Family and friends:

This week has been so awesome, a little bit bittersweet, but sssooo awesome. So much fun!!

Last Monday, we took a trip with some missionaries and a few people in our ward to go visit the termas (hot springs) to eat lunch, play games, shop around (well just window shop due to the lack of money as missionaries jaja) , and take pictures. It was so much fun! I will send pictures. 

This past week, one of the missionaries that served here came back with his family so it was really cool. And it turns out that they know Dad and Grandma and Grandpa. It is the family McCraney? I am sure I spelled that wrong but they grew up in the same ward as dad. Jeff McCraney and Karen. They wrote me a note to send home but I forgot it on my desk so I will send it next time I get the chance. We got together and had an asado. 

This week has been a week of asado. We have eaten asado almost every day. I’m not complaining!!

Also, this past Sunday was the independence day of Uruguay. WHICH MEANT MORE ASADO!!! WHHHOOOPPP WHOOP!!

So we had a really cool experience this past week with Juan Carlos, Sandra, and Benjamin, one of the families we are currently teaching. We were sitting in planning one day this past week talking about them and could not figure out what we were going to teach them so we just said "Well, let’s just follow the Spirit." we get in the lesson and start talking and we felt like reading this scripture in the book of mormon. After we shared it and talked about it for about 10 minutes and how we can apply it in our life, Juan Carlos asks us if we had planned to share that before. We explained that we had been thinking before but couldn’t figure out what to talk about but we felt we should share this. He then told us that that is what he needed to hear and we just got the biggest smile on our faces and the whole family too. He went to church this past Sunday for all three hours and they are progressing so amazingly. I am so grateful for the Spirit and for the opportunities we have every day to follow the His influence. It was a testimony builder for sure. 

This week I also had the chance to perform a baptism for Yuliana Rosario Acosta Zamora, the sister of the girl I baptized a few weeks back. She is ten years old and has such a strong testimony. She walked to the church all by herself for her baptism because her family couldn’t come. Her parents aren’t members and I don’t know if they support her too much and her sister was in school. Luckily her sister got out in time for the ordinance. She is such an amazing little girl and has such a strong testimony. I am excited for her future in the church. She is going to do great things. 

So my spiritual thought this week comes from gospel principles. We teach gospel principles every so often and this is from a lesson we taught a few weeks back that has stuck with me. We know that in the pre earth life we lived with our Heavenly Father and His plan was presented before us. If we accepted this plan, we would have the opportunity to come to earth to obtain our bodies and be able to learn and grow and become more like Him. We knew what it entailed and chose to come here. We know this because, well, we are on earth. We have our body. We are all learning every day. The point I want to emphasize is the fact that WE HAVE ALREADY CHOSEN!! We already chose to follow Christ! We know that already!  Our responsibility now is to press on with our choice. Live worthy of our calling. The day of our salvation is today. The choices we make today will either bring us closer to our Father or take us farther away. We have the responsibility to live up to our divine potential. This has impacted me so much knowing that we have already chosen. It makes making choices so much easier knowing that we have already chosen to follow Christ. Now the question is: Is this in line with the choice I have already made? Will this bring me closer to God? I love this so much!

I know that this gospel is true. I know that we have a Heavenly Father that loves us. I know that the only way to true, eternal happiness is living the principles of the gospel. I know that we have chosen to follow Christ and will be blessed as we press forward in our divine calling to be disciples of Christ. 

Well my time in Salto has come to a close. We got our transfers Sunday morning before church, my companion is staying here in Salto to train and I am leaving to go to Montevideo to be the new mission secretary. This means that I will have less time in the streets which means we will have to hit it even harder when we leave to proselyte. It will be a new experience. I have been called to serve and will serve where I have been called. I will miss Salto so much and all of the relationships I have built here in these past 4 and a half months. I love the people here. I am excited to start a new experience in the offices. 

Thank you all for your prayers and for your letters every week. They mean so much to me. 

OH MY NEW PDAY IS SATURDAY NOW!!! SO PLEASE EMAIL ME FRIDAY NIGHT IF YOU HAVE TIME. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Let’s all try a little bit harder to be a little bit better. 

Always remember to KEEP THE FAITH AND A SMILE ON YOUR FACE!!

LIFE IS SO AWESOME!!!

Con cariño, 

Elder Staffieri