Batman Begins

The first thing that came to my mind when leaving the Argentina airport is how, this is it, Im alone, no more face to face contact with my family or friends, for 2 years.

Coming into Argentina my thoughts were... Being in the city, walking from apt to apt, having a ward filled with active members that I can use effectively.

Its not what everything is... Everything is different, nothing is entirely clean., to the standards of the states, everything is carpeted, thats not the case here, dust is everwhere, its dangerous., Its weird, but I love it.

When I came here i didnt understand anything. I still dont.

My companion, Elder Doolin, has been here for nine months.

Over the course of the few days I have been in the field, alot has happened.

When you teach the gospel in a different language, it gains power.

We are currently reactivating a member who has left the church for 4 years. He wants his daugher baptized.

We have this woman, who at first glance doesnt look that intrested in the gospel, we came to her, she now wants to be baptised on the 24th of Sept.

There is this Hermana named Sarah. She is 24 years old, an orphan, her parents were active members of the chuch and she was too young to be baptised when they died. We found her by a miracle. She didnt know what elders were besides knowing that they were part of America and usually they know english. She wanted to learn english, she went to the church to find us, but what she found was our patriatch giving a blessing. She is now an extremely active investagator, and she is praying about weather to be baptised.

Dogs everywhere, I've had a stray walk up to me, it was a puppy, and I was teaching an investigator outside, and she was talking about how thats one of her new pups.
It fell alseep on my foot when I was sitting, and remained there the entire time during the lesson. When we finished the lesson, the dog was dead, it died on my foot, it starved to death-

You cant walk on the sidewalks because you could get grabbed. We walk around with 15 pesos on us, thats a dollar in American.  We dont care if we get robbed, it hasn't happend yet, but someone broke into our apt, it was a progressing investigator with a baptismal date, and they stole a pair of my companions shoes, NOTHING ELSE. Litterally we looked around, nothing. We are alot more secure now though, we learned the area pretty well, where the dangerous areas are where they are not. We walk different paths to the home every day.  A cop moved across the street from us and set a cam up to watch our house. We are really safe now but its been crazy!

Love you all!  Pray for me, this is hard, I'm a bit homesick, but I know it will go away.

Arrived in Rosario

Hi, Madre!

Made it into the mission home and I can finally say I have offically begun my mission.

We arrived at this beautiful historical house that has been here probbably since Joseph Smith was alive.

The mission presedent gave us emanadas and he said we get 4 mins to email our familys.

Pdays are on mondays so look forward to that.

Ill meet my companion twomorow, we are currently staying at the mission home until we get put into our acctual spots.

Love you!, Plane ride was fine, still deprived of sleep though!

Email session on monday will be a different time than the mtc. because theres a lot more things that go on durring pdays..

Love you!

Email you soon!

-Elder Jon Batman

PS   Spanish keyboards are so difficult to use!

 

Last Day Pictures

Testimony of Family

How has family impacted my life? Well if you realise that without family, where are you? who are you? What are you? You become a human being that is lost, alone, and "different".

Familys are your guide, your literal liahona, your personal vessel though life. They direct you on a pathway that allows you to make personal desisions and keep you afloat if it wasn't a "great" decision. 

As a child you had no idea and never understood the concept of what your parents do for you. Most will never really understand what they did for you. The sacrifices your parents make for you. The home that little children resides in is their world. Who provided that world? Your parents. Not understanding that your parents made sacrifices for the food they eat and the bed they sleep in.

They sacrifice so much so you can be happy, so that you can live a good life. They are your liahona, your guide. The first thing that a child sees when they are born, is either the doctor, or the dad. When the child reaches the mother/father. It becomes calm, its found peace. It realises that it is safe. Parents make you into the person you become, they are ALWAYS there for you.

You will never understand fully the love your parents have for you, until... you become one. You support your child on the choices they make, good or bad, and you still love them. They always forgive you for your mistakes. without your parents. Where would you be?

TESTIMONY:

Without my family and my parents, my life would be signifigantly different. i most likely would not be a member of the church, because i wouldnt be exposed to it. I would be alone, i would be lost. Their constant prayers for me and my sibilings that we would turn out okay.. worked.

How do i return my love for them? My appreciation for them? You do things for them, you love them, you be the best child you can be. They are molding you into the person you become, they are your vessel, your liohona, and a Mold/Cast. Without their mold, you become a puddle, disorganized, confused. they litterally mold you into YOU. You will NEVER be able to repay for what they have done for you. Gold willingly let his Son sacrofice himself for us, his brothers and sisters. He had so much love for us he allowed his son to bear all of our sorrows. so that everyone can live with their familys for eternity. Parrents are your life, they are important. Without them, I can't even imagine where i would be.

Elder Batman (Jon)

Final Week

So. Final week, a lot has happened. Excitement!, Fun!, Spirit!, District Bonding! ETC!

First off I'd like to say, that my emails will change significantly when I'm out into the field. The spelling will worsen. Length will increase. More dope storys will arise. Love you guys, I'm excited to start the adventure of being essentially mute for the next few months until I can speak the language easy!. I leave the MTC campus Monday morning at 8:50 I believe!

Fun;

- Played more volley ball, we are horrible at it. May or may not have broken a hole into the ceiling from a very hard hit. Dont worry, it happens all the time!

-Some Elders were exercising near my room and his stretchy thing snapped causing it to whip into the ceiling. Caused a bar to be bent and another hole into the ceiling.

- 2 Lamanites. My gosh.... This was horrible. 2 Overwheight elders wearing just aprons, going around the building preaching to us... in just "aprons".

-Shaving cream war. Nuff said.

-Passed on the Batman Mask to our new zone leader. 

-Bean Boozled.... Got Rotten milked instead of coconut, Didnt get barf. Got dogfood, Someone nearly threwup and someone ate all of them at once.

Spiritual:

-Gave our final lessons yesterday, Went out with a bang, you get so attached to the investagators that its hard to not be able to teach them again.

We did a scripture circle with our district, it turned into a spanish testimony meeting, where everyone complimented on their comp or someone in the room about what Gifts they had and how it had effected our lives.

Zone farewell meetup.  Did alot of games and group scripture study, people were crying

Weird:

It wasn't Elder Holland that taught.

Made a sauna....

EL Fin

-The Elder Jon Batman

Week 5, almost done!

Got my flight plans yesterday, leaving the MTC on the 22 at 8:50am

So excited to start my mission for real in Argentina. Grinding out that spanish so I can be as best as i can when i enter the country.

As always i will say everything that went on this week and seperate it into catagorys

Funny

-My roomate Elder Harwood had a dream of him getting nearly hanged by his bed, turns out it acctually happend, he litterally crawled through the top bunk divider and was hanging out side the bed by his head.

-When i got my flight plans, i purchased some more shampoo, the bottle broke and poured all over my shirt and pants.

-Some guy tried to beat the OJ record of 10 glasses in 30 mins, he didnt make it

-Everyone in my district played vollyball today, i kept sending the ball to orbit.

-Spiritual

Neil L Anderson Came on tuesday- Second apostle to come to the MTC in my stay!

Talked about how the flame of faith is lit depending on how much effort you put into it to keep it alive

-Commited 2 investagators to baptism

I have had experences with investagators that words that i have studied and forgot about came to my mind when i needed it most, and i constantly recieve promptings what to say and how to modify the lessons i teach to help the needs of the listener.

MTC is not hard, but it is work. if you go in knowing you are going to struggle its not that bad.

My comp had issues with his visa, his  fingerprints didnt go through so we got to leave the mtc to the police station, we felt like total champs leaving outside with a elder tag on

We taught our progressing investagator named Sergio yesterday.

He is allready commited to baptism so we are running though everything needed to be done before his date catches up to us

We were talking about the commandments and how you have the ablitity to feel gods love anywhere in any situation and have the opportunity to pray anywhere too.

We were talking about honoring thy mother and father when all of a sudden he says, "ive been stuggling on working with the Word of wisdom, Coffee is too hard to give up and i dont know if i can do it." I told him in the most broken spanish possible; "Have you asked god for help? Have you prayed with faith and real intent for aid in getting you through obeying the word of wisdom, he loves you and wants you to be the best possible, he will help you through your trials.

We asked him to pray right then and there for help. He cried.

We have essentially started impractical mtc jokesters,

We do challenges every night

-Some guy had his entire chest waxed using wax paper and an Iron

-My District (and I) Did the Icy hot challenge ---- Icy hot in places icy hot should never be applied, THAT HURT. WE didnt sleep. 

I love how litterally everything can be fun if your district is fun.

also teaching is really fun especially when you speak entirely in Spanish. 

Things I don't love about the MTC. Some days the food is just so fake...

Also alot of people are tools and say that they are better than everyone else because they are learning a language they will never ever have the opportunity of using ever again in their lives

I'm not homesick. Inever really have emotional things of sadness or happiness,

My district thinks I'm a robot.But its going by fast so that's good. 

Mom and Dad, you have supported me though all my good and bad desisions and loved me for the disisions ive made, you have molded me into what i can become...

I will send a massive email to you guys on what you guys have done for me this comming saturday.

I love and miss you. Talk to you next week. 

Love,

Elder Jon Batman

They found eachother and got a picture. It makes their mom so happy!

Betsy here...

Today in church, the Relief Society President was teaching about forgiveness and she emailed a few of our missionaries and asked for their testimony on forgiveness. Here is what Jon wrote to her....

We had an investigator that was really struggling, got into alcoholism, and did some very bad things in his home that caused his family to be in shambles.
We gave him a lesson about forgiveness, and how your mistakes in life are forgivable, and the pain you feel is not just your own, Jesus Christ felt every single one of our pains one by one, individually, and because of that, he will be your right hand man at judgement. And he will fight for you when judgement comes. With the atonement, you can be forgiven for what you have done. His life has changed, as he is actively seeking that. He no loner is ruled by his alcohol.

Love Elder Batman

Isn't that great!!!!!  Who the heck wrote that. There isn't one craptastic fact. Love that boy.

Hola Famila, 

Week 4 in the CCM (mtc), almost done with this until i get to go out into the field.

Over the course of this week, a lot has happened. As per usual I will divide them all into sections.  then talk about a few things in the end.

-Fun things

*Hosted for the 2nd week in a row, and the very first person I got to host this week was the one and only Nate. So exciting to see him enter the most spiritually intense place in America.

*Isaac and I see each other all the time in the cafeteria. He has commented that i looked bigger.

Those 2 pounds gained in the CCM must be really showing.

*Was going to the bathroom and the worst thing possible happend, the urnal started spewing out water.... most terifiying experience so far in the CCM.

* I can speak in spanish alot more now, although it is fairly broken.

-Sad Things

* Had to say goodbye to some legends the guys we looked up to in the CCM is now in the field

We are by next week going to be the Longest people in the CCM in our zone

-Spiritual Things

*My Companion and I gave a lesson to a struggling alcoholic, told us we motivated him to get back on his feet, and he is now doing alot better.

*Some investagators of ours are Submitted to be baptized.

We taught an investagator 2 days ago, we came in with no plan whatsoever... Due to our spirit, the gift of tounges was applied to us, and we spoke in a way that made the investagator cry (teacher was investagator) she never crys.

Spanish is comming smoothly, I've broken through that wall and i can speak more frequently now.

- first counciler of the presiding Bishopric came to talk and said, "all of you can say when you finish the mission that you were ON a mission.. Not many of you can say you SERVED a mission"

I see Isaac and NATE all the time we always mess with one annother

overall pretty fun week, My district is still the 4 square champions. Got alot of lessons taught this week. Learning how to go into a lesson without notes. Nate seems like he is enjoying it here. He will be here a while.

~ Elder Batman