CHANGE WEEK!!! WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP!!

This week has been pretty nuts. We got the changes on Sunday and elder Bedke just looked at me and goes, well go for it. You have to go solo at some point. So I did. I don’t think I have ever been so overwhelmed. It was pretty crazy. Making changes happen. Looking up tickets, knowing where they are going and where they are coming from, who’s going with who. Getting trainers down to pick up their missionaries. Making sure every single one had a companion to travel with (really hard when only one person is going to another area). And everything in-between. Then picking up people from the airport, taking people to drop them off at the airport. Getting everything ready for everyone. Needless to say we had a few late nights in the office and no sleep. Going to buy tickets at the bus station when you find out things didn’t work how they should have and that you have to change it or when they miss their bus and have to get a different one. Literally I know all the people who work at the agencies we use on a first name basis now ha-ha. But the good thing is THEY ALL GOT DONE!!! WWWHHHOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPP!! And everyone got to where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there. Success!!

So my new comp, elder woods is a stud! He is from Idaho. He has been in the mission just over a year. A really great missionary. He is really helping me out a lot. He is willing to work and has a great sense of humor. I think we will get along great.

Moving up is just different. You have a lot more responsibility to make sure you are getting things done. But I am learning as I am going. hay que trabajar no? y trabajamos a ful!!!

there isnt really that much to tell from this past week. sorry this is so short. this week was just a lot of changes and getting back into the swing of a new change. 

My spiritual though this last week comes from my mom. I am so grateful for her and for all she does for me. She always sends me such great spiritual thoughts and I would like to share this one. 

"I am sure that when our life here is over we will be able to see just how short it is in comparison to the eternity.  I also believe that when we realize this we will have a perspective of just what was important in this life and those things that are important are the things of a spiritual nature that affect our growth of our testimony and our spiritual development. My spiritual thought for the week comes from the conference talk of Elder Christofferson on living a consecrated life.  He mentions that the Lord gives us two gifts 1) the gift of time and 2) the gift of freedom to choose what we do with our time.  Every day, every hour, every minute of your span of mortal years must sometime be accounted for.  In this life we walk by faith and prove ourselves able to choose good over evil and our eternal reward will be according to our choosing.  There are basically 5 elements of a consecrated life:  purity, work, respect for one's physical body, service, and integrity.  I love the scriptures of Moroni 7:48 and 1 John 3:2  that are used in this talk - may we consecrate ourselves as sons and daughters of God that when we shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  I shared this talk and this message with our family at family home evening this past week and challenged each of us to work on one aspect of a consecrated life with consistency and notice the change in our spirits as we do so."

I know that this is true. I would like to extend the same invitation to all who read this. Find and work on one aspect of a consecrated life with consistency and see the blessings. I know that as you do this, you will be blessed. You will see the difference. You will feel it. It’s the little things. I know this because I has passed in my own life. The gospel helps us become the people that Our Heavenly Father wants us to be. 

I love you all so much. The church is true! Keep the faith and a smile on your face. 

Try a little harder to be a little bit better. 

Con cariño, 

Elder Staffieri

CONGRATS TO CAITLIN AND SETH!! I am super pumped you had a kid! She looks so adorable. I can’t wait to meet her when I get home.

This week was awesome!!

Last Sunday, we the missionaries sang a special musical number in sacrament meeting. There is a first time for everything. Elder Bedke played the piano, and Elder Running, Elder Lamb, and I sang Oh My Father to the music of Come thou fount. It was pretty cool. We didn’t sound too bad I hope ha-ha. 

Also Sunday, Mauricio, the son of a lady who is just now coming back from years of inactivity got the priesthood!! We were so pumped because we have been working with their family for the past few months. Words cannot express the joy and excitement that we had as missionaries to see him being sustained in church. The Spirit was so strong. 

On Monday we had a super intense bolsa run to get to the bus terminal before the shipping companies closed. It was one of the biggest bolsa runs we have had this change because the Binghams (the office couple) bought stuff for every house in the mission (blenders, microwaves, pots, pans, etc.) that needed it. We got to the station with 2 minutes to spare, sent the assistants to run down to save a spot in the lines. We ran up and loaded up dollies and grabbed as many boxes as we could and sprinted down the ramps. 

This week we find an old school tape player and recorder. We have been making some pretty cool tapes. Keep an eye out for the mix. 

Tuesday I went on splits with one of our zone leaders. He is called Elder Miranda. He is from Columbia and is such a stud. We had a great day. We taught a lot and I had a lesson that I will never forget the spirit that I felt. It was so incredible. We taught the plan of salvation a new way that we learned at zone conference and it is powerful. We taught it to an inactive named Diana. When we first met her a few weeks ago, she told us how she was never going to go back to church and how we could visit her if we wanted but we would be wasting our time. Now after having a few lessons she has regained interest. She remembers so much of the book of Mormon and she is strengthening her testimony. She is asking great questions and is finding her answers. She is becoming so much happier. Nothing comes close to the blessings of the gospel and the fruits of the Spirit. Missionary work is the best!

So this has been my last week with Elder Bedke. To be honest, I am super bummed. I love that guy. I have learned so much from him and he has helped me become a better missionary, a missionary that Christ would have me be. We have seen some miracles together and I will miss him. But he is going over to Cerro (the zone right next to ours) so we will still get to play soccer every once in a while. 

So this change I move up to executive secretary and senior comp. My new companion is ELDER WOODS!! He is from the same group as Elder Bedke and Elder Lamb. I have heard awesome things about him and am excited to keep working here in Oeste with him. LA OBRA VA BIEN EN OESTE!!!

My spiritual thought this week comes from a discourse called "The fourth missionary." It says:

The purpose and central blessing of life is change. It is to be changed to become more like Jesus Christ. It is to incorporate into your character, the qualities of His character. It is to move from one degree of intelligence and capacity to the next and from there to the next, until you see God face to face and know Him as He knows you.

(Holding up the scriptures)...none of this makes much difference unless it gets inside of you. All of this is only marks on pieces of paper bound together in leather; it has no intrinsic value, unless it becomes you. The purpose and essential blessing of life is to be changed to become more like the Lord, to realize the full measure of your divine potential.

This process of change, this process of evolving, becoming, is the object of the gospel. Change is the design of faith in Christ, repentance and baptism. Redemptive change happens by the power of the Holy Ghost.

But it happens only if and when your heart is right. It happens only if you do not fight against God. It happens only if you unconditionally surrender your will to the Lord.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how I can become a better missionary. I have found that it’s the little things that tend to hold us back from our full potential. It’s those little rules, little thoughts, little words or sentences, those things that you think make no difference in the end make all the difference. The time that we have here on the mission is sacred. We only have one shot to talk to people sometimes. In those moments we need the spirit with us. The time that we have here on the earth is sacred. We need to surrender our will to the Lord. This may seem difficult but it’s really not. When you think about it, it is just doing what you are supposed to do. When everyone is looking and when there is no one around. Haz lo justo! Just choose to do that which is right. Be who the Lord wants you to be. Give up the little things that keep you who you should be. Just try it. I promise you will see the difference. You will be so much happier and achieve a greater peace in your life. More importantly, you will have the Spirit with you more abundantly and find yourself closer to our Savior.

I know this church is true. I know it because I have prayed and received an answer through the feelings of the Holy Ghost. I know that families are eternal. I know the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He came here to the earth for you and for me. It is only through Him that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. I know that He loves each and every one of us. I am so grateful for this time I have to serve here in Uruguay to share the message of the restored gospel with those who life in this great country. There is no better calling than that of a missionary. 

Thank you all so much for all of your prayers and support. I love you all so much. Lets all try a little bit harder to be a little bit better this week. 

Con Cariño, 

Elder Staffieri

Hey everybody,

So this last week flew by.  Went by super fast.  But it’s been a good week.  Full of hard work, hard laughs, and hard sleeping.

So this week we sent an alfajor to the states to a lady who works in the travel office that helped us change flights like 3 times for the same group of missionaries. In total, cost 440 pesos but it was worth it. We took a picture and wrote her a note thanking her ha-ha. 

Also, we had some good lessons. 

So Gustavo is doing super awesome.  He asked for work off this Saturday so that he can sleep (he works the night shift) so that he and his daughter Estefani can go to church.  We went with a sister from the ward this week to help Estefani feel more comfortable.  She’s a little shy, but I hope that this Sunday when they come to church they can feel something special and make the decision to keep on coming every week.

We had zone conference this week and it was AWESOME!!!!  We did it together with the two other zones that are here in Montevideo, so it was oeste, cerro and flores.  We learned about giving commitments to people and how we can use the new methods of teaching to help our investigators progress towards baptism.  i got to see Elder Fletcher who was in the CCM with me. I love zone conferences because you see all your friends from the mission and you come out on such a spiritual high. 

Had an awesome lesson with a young man in our ward that has recently gone inactive.  All of his siblings are inactive as well and his parents are not members.  But he is the oldest of all of his brothers and sisters.  He’s about 16.  Super cool kid.  Always ready to make a joke.  But he also knows how to play the guitar super well.  We had a lesson about related to making music and reaching our full potential as children of God. It was a pretty sweet lesson

I hope everything is going awesome for all of you. President Smith taught us that we need to laugh and smile while we work.  Me and my companion looked at each other when he said that and gave each other a fist bump.  I’m glad we got that one down. Ha-ha. 

We are seeing miracles out here in the field and we know that today is the day! The other day we had to go to customs for a three hour experience to try to free a package that contains two cookies, chap-stick, and a thing of mini tums. But in one of the 8 places we went to get his package, we met Alexander. He was one of the customer service people we talked to and he asked us what we do all day and why we are here and all the usual. He then told us that two missionaries had come by his grandma’s house and now she is a member of the church. After, he goes "hey, can you guys come by my house too?" We gladly agreed and took down all of his information. He doesn’t live in our area but we passed it on to the missionaries that work in his area. HOY ES EL DÍA!!!

That’s all the time i have for this week but I want you all to know how much I love you all. You are all in my prayers. Thank you for all you do for me. 

Try a little harder to be a little better!

Go and help the missionaries that are serving in your ward or stake! Catch the wave!!!

Con cariño, 

Elder Staffieri

This week was a great week! Probably one of the most enjoyable weeks of my mission so far. Not for any special reason but we were so happy this past week. It really is true that nothing brings more happiness than spreading the gospel with others.

This past Sunday we had stake conference. One of the more interesting stake conferences I have ever been in. President Smith spoke about how HOY ES EL DÍA! And had all the missionaries stand up and yell it in the middle of conference. Never thought we would ever do that but it was super cool. We had an awesome conference with some great talks. Most talking about how today is the day. The members caught on to the excitement and are stoked to be working with us now. The members are paddling out to catch the wave! We were taking the trash out Monday and a member saw us from about half a block away and goes "Elderes, saben una cosa?! HOY ES EL DÍA!!!"  Ha-ha it made our day. 

We did some more service this past week with Maurizio. He is redoing his mom’s house and asked if we could come. We showed up and he put us to work. It was actually more like a work out. The homes here are made of brick and cement. Most of the electrical wiring is outside the walls just pegged on there with glue or some kind of plastic housing but he wanted to move it all inside because someone had broken in and ripped out all the copper wiring from the house. So he gave us hammers and chisels and went after it for a good two hours. It was pretty awesome. Then after than we were late for a lesson so we took a jog across our area, changed in the church and threw some water on our face and then ran a few blocks to our lesson. We had a great family night with a family that is reactivating and their friends. The lady, who was there, Alma, said that she is interested in having more of the charlas. She isn’t a member but her son is. She is going through some tough times in her life and wants to get closer to God. 

We had a lesson with Gustavo this past week and the stake president came with us. It was great and Gustavo really appreciated it. Then we had another lesson with Gustavo, his 22 year old son, Marcel, and his 19 year old daughter Estephani, yesterday and took a girl from our ward with us who is getting ready to go on her mission to meet his daughter. We talked about the Book of Mormon and the blessings that come as we read and ponder the teachings that it holds. We bore testimony and we could see that they felt it just as much as we did. That lesson was honestly a highlight of the week for me. I cannot explain everything how it went and what was said but it was powerful. It was a lesson where you can think back and have a smile on your face. 

Oh and Halloween! We celebrated Halloween in the offices. In the morning we all put our names in a hat and pulled out who we would be for the day. I pulled out Elder Running ha-ha. Elder Running is such a stud. He has a change more than me in the mission and is the head financer right now. He does some of the funniest things in the office so I had a good time being him. I took a picture and I will send it in the next email so keep an eye out. 

ELDER BEDKE GOT ROBBED THIS PAST WEEK!!! So we were walking in Capurro this past week which is one of the more dangers parts of our area. It was getting pretty late and we were walking to the bus stop to wait for the bus when we saw this group of guys hanging out in the street. We didn’t really think much of it but then as we got closer they all dispersed and made a line across the street and as we passed they all surrounded us. They had a few pretty big guys and we fight pretty good but not good enough for the 6 of them. Then out of no where this guy comes across and pulls out a ..... Just kidding mom. 

What really happened was this: We went into a super market down here and you have to leave your stuff in a locker. Elder Bedke left his key in the locker and when we came back all of his stuff was gone. We don’t have a good story to go with it so I had to make one up. Use what you want when you tell your friends....haha. 

And Elder Bedke and Elder Lamb turned a year old in the mission yesterday! So we burned some stuff to celebrate! Crazy how time flys. 

So my spiritual thought this week comes from my personal study this morning. This morning I was reading in 2 Nefi 9, which is an awesome chapter through and through, when I read vs.45. It really caught my attention this morning for some reason and I talked about it with Elder Bedke and we got super pumped. But in vs 45 it says: 

45 "O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation"

After reading that, it hit me. The gospel is so simple. People can try to complicate it all they want but really it is so simple. What we are asked to do is leave our sins behind (turn away), repent (shake off the chains) and come unto Christ by being baptized, receiving the Holy Ghost, and persevering to the end (come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation). It’s that simple. I know that as we do this, we will come to know our Christ more personally. We will know him as our Savior, as our Older Brother, as Him who left his celestial glory to pay for our sins, choosing to suffer all, giving His life that we may take it up again. 

I love you all so much. I know the church is true and as we strive to do our best every day, we will find ourselves making little changes that make all the difference. 

Try a little harder to be a little better. Never give up. 

Till next week.

Con cariño, 

Elder Staffieri