3/28/11

28 March 2011

Hello again everybody!!!!

This is my favorite day because I get march madness updates from Keegan, so of course I am happy. No I love reading about everything that is going on with everyone and how my other words were apparently inspiring for the Roseville ward which amazes me because before my mission, I couldn´t have been that inspiring. I now realize it is the spirit that I rely on almost too much in one day to strengthen my testimony and my spanish.

Ok my spanish update is that I can understand just about everything except for questions that they ask.  If I miss one word, then I miss the whole question-so I have gotten a few funny stares.

I did have a baptism!!! DIEGO and the spirit-oh my goodness. When I arrived for the baptism Saturday I was so happy but as I sat in my white clothes, I thought of how the prayer that is said is the same prayer/ordinance as Jesus Christs’ and I realized he was right there with me the entire time. As I sat and sang that first song next to Diego, I realized I get to baptize my own son someday.

I actually had a detailed dream of my family and my future home and of course my wife. I had no faces in the dream but my wife had blonde hair, I had 2 girls and 3 boys and in the house there was such peace and such love and kindness. I woke up with tears. I am not sure what happened then I read my blessing and the dream came back to me and I realized the Lord has given me every blessing I have ever wanted in this life. Ok… I am sorry for sharing this but it was the best day and night ever.

In the baptismal font I had tears after I pulled Diego out of the water and he stared those 9 year old eyes in mine and I felt the love that my Savior has for him and I realized the Savior loves everyone of us and that we need to show that love to others. The baptism was amazing and after I told Diego he was perfect and had no sins and he said, ¨all because of you and your consistent teaching I am now on my way to eternal life.”  This boy brought tears to my eyes and I realized I don´t need to show off that I had a baptism but rather that I brought a soul unto Christ and that is what matters on a mission.

Ok enough about my amazing spiritual stories and very successful baptisms and now onto Argentina, the land where pedestrians do not have the right of way. Today we had an American football and were bombing it down the street when Elder Adams dropped it and a car slowed down, my comp. ran in front and the car sped up and ran over the ball. Thank goodness it didn´t pop because that would have sucked big time. The drivers are crazy here but there are curbs so I am safe as can be-don´t worry.

Also the school here has started and the uniforms are, short skirts and white tops with a black tie. I hate it because the school girls. Ok..side note..they just turned on California Love, the song, so I am totally amped to write this email (that was for you kod and it is my favorite song here besides Jason Mraz, I’m Yours) Anyway as missionaries we say ‘snakes’ meaning young girls who love us and these school girls whistle for us and blow kissy faces.  It is the funniest things ever because they all memorized my name and say darrrby so lets just say I have a lot of ‘snakes’ even though I don’t talk to them. School is 3 hours here with a 12 minute lunch, it is crazy hard though so I have heard.

The jobs/work these people have is crazy-you either work in the ferria(flea market, my favorite) or you do heavy labor every day for hecka hours, it is nuts. Also the ciesta here people either sleep or drink mate from 1-4pm. It is such a pain to knock doors or for people to even remember they have citas but that time we usually visit inactive members.  Of course members stuff bread and the best fruits down your throat. I think I am actually gaining weight but I haven´t weighed myself yet, so I am not sure.

I love it here though-like man-it is perfect as can be, I love the people their kindness (when not driving) and their willingness to follow the commandments when everything says Satan.

Ok, more about how the Lord keeps blessing me and my comp. The family of Diego was apparently inactive for 4 years and for 6 weeks now they are praying as an entire family and take up 2 rows in the church-so we are more than happy for the perfect baptism and reactivated family.

I have tons of great pics and am loading them on a cd tomorrow and will be in the mail hopefully Friday. It takes time here so I am way excited to finally send all my pics and everything home, I can´t wait for you all to see them.

So it is winter, the weather is getting a little colder but no problem, we built a barbecue and a tent to sleep on the roof and ran an electrical cord up to the roof. Also we took apart two fan motors and realigned them to be functioning.  Another USA man I love, Elder Adams, he is the best and we have so much fun when back in the pension.

Well I want you to all know I love you tons and you are all in my prayers that are purely in Spanish. I have never felt more close to the Lord or so aligned with the spirit. It is the best feeling to have a special guide in this life that no one else has and to be a missionary is the best blessing I have ever received(sorry Danielle). My family and, of course, my novia and I just want to say as a missionary always with a challenge…Stay strong and know that when you make that correct decision compared to a bad one, the Lord not only smiles but Satan frowns.

Don´t let Satan win in your life because that just shows you are weak and that Jesus Christ suffered the atonement for no reason. Helaman 5,12 is the best scripture for this topic so if you don´t believe my testimony-look at this scripture. 

Love Elder Darby 

3/21/2011

ok Argentina is not what you would expect it and that is a guarantee. The area i am in has a lot of life thank goodness and it is kinda like a small city with some cement streets and others that are dirt, mud, and gravel. The best part is there are no real rules so waterballoons are so loved here and everyone seems to have and throw them at cars people and the 500 dogs in one block. There aren´t really any laws and the firework shows every so often are great i mean there is a store across from our pension that sells giant fireworks and they are legal here. So every few nights we see fireworks a block away and they are like professional shows. The people here are amazing because 15 year old girls have families it is crazy to see such a young girl with a ton of kids on a leash. Yes they can´t afford strollers so leashes or shopping carts are very popular. Since i have heard so much about a fire department well there is no one here and the closest is 2 hours away so it is crazy because people here have fires in the street and everything. Also the medical is terrible, like when we helped that lady when she collapsed well an ambulance only comes when they are dying and it takes 2 hours or they don´t show. The hospital is fairly close so if something did go wrong a taxi for a few pesos is the best bet.

ABOUT THIS BAPTISM!!!! it of course was cancelled but my happiness just got extended because it is this saturday!!! Well why was it cancelled? well the bishop thought that since diego´s family was inactive they needed one more week to prepare but then we found out the bishop had no authority to say that so we called the bishop president. The president said wait one more week and baptism that boy so it is this saturday. It is sad because i now can´t say i had a baptism every transfer but for a gringo to baptize this early of an investigator he found is almost a record. So i am happy to keep the Darby name going!!!The saying here is Perico is Rico and that is a fact we actually have a great plaza to do street contacts even though it is hard as can be but we also have the best bus terminal here and best taxi terminal. The traveling is great a freaking great double decker bus for in american dollars is $1.75 or 7 pesos. We just get on it to go to district meeting once a week and of course sports on mondays with my zone. We play soccer basketball and i convinced everyone to play volleyball next week. I love my zone and i survived my first transfer today!!! We have one new missionary in our pension and he is from kansas so Alek Woster you are thought of and i bet i will hear a lot about back in kansas!!! My mother in the mission was here when i was born and just died today(went home) so my mother is dead. If you were a missionary it would make more sense but today was the end of the transfer and all the missionaries going home made me realize i will learn this launguage and i am way new.

Well things are great as can be and i am loving every moment a ton so for everyone stay strong and if in doubt look at Helaman 5:12 it is so great and about building the rock of christ. Ilove you all but for now peace out and after this baptism i will send home a cd of all my pics so far on my mission!!! Love always Elder Darby

March 14 2011

Que Tal? Familia, amigos, amigas y novia. (family friends, friends, and my girl)

I figured i would put a translation up there for you rusty and mom who can´t spell HOLA correctly!!! Hey ok so i am working as hard as can be and i have 3 great things that happened this week and last week

1. gave my first 15 minute talk in sacrament meeting (i wrote the whole thing)

2. I went on divisions and fully did 2 fluent door contacts in castellano

3. Taught my first fluent lesson in castellano

4. Fulfilling my purpose because......i AM BAPTIZING DIEGO THIS SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

MY FIRST BAPTISM.

        

1. My talk on missionary went so well it took me 3 days to write so about 3 hours to write and boy was it powerful on how missionary work is not just the work of the missionaries but rather the work of members and missionaries. The spirit gave me a great accent and all members after said they understod all of it so as nervous as i was before i asked in a prayer to feel confidence and it came. Being obedient to the rules and seriously having faith is the key to being successful in everything we need help with in this life.

 

2So to start with number two. Divisions is one day with a new companion and a new area which is even more nerveracking right??? well it turned out it was great practice for me. I went up to Monterrico because my comp. and the comp. in Monterrico was sick so i filled his spot. Monterrico is tiny and boy is it ghetto as can be and i don´t mean oakland but i means the slums like cardboard houses wild dogs and freaky looking people who i actually love now. Anyway so 2 appointments fall through so bad news but then he says let´s knock doors so at this point missionaries smiles turn bad but this particular moment i was excited and kept a positive attitude. So we knock sorry my comp. for the day Elder Swenson from Utah knocks about 20 doors and nothing. So he turns to me and says you knock a few i bet you will have more success then i will so after some debating and me freaking out i knocked "Hello we are missionaries of the church of Jesus Christ can we come in and share a message about Jesus Christ with you and your family?" she said "i don´t know" i say "do you believe in Jesus Christ?" she says yes so i tell her jesus christ is central mto our church and he has called me and my companion to share this message to all that are willing to recieve it. So she smiles and LETS US IN HER HOUSE!!! i was so happy and shocked and my comp. Elder Swenson just hits me in the arm. Anyway after that great lesson we knock next door and i say a similiar speal and once again teach a lesson. The spirit trult blesses those who have faith and keep a positive attitude as hard as that is to do it is just as easy to do.

3. So 5 minutes into this lesson with my man Diego i can see the boredom on his face and also when he said the opening prayer he had to read the instructions meaning he doesn´t pray. So the spirit tells me to take over so i stop my comp. and teach about Joseph smith and i ask him what prayer is and he said i don´t know. I took out some very basic scriptures and had him pretty much explain to himself what prayer was and i promised him blessings and taught about repentance. I first asked him what is repentance? he had no clue eventhough my comp. was teaching this so i had him read scriptures and had him testify. Oh by the way this lesson was on wednesday. We left with a word of prayer and visited him saturday he said he prayed 10 times in 3 days i was so proud and gave him candy for what he did. He came to church and which leads me to my 4th point.

4. Diego is golden we get to visit him tonight and i can´t wait to see his progress he is truly amazing and this saturday he said he wants me to officially baptize him and when he said this i actually started crying. Man i am so excited because i accomplished my goal in just a short month this is the best news i have. Oh and i created a cd of all my pictures so i will send it once i upload my pics from my baptism this saturday.

I can testify this is the work of the lord he is on my side and blessed me with a new launguage this week and Diego. My talk my lesson and my confidence has grown i realized it is not me out here anymore it is the lord working through me. He blesses his servants and i am a true witness to that. I didn´t plan what to say for a door contact or for a lesson but i listened to the spirit and it wasn´t my testimony that worked it was the lords. He knows us and loves us and if we need something it will come, i can sincerely promise this and many other things. I love you all and how about that tsunami haha well nos vamos or see ya later till next monday. i AM ELDER DARBY AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE.

March 7 2011

Dear Family & friends, what is up? 

Oh man what a week it has been, i served in a different area this week with an excellent missionary, gave aid to a lady that passed out and set up my first baptism. Life on the mission is perfect.

My testimony has grown so much this week and the teaching is getting a little easier. 

Ok so divisions came this week so i was transfered for a day to a new area and boy was it the ghetto. I was with E. Hardy and he has 12 days left before he goes home, it is crazy. His spanish is amazing and i honestly can't wait till i get to that point. 

So for divisions, i went to this area at 2pm, i was starving-as always-and so what did i eat? EMPANADAS!!   I ate them for lunch then we went and taught and my spanish was great.  I communicated and could understand just about everything. I was so happy. It is so hard to be here and not be able to know what's going on and how to say anything.  

Anyway we taught 4 lessons then it was time for dinner so i had more empanadas, i seriously eat them every other day they are so good just filled with meat or chicken. After divisions we came back to Perico and i had a 'gringo' for the day in my area to replace my comp. It was Elder Swenson from Utah, he speaks english so we had a great day.  For lunch I called up one family and said we need food so since they love us they said come over and we had cheese pizza with a potato crust. The potato crust was soft and just so freaking good. I love that family they are always so helpful. So yes, as a missionary you do get use to asking for things so next time a missionary visits your house offer him water and maybe a snack. It is crazy here we usually have a lunch appointment and they give us so much food it is nuts. I don´t eat breakfast because i seriously can´t anymore.

Ok, so last week was the deaf lady and this week was the lady who fainted. Thank goodness I was a lifeguard and I now so want to be a paramedic after my mission. Thank you, Brother Perryman, it is the coolest thing ever to help someone. So the day was great and we had a lunch to go to when all of a sudden a block away from our pension, on the other side of the road was this lady. She was a little special and had a crimped arm but she just falls and cracks her head on the pavement so loud i bet you all heard it.  My comp. walks a block when i say we need to help her so we turn around and run back. She has a giant gash in her head (by the way this was yesterday on sunday) i gave my comp some money and he ran and i told him to buy a rag and a bottle of water. I tried to talk to her but she wouldn't speak. I don't know what was scarier, a giant white boy in nice clothes speaking spanish or the fall itself.  I tell her my name and say, "I am here to help you".   I put her in recovery position and call an ambulancia.  My comp. came back with the rag and water so I somehow stopped the bleeding had her relaxed and had her rehydrated.  I was very excited to do all of this in spanish. 

NO ambulance for an hour so a lady in this store gives us 5 pesos and says take a taxi and get her to the hospital. We found a taxi but as soon as i told the patient about this plan she freaked and stood up with a bloody rag on her head and tried to figure out where to go. We asked her for her families cell number and where she lived but she couldn´t remember. It was a crazy experience, I will give you that. 

So this lady just walked away.  We followed her to make sure she didn´t fall again, she didn't so we just left her.  I felt so blessed to be able to help this lady. 

I love this place and I love the people here. If we get a chance to serve it is always an immediate yes.

I am always trying my hardest and working till that time comes to go back to the pension. I love you all and could use the prayers for my spanish. I know the lord hears everyone of you and loves you all the same so no matter how hard it is to not judge, remember we are his children and the same in the sight of God. 

Love always

ELDER DARBY

By the way just started crying seeing Dane. There is no audio here but I will find a way to hear it by next monday. Erik you and Sara are amazing.  Dane is the cutest baby I have ever seen and I can´t wait to teach that boy how to fish- man I can tell he was born with a gift. If he knows as much as I do about fishing by age 6, imagine the possibilities.  Love you all paz or peace.

My Missionary Commission

I am called of God.
My authority is above that of kings of the earth.
By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ
He is my master and He has chosen me to represent Him--to stand in His place, to
say and do what He Himself would say and do if He personally were ministering 
to the very people to whom He has sent me.
My voice is His voice, and my acts are His acts; my doctrine is His doctrine.
My Commission is to do what He wants done; To say what He wants to said; to be
a living modern witness in word and in deed of the divinity of his great and
marvelous Latter-day work.  

How great is my calling!

2/28/2011

reak it is so great to hear and read all your emails and, Mom-Prince and Carlos Santana, geez!! He is huge here in argentina and the first question i always get is what famous people live in the u.s but then i realized all of them do. Well enough about that. 

Ok this week has been unbelievable with all our work just going so well and i can finally somewhat understand what people are saying to me. I can finlly have conversations with investigators and it has only been about 3 weeks here in the amazing country of Argentina!! Well lets just say this week we had 6 baptism challenges 11 new investigtors and placed 5 books of mormon. This week has out shone every other week by just so much it is amazing!! Plus today was an awesome day, we as a zone went to humacoa, i spelled that wrong, but it was the greenest landscape i have ever seen on the drive up there. The craziest is the altitude is 16,000 feet which is way taller than any mountain in Utah. When we arrived at the actual town it was way cold (which felt amazing) and it was so mexico so mexico!! We played pool and i killed these latinos and also we drank lots of Fanta.  All the missionaris bought things but it is all llama hide and i wasn´t too interested. Oh i  bought some earrings for you Danielle but i am not sure how to send them yet, but i will figure it out. 

Ok, well our lessons went so well this week starting with Maria. She has been an investigator for a year and we go to see her twice a week-she just works way too much. Anyway, while chatting with her, her friend came in the room.  She is about 50 and came in just to hear my prayer. After my prayer she sat down and we talked, my companion loves just chatting!!  After the meeting, Marias friend, Rosaria, comes up to me and told me about how she felt a need to hear our message because of the prayer i said. It was a great feeling.  Somehow, in spanish, I pulled out a restoration pamphlet and gave her a brief summary in 2 minutes then she said "wow it feels so real", so boom, i placed a Book of Mormon in her hands. It was seriously a miracle to finally understand her and be able to be confident in my Spanish. We met with her again yesterday and she has a baptism date!!!!!!! I KNOW IT WAS THE BEST FEELING OF ALL TIME!!! 

After we got some ice cream and they sell those firework candles everywhere so i bought 1 for 3 pesos which is 75 cents in america. It was a miracle and i seriously thought my PAPI or trainer was gonna cry he was so proud and just as shocked as i was. Man do i love this work it is amazing to teach with power and to know that these people i love and desire to teach about salvation can understand me.

      

So my area is Perico in Jujuy. The saying is Perico is Rico!!! It is a lot nicer than i had expected and surprisingly i haven´t felt in danger or scared even once here. I don´t know if it is because i am so much taller than everyone here, but everyone is so nice to us except for kids with water balloons and the drivers here. The drivers are crazy- if you are in the way- they honk so clearly the cars have the right of way.  Sometimes people get hit like 2 days ago a lady got hit by my favorite car, a Chevelle ss. He pulled up to a light, the light went green and the lady was there so he honked and she stayed and WACK, she was on the ground and he sped off. We helped her up and she was deaf so this was the best miracle of all time!!! WHY DID I LEARN SIGN LAUNGUAGE IN HIGH SCHOOL?  Well i believe it was to speak to this lady and i kid you not, this did happen!! She was so nice and we grabbed her few things and somehow i remembered how to sign quite well and boy did i shock my companion. Her name was Alejandra and, of course, the song came to my head.  It was a miracle and i was so glad the lord placed me there to help this 50 year old lady, it was the coolest thing ever. What made me mind boggled is that apparantly they don´t have spanish sign launguage or she knew english because we both signed in english, so who knows just another miracle. 

Ok so kids and water baloons!!!  Thank goodness i can catch and throw because this one little boy threw one, i turned, caught it and threw it next to him and he just ran. It was so funny. Tons of girls say hello to me and try to speak english but as a joke i look puzzled and say in my best Argentine accent "yo no hablo ingles", i don´t speak english and the girls just turn bright red and start laughing.  Although the other day a few little boys about 6 yrs. old said hello so i said, "hey what is up you 2?" and for 5 blocks they kept asking how do you say this in english and they would point. The kids here are just adorable and it is good training when i go home to the great Dane!!

Anyway i love these people.  I love this work and I love the scriptures. One lady asked about the after life and said it says nothing in the bible and i said, "are you sure?" I showed her first Corinthians and handed her a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and said if you have any questions,  please call because she wouldn´t give us her address. I hope to get a call from her because i love to see the change in people when they realize their purpose on this earth.

   

I know mine is to do this work and to share this gospel as much as i can. I sent out 3 letters this last week one for the fam. One for Danielle, of course, and One for The priest quorum so look for those in the mail.  I hope you recieve them soon.  I love you all so much and please write me emails.  I mean if you read this, reply please and ask me questions or if you have concerns, please let me know, i look at my email once a week and love to recieve emails-they are amazing!!  Or send me your address and i can send you a letter sometime. I mean I've got 21 months left so please write me. Well sianara, i love you all tons and you are all in my prayers till next time, the one and only Elder Darby in Perico Argentina