Branch Activity

Hey everyone! 

This week was pretty good! I started off the week early on by doing divisions on Tuesday. I went with Elder Valdez and we went and worked in his area for the day. It went pretty well and I liked getting to meet the people in his area. Elder Valdez is okay. He´s not my favorite to work with and it´s always weird teaching the lessons in a way that you´re not used to, but he´s a really good guy and we shared some cool stories. Then, I felt kind of weird/sick for part of the day on Tuesday and most of Wednesday. I think it was probably something I ate. But, it wasn´t that bad and I´m all better now. 

And, this week was really cool because of the branch activity that we had on Saturday. A ton of people met up at the church and there were different activities going on, lke soccer, cards, musicians, and football. Yes, real football. I brought my football to the activity and everyone seemed to love it, especially all the white missionaries. So, I loved playing catch for the first time in a year with someone that could actually throw a football. And, I did some magic tricks with the cards, played the guitar, played the piano, and even played a little soccer. And there was a giant lunch at the end with pizza, sandwiches, chicken, etc. etc. And they even had hot dogs (even though they were uncooked and they only use mayo as a condiment...at least they tried. 

And this week we found two cool families to teach. One is the neighbor of la familia Melgarejos and they came to they activity and really enjoyed it and they are already really good friends with Lidia, so I´m excited for them. The girl is 28 and the guy is 22 and there are 4 kids, ages 9, 7, 2, and a baby. But, the baby is the only biological child of the guy that she´s living with. And the other family had listened to missionaries before but now want to learn more and the mom´s name is Natalia and they have two kids 8 and 6. So, we will see what happens with them. And la familia Melgarejos made me happy since they were they ones who originally shared the gospel with their neighbors to get them interested! :) 

And the quote I wanted to share is from two people. The first part is from Charles Swindoll and the second part is from President Thomas S. Monson and he reflects on what was said by Swindoll. Swindoll said, "Courage is not limited to the battlefield...or bravely catching a thief in your house. The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are inner tests, like remaining faithful when no one´s looking,...like standing alone when you´re misunderstood." And President Monson stated, "He who stands steadfastly for that which is right must risk becoming at times disapproved and unpopular." I love both of these and how clear they are on what real courage is. That real courage sometimes requires losing something; that it´s not always winning. Thank you to everyone that wrote me this week and I hope to hear from you all soon.

Les Quiero,

Elder Joshua Clarine

 The mold that started to grow in the apartment from the humidity(Don´t worry, it´s gone now.)

A cat on top of a car in a car dealership...ghetto

 The field where we played and threw the football.

The lunch at the activity.

Staying in Goya!!!

Monday, July 21, 2014

Hey everyone!! 

I have the news! I stayed in Goya with Elder Mauricio, so I will be the last companion that he has in the mission!! :D I get to be the person who gets to kill him, as us missionaries say if you´re the last companion of someone! I´m super excited for that and to see how it is!!  

This week was actually pretty good overall! La Hermana Cuevas came to church with us for the 3rd time and she is praying to know if she should be baptized into the church. So, I´ll keep you all updated as that goes.  We had a pretty cool week with la familia Melgarejos and they fed us lunch twice this week and gave us dessert twice, as well. And they shared their feelings about the church with their neighbors and it turns out that the new baby of the neighbors is sick. So, they told the neighbors that we could give her a blessing to help her get better since we did that with Sol, the baby of Lidia, and she was perfectly fine the next day. So, we did the blessing and from what we´ve heard, she is doing much better! :) So that was pretty cool! But, the only bad part about this week is that we had to stop teaching a lot of the people that we were teaching, because they weren´t coming to church or progressing in order to receive an answer. But, I have faith that we will find some awesome people with the time that we now have instead of teaching the old people. 

And, today we had interviews with the new mission President, President Franco, and it went super well. He is a really nice guy and really cares about the people and making sure that we are happy and really helping people! So, I´m super excited to have him as my new President for the next 13 months and to get to know him better! 

I really like the quote this week and it comes from Henry B. Eyring. It reads, "There is happiness rather than fatigue in the faces of those who unselfishly serve." I love this quote and I don´t think that it could be more true. I have felt this before and during the mission and I know that serving others ALWAYS brings happiness, even if it is a hard thing for us to do. So, I hope that everyone can find happiness in serving others and putting yourself last. Thank you to everyone who wrote me this week and I hope to hear from you all soon! And, The computer is jacked, so we shall hope for pictures next week!!
 

Les Quiero,

Elder Joshua Clarine

Transfers Tomorrow!

Monday, July 14, 2014

Hey everyone! 

This week was pretty okay I guess. This week I´ve really learned why they said that Corrientes is the roughest part of the mission. I love the place here in Goya and I love the city and the weather, but once again no one came to church. The work is harder here because everyone is so entrenched in saints and statue worshipping and no one wants to wake up to go to church at 9am. I didn´t really get that when I first got here because we were having a ton of success. But, now I see it a little bit more, but I have faith that we´ll find some awesome people soon!! But, this week was still pretty cool. We still had a lot of lessons, it´s just that no one came to church. And, we made pancakes for la familia Vera this week!! I actually just showed them how and then they made the pancakes. So, it didn´t turn out super pretty, but they still tasted good. And they liked the maple syrup that I made, since it doesn´t exist here but I brought some maple extract. 

And Argentina won the semifinals of the World Cup and everyone was going crazy...and then we lost yesterday, so now everyone is sad and some people get mad at me because they think I´m German since I´m tall and blonde haha. 

So, las familias Perez, Fernandez, and Cuevas are all doing well and we had some good lessons with them, the only bad thing this week is that they were all lazy and just slept in on sunday and didn´t some to church. :( But, I´m enjoying the work and I know that we´ll have success soon. Transfers are tomorrow and I would like to stay here, and it would be cool if Elder Mauricio stayed too so that I could be his last companion before he goes home!! But, we shall see what happens. 

Anyways, the quote I wanted to share this week comes from Dieter F. Uchtdorf and it says, "Addictions are so much easier to prevent than they are to cure." It´s short and simple, but I love the message. It applies to all things: tv, coffee, drugs, sports, work, the computer, etc., etc. But the message is the same. If we want to avoid having something control our lives, then we should never let it in our lives in the first place. The things that start out harmless quickly turn into our vices and our mind changes and believes that we can´t live without these things. So, it is, therefore, much easier to not start than to start and then try to quit. Thanks to everyone who wrote me this week and I hope that everyone is doing well and I hope to hear from you all soon.

Les Quiero,

Elder Joshua Clarine

 pictures of me washing my clothes by hand since a few of you asked for the pictures. (I haven´t seen a washing machine in I don´t even know how long-be grateful you have one... haha)

 

 pictures of the pancakes with la familia Vera and how beautiful they turned out.

Transfers coming up!

Hey everybody. 

 

This week was pretty good. Not too much happened this week, nothing too exciting anyways.  The US lost in the world cup, but Argentina is still going storng, so I will keep hoping for them to win!! Because, if they win then the people are happy and more accepting!! haha And La familia Fernandez, La familia Melgarejos, and La familia Cuevas are all doing really good! They are all progressing well and the only problem is that it´s hard for them to come to church. And this week didn´t make it any easier since there was a giant storm from friday night until saturday night so the streets were just destroyed! And, since no one really has  car and they have to walk it made it really hard to go to church. But, it was still a good day! And, I celebrated the 4th of july here (even though it doesn´t exist) by buying 2 pizzas and a pound of ice cream which was pretty awesome :D haha The pizzas aren´t like buying from dominoes, but they´re worth what I pay. And, we had to be in the apartment again for the Argentina game, so I was able to enjoy the food and take my time haha. The quote this week isn´t as famous, but I thought about it a few times this week. 

 

The quote comes from my uncle Pete Clarine (I believe) and it says, "Spoiling begins when gratitude ends." It´s short, sweet, and to the point and I like it because it focuses not on the things that we receive or what we give to people, but how we receive things is what is important. It´s not wrong to give or to receive, but we have to be constantly grateful for the actions and sacrifices of others. Thanks to everyone who wrote me and I hope to hear from everyone soon!

 

Les Quiero,

Elder Joshua Clarine

P.S. The computer is garbage once again so we shall hope for pictures next week!