E. Bednar en Córdoba !!

March 8, 2022

 Holaaaa !! 

It's a pday on a Tuesday, a little different sí, but it's for a very good reason. Yesterday we were in Córdoba for the visit of Elder Bednar to our mission and it was unforgettable!! Andd the rest of the week leading up was great as well. 

Highlights of the week 

- Facturas and a Ride. Huge tender mercies here. We walked a tonnn this week because we've been out to Celina and some other solid people this week and they live in a Barrio that's about a 40 minute walk. Friday night though we were heading back for the night, pretty tired but happy, when a car pulled over in front of us. It turned out to be an old, completely inactive member and her husband! They gave us a ride back which was a huge blessing and then we went back to their visit them the next day and they gave us facturas, basically croissants with cream, jam, or dulce de leche. Wow to say we were grateful was an understatement. Now we are just trying to get them to come to church!! 

- Camiseta nueva! A lady we are teaching works in one of the little shops in the little main plaza and it is almost always easier to just go and meet with her there in place of trying to find a time where she isn't working. While we were there I saw and had to buy a super capo but super cheap Boca jersey. Even though I basically only wear it the 10 minutes after I shower at night and before I go to bed it makes me very happy and was a definite highlight. And Soledad, the lady we are teaching, has been reading the Book of Mormon so it's been a win on all levels. 

-Feriado. At the beginning of last week they had what they call "Ferriado", basically a mini version of carnaval. There were people we heard about parking pretty late in the night and nobody had school or work on Monday or Tuesday so it made for a little bit of a slower start to the week but we managed to still have some really solid lessons with our most progressing amigos. 

Amigos 

-Paola. She is improving with her health which is fantastic!! Not perfect still but she has made a big turn. Priesthood blessings, fasting, and prayers are real. She is really so solid and prepared. We had some incredible lessons about the temple which she especially liked and then as well getting her all ready for her interview which is with President tonight and then she should be already to go once she is feeling well enough. 

-Celina. She's got so much faith it is such a blessing to see. She again made the long walk to church but this time by herself because Roberto couldn't make it. As well, after a miracle of finding a place for him, Roberto moved out so she should be all good for her baptism this Sunday! She is so excited and eager to be baptized it is really fun to see. The best part of the week with them though had to be almuerzo. They insisted on feeding us and it was one of the most humbling meals I've ever had, in their one room dorm thing, using Robertos sweater as a tablecloth. But so much fun to be with them, they are incredible.

-Roxanna. We met her a couple weeks ago and she seemed really interested but hadn't been able to meet with her again until this past week. She is a really kind and funny single lady with a few kids. Her mom used to talk to the missionaries a little but Roxanna hadn't ever learned too much. She really liked the story of Joseph Smith and the message of the restored Gospel and she accepted a date for the 3rd of Abril! Prayers for her as well all goes well but we are really excited there 

-Brenda. She made it back to church!!!!! Finally after setting three alarms on her phone earlier in the week to remind her she was able to wake up and even was 5 minutes early! Just the 4th other member there besides the missionaries when she arrived. She of course had a great experience as being able to take the Sacrament truly is always the best part of the week. 

Elder Bednar 

As I said it really was an unforgettable experience to be able to hear from Elder Bednar. It was so evident from the moment he walked in that he is an apostle of the Lord. He didn't give any prepared talk or anything like that, it was basically just a three hour question and answer session which was incredible. There were a few things that he talked about that really stuck out to me and that was just the importance and power of the Spirit, how He truly is the teacher and as we use our own moral agency to act in faith, we become changed. So reallly for us as missionaries we have to, as he put it "Get out of the way." He even went as far as to say if we teach with any selfish intent or really any other motive than the glory of God it's preistcraft. It was powerful and a great reminder in the importance of the Spirit. Two other things he mentioned I loved were the power of the Book of Mormon, how the key to conversion and staying converted is to feast upon it's words every single day. It is so simple but so true, it's something I've felt so strongly lately and I loved being able to hear him testify of that. The other thing was the great importance we have to defend Joseph Smith. He went on for a while talking about the life of circumstances of Joseph and how much he did throughout his life. One thing he said specifically is that "People don't have problems with church history when they read too much, they have problems when they read too little. Sister Bednat also gave her powerful testimony of Joseph Smith and had some unique experiences with defending of him in her own life. I could probably write a lot more still about all the things they spoke on but i think I'll sufice to say it was fantastic. 

Córdoba 

The 16 hours on a bus in the last 36 hours have left me a little tired today I am not going to lie, but it was absolutely worth the nights of low quality sleep haha. It was awesome to be able to see other missionaries since we normally are 2 hours from the closest other elderes, and to meet a whole but of new ones - we are now up to 126 in La Gran MAC! We also had some really good food, got to spend some time with Presidente and hear some more of his counsel, and even got to walk around the temple grounds which was crazy pretty. Such a special place and fun day overall. 

Pensamiento Espiritual 

In preparation for Elder Bednar as a mission we studied several of his talks, set some special goals this last week to do things increase our faith and did a lot of other things physically and obviously all the travel to get ready for the Conference. There was a lot of excitement and work in preparation to recieve an apostle of the Lord. On Sunday night I had the thought come to mind, and this is the thought I'll simply leave with all of you as I´ve already written a lot, is what would I do to prepare myself if this really was the Savior coming? How would I get ready spiritually, physically, etc. It was neat to ponder  on this and I just invite you all to take some time and reflect on that some time throughout the week! 

Que tenga una semana maravillosa! CHAU!

Con Amor,

Elder Jackson