Transfer Week, but El. Backstrom stays put

Transfer week!

We're both staying.

Exciting transfers, right? I realized that I may only have one or two areas left in my entire mission. Weird.

But what a week! really? nah, I don't know. We actually have had a lot o stuff come up this week where we had to do things and couldn't work. We did, however, teach a lot of lessons to less active members this week, even though we couldn't have any lessons with investigators-- We taught my favorite lesson in two different family nights with less actives, the ten commandments! We used the account of the ten commandments in Mosiah when Abinadi is teaching them to king Noah and his wicked priests, because it adds a little bit of extra fun and story when the servants of king Noah try to grab him and he resits them and casts them back and glows like Moses. It's Mosiah 12:33 to Mosiah 13:26, if you want to read it it is here.

On to other things, we had an asado with our ward mission leader this week and I thought about it and realized it had been a really long time since I had had an asado, since my last area actually- and it reminded me that that is something I will have to make when I return to Canada. It's something classically Argentine.

The week went really fast and I can't think of any other things that happened to tell about! Oh Dear.

In my study this week I encountered a verse in doctrine and covenants that I really liked but I can't find it right now so I'll send it next week.

Have a good week,

El. Backstrom

Short is the new Black!

So! Here in the world of Argentina I am still.

This week was a little harder. Even though we were very busy we did not teach any lessons to investigators. Still, we were able to bring a young less active out to church this Sunday, which in my eyes is a great success, because this ward has really struggled to hold on to it's young people and almost all of the ward leaders have been working as leaders for 20 or more years and are very tired. Our elder's quorum president  is someone who recently reactivated about 3 months ago and everyone loves him and he is working very hard; we are hoping that we can help the same thing happen with some of the other younger less active members.

This week in my gospel study I started reading the Doctrine and Covenants, studying it rapidly to try and identify patterns in the revelations that will help me to better understand the nature of God. It's been very interesting, and I have found a lot of motivational scriptures.

Unfortunately I left the epistle till last today, so I will have to wrap up shortly (sorry to everyone I didn't get to write to personally.) So have a good week all,

El. Backstrom

Great Week!

Okay everyone, here we have, uh, oh. looks like it's another weekly email from me!

This week has been really, really good. Just a positive experience. We had a zone conference in Mendoza, I got an appointment to see a neurologist about my headaches and dizzy spells, and we had some great lessons.

This week's highlight was without a doubt the lesson we had on Saturday with Elias (Elijah) and Janet Neiras. Elias is a less-active member who wants to return to activity in the church, and Janet is a non-member (I thought I wrote about them before but I conldn't find it in my previous emails SO). We were able to teach a very spiritual lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ And help them to set some goals in terms of their progress. But the best part of the lesson wasn't that, it was the spirit we were able to feel, and that I'm sure they were able to feel too. They also came to church yesterday, which was awesome.

(Funny story about that actually. Janet is pushing 5 months pregnant, so she wears these strange strechy long sleeve excercise shirts all the time. Yesterday she came to church in one that said, "I hate Sundays" on it- in English. of course neither she nor any of the members had any idea what it said.  But my companion and I thought it was rather ironic.)

We also had a delicious potato, carrot and chicken dinner for lunch that turned out extremely well the other day. It was just good food. Speaking of which, this week I have been making a concerted effort to eat more healthily. It's been turning out well, I think- I bought some peanut butter as snack food instead of something sugary and it was great even though it was quite expensive.

This week in my scripture study I focused on studying by topic. It's one of the suggestions in the preach my gospel chapter two on effective study. One of my studies that I particularly enjoyed was "Jesus Christ, Redeemer" in the topical guide.

Anyways, I hope you have all enjoyed this short email update,

El. Backstrom's  scriptures

Weekly e-mail with things written in it!

And once again! I find myself in a cyber cafe in San martin writing a letter to everyone.

It is lunch time and I am hungry so bear with me if it's not the longest and most detailed letter you've ever read.

So! I have no pictures this week. Ah well. We've been having a lack of lessons with investigators recently, but not for a lack of appointments- people have just been unavailable. We've decided to put an emphasis on finding new investigators, and we have started working in some new parts of the area I had never really visited before. Should be fun- we're structuring our finding approach centrally around the Book of Mormon, and inviting people to read it right from the beginning. We're also going to try to work with the members and get them excited about mormon.org and perhaps some of those new fun personalized pass along cards you can do? I don't know if all of you who are members had heard of those before. They're pretty fun, and have a little QR code on them that directs people directly to your profile page on mormon.org.

Here's mine! Pretty fun, right?

Maybe it would be better if I didn't look quite so goofy in the photo.

This week in my gospel study I did an activity where I wrote down my testimony of something and then tried to think of what things I could do to strengthen my testimony of that topic. It  was quite fun and a good activity I thought!

Alright. Have a good week everybody,

El. Backstrom

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The 4 Moustacheers!

Que bien, I have the opportunity to write all of you again. This week I have more photos- in district meeting, all of us donned mustaches and the results where quite hilarious.

But the week was quite good. We were able to re-establish contact with some investigators we had lost track of for a while, find some new investigators via referrals from the ward. We also had a visit from a seventy, El. Viñas. He went over some things and gave us some instruction on several points, including giving us a new emphasis about working with recent converts who have not been ordained to the priesthood.

This week it was very hot but on Sunday it rained. the streets were abandoned Sunday morning! it was very light rain too. But, it rains so infrequently here, that it was quite the shock to the system for everyone.

I had a lovely week of personal study. I worked specifically on reading through the entire book of Isaiah, and have gotten to chapter 33 so far. I'll also pass some of the references of verses I highlighted:

5:1-4,7

5:26-27
5:18-24
14:29
25:7-9
28:9-10
29:15-16
29:18-19
30:20-21
31:2

It's quite the little reading list, eh? and I highlighted a ton more. But you might as well just read the whole book at that point!

Note from the Blog publisher(aka.mom): There is a reason why missionaries do not grow facial hair and if you watch the slide show and listen carefully to the words of the song you too will understand why!

A Day in the Life of El. Backstrom

I am writing this really late since it was a holiday today, and the cyber was closed this morning.

This will also be a short update, since I spent quite a while sending photos & whatnot.

This week has been, slightly stressful to be honest. More than anything it has not been particularly fun, since I have had a headache almost all week. However, it is almost entirely gone now, which is good.

We have a new investigator (kind of) and I'm not sure if I mentioned him last week? his name is Ulices. He is 13, and friends with some of the other jovenes in the ward. We still have not been able to have a lesson with him, but he has come to church two weeks in a row and came to a baptismal service in a neighboring branch, which was very good. he seems to love the church, socially, but also has been enjoying reading in the Book of Mormon, which is good.

Spiritually this week, I was studying a little bit all over the place, but something that stuck out to me was the first section in the Doctrine and Covenants. It is addressed to everyone in general and is kind of about mission work. I found it quite uplifting to read, and you can find it here.

Anyways, thank you all for your support. I hope you enjoy the goofy photos I took this week! have a good one,

El. Backstrom

In which you get to meet "brown William Shatner"

So, everyone, here I am again! This week I have some pictures to send.

As the summer vacations in Canada draw to a close, the temperatures are starting to rise on my side of the globe.

Well, transfers came and went, but no one in the apartment will be moving this time around. that leaves it pretty wide open, as to who will leave and who will stay next time.

We have a new investigator we are working with- his name is Ulices, and he's the friend of one of our young men. He attended two young men's activities last week and church this Sunday, and seems very interested in the church. He has already started reading the Book of Mormon his friend gave to him.

I suppose that I have not yet written about our new mission president and his wife yet, have I? I don't think so. Well, now I have had an interview with both of them and know them a little bit better- President and Sister Goates arrived in the very early weeks of this transfer and are still getting settled in. Sister Goates is very alegre and percepicas. She is coming to inspect all the pensions so we need to buy a new shower curtain to replace the very broken very moldy one we have now. President Goates is quite tall,  rather funny and very interesting to talk to.

Also I will upload some pictures with this email. Also a fun animated picture of my companion, right at the very bottom!

Ah yes. This. Look at how I'm an adult, not a child. Ha. This made me feel very attractive. I then compared it with the first photo I took with this camera and wow, I have changed a lot.

group pictures. what am I even doing?

The legendary three liter pepsi
and more guaymallen alfajores than four people need

Argentian keys! They are all like this. All of them.
Except for the chapel.
The chapel has different but equally weird keys.

El. Backstrom and El. An You?

El. Backstrom and El. Ortez

Brown William Shatner. Also known as elder Diaz.

El. Backstrom and El. Gonzalez