March 30, 2010

Hey! Thanks for the emails, sounds like every week is eventful at home haha A new trial every week, wow.
As for here, Saturday the baptisms were a BLAST! 2 of them fell threw because Nahuel (13) wasn't ready and Jessica (16) physically couldn't this week ·cough· so this next weekend we'll have a few more between conference sessions Saturday in a Stake baptism. It turns out we accomplished our goal in Salto of 42 baptisms, so President had the ZL's buy us ice cream today. That was fun. Also, one of the ZL's got bumped up to assistant.
Elder Enciso went to Montevideo Sunday night so I'm with Elder Lloyd until tomorrow morning. Then Elder Johnson from Utah will come. He's been ZL the last 4 changes, and this will be his last change and I get to kill him. I've become an assassin, killing every comp I've had since my trainer. But, that just means that I have some of the greatest leaders in the mission as comps and Im learning a TON! I'm way stoked for this next change because we have over 30 possibles for baptism, so it will be a great finish for E` Johnson.
This last week, we spent a lot of time with recent converts and investigators since it was Elder Encisos last week it was concentration on retention. I feel confident for most of them, they are all such incredible people. Yesterday we spent the afternoon with a convert named Dany whos the only active member in his family and is only 9 years old. He taught us to make kites and we flew them. It was a BLAST! During this time of the year, everyone is constantly flying kites and theres always hundreds of beautiful kites in the sky. The other day we had a kite fight where you have to cut the string of your opponents kite and the last remaining wins. Theres a bunch of kids that run the kites (go to collect them after theyre carried by the wind away) and I OWNED! I can't wait til I can make kites with you all and we're going to war it out! Dany taught me pretty good :)
This week is the Holy Week, so everyone is home all the time, so we're going to work way hard this week. Friday or Saturday night we have an FHE with a part-member family (Rosario the mom, and 2 kids Tere 14 and Nico 11 we baptized a few weeks ago, the rest of the family soon) and we're going to make the wonderful American BROWNIE! I'm so excited to have brownies haha. We're going to make a ton and bring them to investigators and sing them a song for Easter.
FOr General conference, we get to listen in English! It will be pretty wonderful.
Also, since we live in a 4person house right now, a good friend of mine Elder Cardenas from Peru is coming to the ward adjacent to ours!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited it's going to be way fun! He's training so a newbie will be here, too.
All-in-all it was a very incredible week and this next one will be great too. Pay VERY close attention in this General Conference, EVERY SESSION. I believe that we are going to hear some grand council. The world is changing right now more than at any other point in time, even 6 months ago.
How is the new health plan going in the US, in action already or will it be gradual over the next 10 yrs or something like that? I am kinda curious how that all turned out. A bunch of elders are always talking about it and it gets really heated, which is probably why its a rule that you cant talk politics. The solution to political war is to share the gospel, no more no less.
Anyways, I really do love this work very dearly and I hope that you are all working hard in school, work, and most of all with your callings. Always remember that if we are giving 100%, its still not enough, but thanks to the grace of God we are made perfect in Christ. Give it all, be obedient, and stop worrying about the little materialistic things. Just serve and be happy. What else is there? I know that President Monson is an inspired man, and after a testimony, a prophet is the most important thing we could have FAR above scriptures even or anything else. Listen to him. I was thinking recently about how many hundreds of thousands of people went to the central park to listen to the president of Uruguay talk, or how many millions or even billions tune in to listen to Obama speak, and how ridiculous it is that not EVERY human in the world is craving for every little word that the apostles speak. Listen to every talk attentively. That's my challenge for whoever reads my email for this week. Again, I love you all a ton and you are in my prayers, please continue praying for me, your prayers are being shown here in Salto, so many miracles are happening in Uruguay!!!!!!!
Elder Magnusson