18 June 2012

I can't wait to be with you again Mom you will be amazed at the son I have become, I mean I have changed so much. I just have desires to baptize all my friends and of course Dads family. I can't imagine how dissapointed they would be when they get to heaven and realize that we never gave them the oppurtunity to be baptized. 

Danielle has a friend she is teaching the gospel to and I gave her a bunch of advice but ask her about her friend and see if you can have a lesson in your house because I know the spirit is so strong in your house!!! I love you Mom and I realize how important these things are and how everyone one day will kneel down and know that Jesus is the Christ and that we are the santos that will follow him. How great of a promise right?

18 June 2012

So what are you gonna do with your giant house now? Are you gonna move? Look into the beach house or what? I remember you once told me that when my last son graduates high school, I will have the uhaul ready to go to the beach and live there. So is it true? Can you smell the ocean? Haha mom, I love you soo much and I am sorry I am not that great at these emails but it is hard because I work so hard everyday and am not much of a jokester or a pranker but rather an obedient hard worker. I realized that I will not come home and tell dangerous stories or great pranks but rather show the success and the people that God changed through me. It is weird because I know when an elder came home, I wanted to know all the dangerous and funny stories but I will feel bad because I dont have very many. I am just too focused on the investigators and work to think of pranks and other things. I mean our mondays don't consist of any traveling or funny activities but rather buffets and studies. 

This week was interesting because no matter how many investigators we taught this week we decided to drop them ALL!!! I honestly mean that we have one person to teach and are gonna turn our finding talents on because we want new people that actually want to progress because no matter how much we try and try to change these people they don't want to go to church.  We stated this to them all...IF YOU DONT GO TO CHURCH THIS SUNDAY AND REALLY DONT WANT US TO PASS BY AND HELP YOU THEN WE WILL NEVER PASS BY AGAIN. THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!!! It was harsh and do you know how many went to church? 2 and we are gonna baptize one this Saturday.  The other can't get baptized because her husband.  

Every day I am reminded to stay strong because the Second Coming is very close. Satan can't have anymore control than he does now on the hearts of men. I feel as though we are a wicked generation. It burns my heart to see such amazing people that I love reject what I know IS SO TRUE!!! It hurts me to know that they might not have another chance to recieve this gospel and I wonder if they will ever acept it again. 

The good news is that we made a plan to reactivate the men in the ward because in priestood on sunday we have 6 us 2 missionaries then the quorum pres. and 3 youth so we set dates for every day this week so they can accompny us to pass by the inactives to reactivate them by presenting a strong friend that is a member a strong member. I could really use a Bishop Sheppard or a Bishop Paulsen or Bishop Littlejohn down here to give us some ideas and to have the love and dedication that i have seen in them because although our bishop wants to help, he just doesn't get it fully. 

I love what I am doing and I love this area but it isnt easy but I know that the Lord will prep the way. 

I cant say this week was very eventful but i can say we had a lesson with 23 people GROUP X! We started a group with my convert and she just invites friends like crazy to listen to us and they all come so i am hoping we will be able to get some more groups and baptize like alma and nephi to baptize 100s or 1000s. I know it will take faith and hard work but hey it is the only way to truly receive the celestial glory. I love you all so much and everything is going great. We are strating to change this area a lot but if you could keep our names in your prayers i know things will be even better. I love you all AND CONGRATS KEEGAN TO BE A BYU STUDENT!!!! I am so proud and we will be out there together in january!!!! Love Elder Darby

June 11, 2012

Nativity sets don't exist just a ton of fireworks but you can find some sweet other souvenirs for sure and Mom, I hate thinking or planning what I will do when my mission ends because it will be sad but COME ON DOWN!!!! I am excited to show you some sweet places but better yet show you the culture and to visit my converts to make sure they are all active.  

This week was very interesting and i learned a very valuable lesson that when blessings come down think they will last forever. So wednesday we had a lesson planned and we decided to ask a member to invite just a bunch of friends to come and it turned out we taught a group of 14 people and they were all new investigators.  Tthe best part is that we learned that the only reason Nephi or Alma baptized so many is because they taught in groups and baptized in groups. It was soo cool because we took out baptism dates with the 12 investigators that were there and also 10 went to CHURCH!!! It was a miracle and the best part is we have now started the best secret of missionary work and that is to teach in groups. The best part is president loves this idea and tomorrow we are going to teach our whole zone of Salta. I am so excited because baptisms will sky rocket. It was a miracle that in this area we were able to find 15 new people to teach and they all want to get baptized.I am really excited to give this a try and i will let youall know how well i goes. we are looking o have about 20 or more to teach this wednesday so wish me luck. 

June 4, 2012 WE BAPTIZED

WE BAPTIZED!!!!! It was so great because we baptized franco and of course it was testimony sunday so right after his confirmation he got up and bore his testimony!!!! It was such a great moment because his mom isnt a member and even bore hers and said, "I am glad my son has taught me the way now it is just my choice to take the next step!!!". So great because we are turning things around and getting ready to baptize more and more - not for the numbers but because these people need to be saved. Who knows if they will have another oppurtunity to better things!!!
I got Danielles package today so I have recieved all of them and absolutely loved them!!! The coke bottles to the little toys, to the other candies, cotton candy. I imagine how big the market is in the states and how there are more brands and so many varieties.
Its cold here and the weather is freezing!!! I hope we have snow this year because I haven't seen snow up close in a long time!!!
PDay, we play every monday now so it is fun as can be to watch the other two north americans fall and trip and just do terribly. The best part is that we play with little 11 year olds and the other elders just getted burned by all of them. But lets see, ice cream is really cheap here, I can buy a whole kilo of really good ice cream for only 2 dollars so that is a fun treat to keep me gaining weight. So not really much has changed. I love my companion because he puts so much trust in me to do everything so it is kinda nice. I am loving it here and we have the greatest lunches now because we eat soup with every meal and of course and Argentine meal wouldn't be complete without bread, which i am so addicted to now. It is really weird to eat without bread now. I am glad to hear you are all going into summer because once summer ends I will be there to enjoy the cold coming from the heat down here in Argentina. Well so this is about it let me know if you have any questions so i can write better emails. Love you all Elder Darby

May 28, 2012

Well once again  I am here and things are good but not perfect. I am loving the area but it is HARD!!! I have to say my faith hasnt been as strong as I wanted it to be but I can feel the change. I love my companion but he doesnt really talk in the lessons!!! He just stares at me then after says Darby that was great!!! 

Things are going good we are teaching a lot of people and never have time but they are not progressing or getting baptized either because there is someone in their family that doesnt want them to or they arent married and want to wait. I have really learned how to be direct and I am seeing a bit of a change. Many of the inactive families are coming again and we have about 7or 8 investigators every sunday in church but just wont take that next step of baptism. It is really beating on my positivity a little but as you all know, I keep the smile and will never drop it. 

ANYWAYit is starting to get cold here and that means lazier people and harder circumstances when we tell people they have to walk to church at 9am when it is cold and windy. But other than that I love the cold it is a lot easier to work and we arent sweaty or anything!!! So the weather keeps going cold to hot hot to cold but soon it will hit the cold part and once again i am in the coldest part of the mission. I was in north Salta last winter and now southern Salta. How lucky haha. Lets see what else,oh this last week I wanted to learn to make milanesa and it was the best and even my latino companion said it was great. So that was exciting and we played soccer today and I am doing so much better at playing because I scored 5 goals and it was north americans verse latinos and we so won!!! 

Also this last week got my haircut and sure enough when you tell the hair cutter to cut with a four apparently a 2 on the sides and a 3 on top is what I wanted!!! It is terrible, I will have to send a picture next week but sure enough they all ask what happened to your head why do you have a scar. So things havent changed on that question except that it is in spanish. 

There are so many great people and they are fun to teach but we are trying to figure out how we can get some more in the water. My comp. said just yesterday. Darby I heard you have baptized a lot and I was so excited to come here and I know if you made that miracle before God will surely bless you with it again. Hopefully these emails will be saying WE BAPTIZED in a couple more weeks.
I want to thank as well everyone that sent me a happy birthday email it was great being able to remember that I have such a great family friends and cousins, and uncles and aunts. It truly was great to be able to see some pics . Well everything is going great here and i am excited to start a new week and get out and work to make you all proud and to bless you all with my diligence. Love Elder darby

May 20, 2012

So what a week and yeah I am with old companions because our president said I am good at keeping old missionaries excited all the way to the end. I mean I never really talk about home or anything with my companions we always just talk about the investigators and how we are gonna baptize. The craziest thing happened this week and it really has hurt. This last Thursday I was sleeping on our bunk bed on top and actually fell off in the middle of the night without knowing and once I hit the concrete floor, I woke up. IT HURT!!! I have some nice bruises on my thigh but it hasn't stopped the fact that we are still working. I don't remember what happened at all, I don't know if it was a bad dream or what but I created a phrase like keegan that says 'please help me that I don't fall off the bed at night'.  

It was quite a classic because when I hit the ground I looked up and the other elders looked at me and said DARBY WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! I just gave the best answer by saying, 'man i have no idea'!!! There faces were classic, they just looked so puzzled at 4am. It hurt but I didn't hit my head on anything so I got lucky, just my thigh and my heels are a little bruised. It was funnier than painful. I found out that my companion is 26 years old!!! He is an oldy because he was inactive for a couple years got reactivated and left on the mission. I told him man by the time I'm your age, I will have children!!! He is a great elder just a little shy so I over power him a lot in lessons. He may not be loud when he talks but when he sleeps he roars!!! I swear he came Monday and by Tuesday night, I kicked him out and now he sleeps in the kitchen all alone. He honestly makes the loudest noises. Tuesday we were all exhausted because we didn't sleep even a minute with his snoring and grudge noises. 

This truly has been an epic time in this apartment with the other elder splitting his chin open and getting stitches, me falling off the bunk bed and now my companion is a sleeping bear. I JUST LOVE THE MISSION!!! Such a fun time. The best part is that Sunday there is a convert who is 18 and her mom is die hard evangelist but after 4 months of listening to missionaries we taught a lesson with her on Saturday and she came to church!!!! It was great because her daughter had a talk and was just bawling saying, 'if it'wasn't for elder darby she wouldn't be here. I felt way bad and told her that it wasnt me, it was the spirit and she wouldn't let that one go. The best part, her mom now wants to get baptized but first has to get married. She pulled out her shotgun and put it to her husbands chest and said, 'we either get married or you leave the house, which one will it be'!!! My reaction was a really big smile because not only did her faith grow a ton but she just freaked her husband out so bad. So we are gonna get her married in a couple weeks and then baptize her IN A RIVER!!! I know I've said I was gonna baptize in a river once and we didn't but if she can put a shotgun to her husbands chest, I am pretty sure we will do what she says, haha. She is honestly the coolest lady in the world.  She sells empanadas and bread during the week and is one of the best in Salta meaning she was in the newspaper. She is awesome. 

We finally received permision to baptize a few teens so I am feeling the turn in the area and I know we will be able to change this place into the best area on the mission. I wouldn't be a true Darby if I couldn't take on a true challenge right? I love you all Elder Darby

May 13, 2012

OK my companion is next to me the new one and the funniest part is that I thought he would be with me for about six months but he goes home in 3 months!!!! Once again i will be KILLING a missionary. He seems great we were already laughing and joking around and the best part he is ALSO from Buenos Aires!!!! So i will be speaking some amazing spanish after my mission!!! It is fun because he is an oldy on the mission and he seems really excited to be with me so I can't say I am dissapointed. 

Haha same old miracle city as my area being hard but remember God knows why we get put together and I have a feeling we might make a big dent in this area. I loved my last companion Elder Parraga but the one thing was he talked a lot so I never really said a ton in lessons so I wasn't as loved by our investigators.  Now it should be different because I am the one who somewhat knows the area and all the investigators. 

Of course the phone call home was a highlight with Keegan becoming the pranker and Erik being sick and all sounding great as always. I can't believe that was my last call on the mission and the next time I will be with Mom calling right before my flight home!!!! I don't know what it will be like to see everyone with a car and nice clothes and of course MORE THAN 4 TEETH!!! 

Ohh i am just so amped to have a new companon and do be able to just lead the area and drop the investigators that we need to drop. I feel like the one problem with any missionary is that there are those investigators that are your best friend that will give you any food or tea or other things when you want but will never go to church or get baptized and missionaries continue to pass by just to waste time. I am honestly feeling the turn right now to be able to truly give this area all I have to leave the Darby title here forever. 

I was told by the bishop to tell my family that he was grateful that I came because he likes my attitude but when I heard your voices, I forget to say it. I love the ward and the members but it is true we work alone here but hey, I always felt it is easier alone that with others. It will be great to learn from a missionary older than me on the mission because there aren't many!!! I hope you can all see how happy I am and how grateful I am to have my family backing me everyday!!! Today was great because I opened my email today in the offices and about 10 missionaries saw how many emails I had and said 'wow Darby your family hasn't forgotten about you?' I said nope and was so proud to say yes!  I can't tell you how many parents stop writing their elders that president has to call the parents!!! But as seperated as we might seem there is no love like the Darby love. I miss you all sooo much. I am sorry Mom that I never said happy mothers day, I was just soo lost when I was talking and I apologize if I didn't answer your questions well enough or ask any questions but just know I will be home in 6 months and we can talk alll you want. 

It is funny that no one knew about me blasting my companion in the face with a fireball and you all seemed to laugh! That was in my first area, I have so many more stories like that and a lot of rat killing ones. I love you all and am ALWAYS praying as hard as I can for each one of you.

I hope there is not a sad day in any of your lives because no day should be sad if we do what God wants because I know that even if we lose it all, we will never loose Gods comfort if we stay obedient!!! That was pure revelation to write that and I know this might sound weird but I feel as if it is important. Family, I invite every single one of you to try and help someone this week because one of you will have a great experience of someone who truly needs your help. Keep an eye open and I will be excited to hear your experince in my next email!!! I love you all.