sunday she canceled and said she was at a birthday, so now we rescheduled for Wednesday. So, we`ll see if she still has the interest and excitement to continue listening to us and prepare to be baptized. We didn't have a lesson with the less active mother and her father, but Tuesday we have a lesson with them.

This week was somewhat hard. Tuesday, Elder Gonzalez ate something bad and was sick for a day and the last couple days I've had a cold, so we haven't been 100% lately. But this week, I think should be a lot better. We have interviews on the 22nd so if the package gets dropped off before then I'm sure I'll receive it at the interviews. Elder Gonzalez speaks a little English but he isn't fluent or anything. Also, we are not getting iPads (a lot of missionaries in the United States now have iPads to use on their missions) and won't be getting iPads as far as I know. I've heard, although not sure if it is true, that President Thurgood was offered iPads but said no. Probably because in most of the areas, if not all of the areas, there is a huge risk of them getting stolen. It's not like the United States where you can leave it in the car or even if you don't have a car there is not a high chance of getting robbed. Every week there is at least one area that gets robbed. But it would be nice to have one,haha.

Anyways, I love you and thank you for everything! I`ll let you know when i get the package!

Love
Elder McFarland

New Companion - Elder Gonzalez

Monday, July 6, 2015

Hola! So yes, my new companion is from Chile.  His name is Elder Gonzalez and he's from Viña del Mar. He's 18 but straight up looks like hes 15, haha, But he's a stud. He's super, super excited to be out on the mission and in the field and just wants to work, work, work so I'm pretty stoked to be with him.

I know I'm going to learn a lot from him. His family are all members of the church and he has just one sister who is 16. We got to the mission home and there were 4 Americans and 11 Latinos and out of the 4 Americans only 2 were Elders and I was really hoping I wouldn't get one of them, haha so I was pretty happy to get a Latino.

This week was pretty great. I had some of the best lessons of my mission this past week with him. Just feeling and being led by the Spirit in the lessons. We met an inactive mom and her son and tonight we have a FHE (Family Home Evening) with them. Then we had a lesson with an inactive hermana who doesn't understand the endowment. She doesn't feel the desire or need to go to the temple. For her, in the bible Christ was baptized and so she was baptized and so that's all she needs. After saying that, a hermano from the ward that was with us started going off on her and there started to be some contention and both Elder Gonzalez and I started to worry it would get out of hand and end really bad.  Then we stepped in and were able to listen to her and then Elder Gonzalez and I both felt like we were really led by the Spirit to know what to say to her.  We just expressed our love for her and not judge her doubts about the endowment. Instead we talked about how everyone, at one time or another, has or has had doubts or questions and that it was the question of Joseph Smith about which church was true that led to the restoration of the Gospel. We talked to her and told her she has an opportunity to let this doubt or question help her grow spiritually. That she can pray and ask Heavenly Father to see if it's necessary to go to the temple. For her to be true to what she does believe and know to be true while she works out for herself and finds out for herself the answer. We`ll see what happens with the hermana, but in the end, the Spirit was brought back into the room and it ended on a good note, instead of perhaps really bad, with this hermana.

Also, last night we had a lesson with a woman that was an old investigator. We got to know her and talked about the church and Book of Mormon and in the end it was a really, really good lesson and she accepted an invitation to be baptized July 26th. It's going to be a little hard because she can only meet with us on the weekends.

Jesus and Maria are doing well. Sunday they were confirmed (a member of the Church) and received the gift of the Holy Ghost from the Stake President who lives in our ward. When Jesus was confirmed, he invited me to join, which was special. In the afternoon, we had a lesson with them. I'm hoping Jesus can talk to Bishop by next week and then the week after receive the Priesthood. Also earlier in the week, Jesus brought a friend of his and we talked to him and he said he would come to church and the lesson in the afternoon but he didn't come to either. But hopefully we can talk and teach him again this week.

I didn't celebrate the 4th of July at all, but I was okay.  On Saturday during the game (the men's Copa America finals - Argentina vs Chile) we studied and then left thinking it was over but then found out it was in extra time and then went to penalty kicks.  Then a dude from his house started swearing and going off and it became obvious Argentina lost, haha. It was crazy though during the last part of the game, there was literally no one in the streets and then two minutes after they lost it was like life resumed and the streets were full again, haha. That's good that you guys celebrated the 4th of July and got to go out a little bit (Merrill & Kathy went to Sacramento and spent the night on an old riverboat that is docked and a hotel). Also cool to hear the US Women's soccer team won (the World Cup). Anyways, I  miss you guys lots and love you!

Love
Elder McFarland