Week 22 Might be my last week here in Maldonado.

Ok so like the title says this could be my last week here in Maldonado.

Changes are next week and it is very likely that I will be leaving for a different area. But to be honest I am not going to be very sad if I leave cause I feel like I have been here for such a long time and I want to experience something different.

Of our current investigators, Giulianna is the only one that is progressing right now. She is doing really well while trying to quit smoking. However she is leaving Maldonado and moving with her and her 2 kids to Treinta y Tres next week 😞. But thats ok cause the missionaries in 33 can continue teaching where we left off and hopefully get her batpized (or I could be sent to 33). 

Ok so me and my comp just experienced the biggest miracle I have ever seen on Sunday.

So none of our investigators showed up at church which was a bummer. But during the 3rd hour of church a family walked in our church (a mom, a dad, and a son (12 yr) from Colombia). They are not members of the church and had just moved here to Uruguay 8 days ago. They have always been religious and decided to go to a church on Sunday. The bishop and the other leaders of the church moved quickly to get to know them and where they lived. We introduced ourselves as the missionaries and after getting their address we asked if we could come by at 4 o clock to get to know them a little better.

So at 4 we arrived at their home. We walked in and they were very friendly and we started to ask them some simple questions to get to know them better.

They said that their daughter currently lives here in Maldonado and that they wanted to leave Columbia for a place that was more peaceful. And because their daughter already lived here it was an easy move for them.

So after a few minutes we started talking about our beliefs. They told us that they had always been active in a church in Columbia, but they didnt agree with that church because the preacher their used the members tithing money to buy nice things for himself. They didnt like the fact that they had to give of their money for someone else to have really nice things. We quickly explained how all of the teachers and the leaders at church do it out of service and how tithing is used to help others in need and to build the kingdom of God.

We then started talking about the Restoration and the BofM and we explained how God can tell us that these things are true through the Holy Ghost because the Holy Ghost will give us good feelings that will testify to us if these things are true and how it can guide us. They then told us the most amazing thing. They said that they didnt know which church to attend that morning. They said that there were many different churches in every direction from their house. They then said that something told them to head up a certain road and as they started up that road they saw the spire or point of our church and decided to walk in that church. 

They truly were sent here to Uruguay for a reason and God led them to His true church because of their faithfulness. They truly are faithful. They live Mormon standards better than I do. They only listen to Christian music and dont watch movies that are bad or are horror movies and things like that. I would love to stay here to continue to teach them but if not it is ok and I know that they will turn out fine. Whether or not they end of joining the church they have felt Gods love for them for their faithfulness. But I have a strong feeling that they are never going to turn from this path and my comp and his next comp are going to have some great experiences teaching this great family.

-Elder Welker

Week 21 Conference with Elder Rasband

Ok so this week was pretty good but had a few let downs 😖 (I dont know why but the other Elder Welker really likes to use these emojis in his letters and to be honest it is about the only thing you can do to make letters a little bit more interesting)

So this past week was pretty interesting. On Wed my District Leader accidently stabbed himself in the leg with my switchblade and had to go to the hospital which really ruined our plans for the day because they were in the middle of an intercambio. It was actually really funny and all of us were just dying laughing when we realized that he had accidently stabbed himself in the leg (until he took off his pants and there was blood everywhere) which at that point we called 911 😅. 

Anyway we are still laughing about that today and probably the rest of our missions. 

So the conference with Elder Rasband was soo good. It was probably the happiest day of my life because the bus from Maldonado to Montevideo is 2 hours long so I got to talk with Elder Cary, my best friend in the mission and 8th best BF4 player n the world for the whole ride. After me and E Cary got off the bus we we walking to the entrance of the conference center and I saw Elder Arthur Anderson from the other mission standing at the entrance so I ran up to him and we took a picture (I didnt have my camera but he did so he will probably send it your way) It was cool seeing someone from my old ward. So I totally forgot to bring my notes with me but it was such a great talk that he gave on following the spirit and overcoming the natural man in our work. I also got to shake his hand which makes him the 2nd apostle that I have shaken hands with. I really liked his talk and I know that we need to be in tune with the spirit and to try to let the spirit influence us in our lives on where to go and what to do and what to say. 

It was a great week and Giulianna finally came to church for the first time! She is also doing good with her goal to stop smoking and we are keeping close tabs on her. We are trying to figure out what to do with Federico because something went down and his family is really concerned for him cause he may have went back to doing drugs so we are trying hard to help his family and also to get in contact with him. So right now we are just trying to find more people to teach and it seems pretty likely that I am going to leave Maldonado in 2 weeks so I think I am going to start packing just to be safe.

Love you all!

-Elder Welker

The Corn Bread Krew

Me, Elder Cary (Former King of the CBK but resigned because he is leaving in 2 weeks) and Elder Ontiveros. Also E Andersen in the back but he isnt a member

He thought if you press the button down on the switchblade you can push it against your leg and the blade will just go back in the handle (which is true). He had it in his hand and as a joke he pretended to stab himself in the leg cause if you hold the button down it looks like it would enter your leg but the blade really would just go back in the handle. The only problem was that it didnt go back all the way so a part of the blade actually entered his leg. We didnt notice at first until we saw a hole in his pants.

This is from Arthur Anderson's email:

Speaking of people that look like they are doing well; The day of that conference I was nearly blindside tackled by an Elder with a very familiar face. Elder Justin Welker almost turned me into a squished orange when he saw me. He gave me the biggest hug I think I have ever gotten in my life and had the most sincerely brilliant smile I have ever seen on Justin's face. It was really good to see him. He has grown up A TON! It sounds like Spanish is coming along pretty good for him with all his Latin friends he has. He is going to be wonderful missionary and a leader real soon in his mission! Here is a picture of our meeting!

Week 20 Great way to finish off our week!

So I am not going to include anything about last week except for Maria and Belen

Alright so last Thursday E Alvarez and I took our District Leader to the house of Maria and Belen to have their baptismal interviews. And just as expected, THEY PASSED!!!

On Saturday at 7 pm we had the priviledge of witnessing their baptisms. 

I am not sure if I ever told you guys but her son (Gonzalo) is a very active member of the church in another ward here in Maldonado and he baptized and confirmed both of them. His daughter also spoke on the topic of Baptism before the baptismal service and it was so cool seeing Gonzalo and his entire family their to support them. I have also never witnessed anything so remarkable and spiritual than those two baptisms last Saturday.

Gonzalo was struggling to say the words to baptize his own mother as tears were flowing down his face and after baptizing her they hugged for the longest time. It was such an amazing experience being able to see someone baptize his mom and sister.

Also if I didnt mention before Gonzalo was the member who took himself and his family to see general conference in Utah last month.

It was such a priviledge to be able to be a part (small part) in this process. I am thankful to all of you and all of your prayers that really helped us to help Maria and Belen reach this point in their lives.

It was also very touching to be able to shake hands with every member of their family and hear each of them say "thank you" in English (which is funny cause I can understand what they say in Spanish) but it went a long way and really meant a lot to me (even though the people that had the most effect on Maria and Belens conversions was by far their own family). I will never forget these moments and the spirit that testified to me during the service that said "God Lives and Loves each of His children!" I know that this is why I came out here and I know that this is why God calls on each of us, fulltime missionary or not, to seek out the lost sheep and bring them home.

Thank you all for your support in this divine process that allows families like these to be together now for all eternity!

-Elder Welker

1. Saturday with Maria and Belen before the baptism

2. Same but after they changed into baptismal clothes

3. After the confirmation on Sunday with Gonzalo and his family

Week 19 Getting really hot here in Uruguay!

ok so I am not sure where to start. Me and my comp have just been working nonstop here in Maldonado. It is really great and I am learning so much. The weather here is the absolute worst, though. Mon and Tue it rained soo much and was freezing and since Wed it has been soo hot here! By the time we return home I have sweated through all of my clothes.

So we are focusing all of our efforts on Maria and Belen, Federico, Giulianna, and finding more new investigators. I dont think that I expressed last week how ready Maria and Belen were for baptism because we are baptizing the two of them this Saturday! Belen is 10 yr and is the daughter of Maria if I never specified that. Also one of the sons of Maria, and his family, are very active in the church and are in the same stake. Marias son is going to baptize them both this Saturday which is a blessing especially to have the support of family members. We also have a bapt date for Federico for the 19th and he needs to attend church this Sunday in order to meet that date so keep him in your prayers because he is ready and cant keep prolonging the process. Giulianna wont be able to meet her date of the 26th because she didnt attend church yesterday and so we are going to have to move it back another week.

Well that about covers our week. I am sad that E Harkness isnt here because it was him and I who initiated this process for those 4 investigators. It was a blessing having him as a comp and all of his work here in Maldonado was not for nothing and thanks to his efforts we have these great investigators.

Also just some quick news: Elder Ronald A. Rasband is coming here on the 17th for a multi-mission conference- the Uruguay Montevideo and Montevideo West missionaries will have the opportunity to hear from this great apostle in less than 2 weeks from now. I am very excited to hear from him.

I hope you all have a good week!

-Elder Welker