La montana rusa, Nov. 13, 2017

Hola Mamá y familia! 

That`s so crazy that you´re going to Australia already this coming week! I thought there was still a lot more time! Crazy how time goes by. I`m excited to see how the trip goes! You can always send me a letter before heading out on the trip because I won`t read it until next Monday anyways.

As for the animals- ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Of course they`re real animals!!! They train them to be docile so they you can enter and pet them. Obviously we aren`t just going around doing whatever we want in the cages with the animals- there is staff on hand, but they`re definitely real animals, and we definitely got to pet them. It was an awesome experience.

This week was tough as far as helping one of our investigators- Florencia. However, I know that we were instruments in God`s hands as we helped her. Florencia has accepted a baptismal date for the 26th of November, but has problems of depression and anxiety. This past Friday we had finished with our English Class in the church and we were about to go elsewhere when Florencia arrived. 

Florencia was having a panic attack and had felt ot come to the church. We spoke with her with a member and gave her a blessing of comfort to deal with the panic attack.

After that experience Friday, Florencia arrived by herself to church Sunday morning. She went to Relief Society but was having noticeable anxiety problems, and kept entering and then leaving the building. We talked with her and she said that she felt "enclosed" and that she needed air. 

We decided to sit down with her and one of the sisters from the Relief Society and she seemed to be feeling better. She stayed for all of the second hour of Gospel Principles, but then during sacrament meeting she stayed for the introduction, and right when the first hymn was about to start she got up and left the room.

She had signaled to us as if to say that she was going to go make a call, and I assumed that she would go outside and just come back, but she didn`t. She left. It was tough because of all the efforts we are making to help her receive God´s help in her life. However, the blessing is that she is seeking God´s help. She has been taking action to seek the spirit of God in church, to read in the Book of Mormon, and to pray. 

I know that God loves all of his children. I don`t know how he does all things, but I know that he loves and helps all of us. I hope that we can keep doing our best to help Florencia, and our other investigators to come unto Christ.

I don`t know what will happen with Florencia, but I know that God will always been concerned for his daughter. I know that he is always mindful of us. I love you all. Thank you for all of your love and support.

-Elder Lambert

Nos vemos amigos, y un saludo a seis semanas mas, Nov. 6, 2017

Hola Mamá y familia!

Trick or treating- what a blessing to be able to walk around and ask people for free candy. That´s something we definitely take for granted at times. I´m glad to hear that you were able to have a great week though and are preparing well for the coming trip. I´m really excited for all of you.

The ball kept rolling here for Elder Holmes and I this week. We were really able to be instruments in God´s hands this week.  We had multiple experiences where people began to cry and told us that we were the answer the their prayers. 

We met a woman named Susana, a woman named Paula and her family, and also a woman named Marina. All of them are going to need to exercise their faith unto repentance, but I know that God put us in their paths. All of been facing grand challenges in their families, or have faced grand challenges. 

Paula is facing violence from her ex-husband, Susana has been raising her nieces and nephews because of the choices of her sister, and Marina had to see the lives of her parents ruined by alcohol as a young girl.

All of them, just like all of us as well, are going to need to exercise faith and invite the spirit of God into their lives through repentance. I know that if they are obedient to their Savior, that he can heal the broken hearts, and mend the broken lifes. He truly is the master healer. 

The spiritual challenge this week was that Virginia did not give permission for her four children to be interviewed and baptized. The situation is tough because she doesn´t understand Spanish that well (Her native language is Guaraní). However, we are going to keep working with the family to take the necessary steps towards their Savior.

We start a new transfer this week and I am saying goodbye to three former companions- Elder Salmon, Elder Steenblik, and Elder Atwood. It was a privelege serving with them. I´m extremely grateful for their examples and efforts to be like Jesus Christ. I´m excited to keep working with Elder Holmes here in Francisco Álvarez to help people feel Christ´s love for them and be baptized in his name.

Thank you all for your love and support! I love you all! Let me know how I can help!

-Elder Lambert

Lujan Zoo pictures from last week:

1. Me with the tiger,

2. Me with the lion,

3. Elder Holmes and I with the elephant

3 Attachments

Pon tu hombro a la lid, Oct. 30, 2017

Elder Holmes and I just had a crazy week here in Francisco Álvarez. We had zone conference with a lot of changes, and we had some great progress with some of the investigators. Three of the Barro kids went to church again, and another investigator, Florencia, went to church for the first time!

Sounds like you all had an eventful week! I hope Dad could enjoy his birthday, and that´s good to hear that you could visit with the family at the baby shower! One fun fact- in Argentina they also have baby showers and they call them they same thing "baby shower". It´s really funny sometimes when they use english words mixed in with their spanish. 

As for Enrique, we weren´t able to see him much this week. He has been working downtown, and traveled to see his wife and son again this past weekend. However, we have hopes that he can keep reading, and keep progressing. We´ll see what happens these coming weeks.

The biggest blessing this week was that the Barro kids have been really growing in their testimonies. One of the daughters, Deisy, did a service project with the young women and brough her twin sisters, Marían and Lucía. They really enjoy church, and then they came to church by themselves even though their Mom was out of town! It was awesome to see their dedication and willingness to obey the commandments.

In addition to the Barro family, we have another investigator named Florencia that has begun to progress. She opened up a lot to us in our second visit together, and expressed how she feels like she doesn´t have peace in her life. She struggles with depression, and has suffered with suicidal thoughts. Her family has even sought to use witchcraft to try to help her. 

In her search for peace she has been attending an evangelical church for a year and a half, but she feels like it hasn´t brought her the peace she´s been seeking. When we visited Saturday she said that she feels like she can believe in the Book of Mormon, and then showed her faith by coming to church yesterday! 

I know that Christ lives. I know that there is no other name that has helped me to make the changes that I have made in my life, and that has given me the blessings that I have. I hope that I can be better tool in God´s hands. I hope that you all can continue to be examples of Jesus Christ in your lives as well.

Much love,

Elder Lambert

Photos:

1. Elder Shepherd, Me, Elder Holmes, and Elder Siale after p-day soccer,

2. The sunset in Francisco Álvarez

Al fin - cazo uno, Oct. 23, 2017

Hola Mamí y familia!

Glad to hear about all the great things you were able to do over Fall break! Thanks for your efforts to go and clean up! I forever have Dad´s words burned into my mind- each of us having to pick up 5 things, etc. A lot of people making small efforts makes a big difference.

As for your question, Enrique´s probably about 25-years-old. He has definitely faced some difficult circumstances in his life. We´re excited to see if he can keep progressing.

Elder Holmes and I had some great moments this week. One of the best moments was preparing the Barro family to attend church this past Sunday. We wanted to overcome the barrier that had been preventing them from attending- a part of which was just lack of knowledge as far as how to arrive to the Church. 

As a result, we arranged to stop by their house in the morning during the week, and we made the trip with them in bus to the church. With the ward Elder´s quorum president with us, we showed them around the chapel, and finished in the sacrament room talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I really felt peace as we were in that room together and talk about the sacred ordinances of baptism and the sacrament. We could feel the spirit as we invited them to go to church and keep the sabbath day holy. I really felt like that step was what we needed to finally get them over the hump and have them in sacrament meeting. 

Skip forward to Sunday morning and the heavens opened up! They came to church for the first time! It was such a big relief and it was so great to see the fellowshipping that some of the members did with them. They´re such great people and we are so excited to be working with them. I´ll have to get a picture with the family to send to you guys.

I know my Savior lives! I know that he has power! I know that the Book of Mormon contains his word! May we all allow the words of our Savior sink deep into our hearts!

Much love,

Elder Lambert

Madre terrenal, padre celestial, October 16, 2017

Hola Mamà y familia!

It was good to see you guys yesterday! I`m glad to hear that you are doing well. Elder Holmes and I had another great week here in Àlvarez. We met a lot of great people, had some incredible lessons, and got to enjoy the baptism of the other elders in our ward- a 14-year-old kid named Lisandro.

Probably one of my favorite moments this week was teaching Enrique, our investigator from Paraguay. Enrique has been reading in the Book of Mormon and asking if it`s true almost daily. He has really grown in his desires to follow Jesus Christ and he has been shown a lot of excitement to go to church with us each week.

We visited last Monday with Enrique, and he offered the final prayer. In the prayer he expressed regret for his errors, and asked forgiveness for his past sins. As Enrique concluded the prayer, he began to open up to us.

Enrique told us how he was raised by a single mom until he was 14, when he was forced to live on his own for the first time. During this time he passed the days by drinking, meeting up with friends and trying to make a living however possible.

He went through many hard things, and was still caught in his problems when he first met his current girlfriend, Ruth,and began to change his life. He expressed his desires to leave his old life behind and follow Jesus Christ. We`re hoping in the coming month that he can take the next step in his life and be baptized. It has really been a privelege to know and work with Enrique.

I know maybe it`s a surprise that I`m getting this letter to you all today, because yesterday I mentioned that it`s a holiday here, but we were able to find a place to come and write. I hope you are all continuing to seek out your lord and Savior Jesus Christ daily. He loves you and is waiting to help you come unto Him.

Much love,

Elder Lambert

Marcos 2:5, 9-12, Oct. 9, 2017

Hola Mamá y familia!

Doesn´t sound like too boring of a week! Sounds like a lot of exciting things are going on! I can´t believe you all are going to Australia. How crazy is that. Just take care of yourselves. I´m really excited for you guys. I´m sure you´re going to have a blast.

To answer your questions briefly- yes, I´m still in the zone of Luján. My area is called Francisco Álvarez. The Barro family is doing well, but unfortunately they hit some trials again at the end of this week and we weren´t able to have them in church. The father, Miguel, was at home putting on the new roof with the owner of the house, and the mother, Virginia, I believe was suffering from some stress and left to visit some family in another city.

This week I felt very inspired by the account of Jesus Christ and the paralytic that we read about in Mark 2. Some of our experiences have made me think about the account of Christ, and about miracles in general. In the story a paralytic is brought before Christ and he forgives him of his sins. He then turns to the scribes and asks which is more difficult- to forgive a man his sins, or to tell him to take up his bed and walk. It then says that to show that the Son of Man has power in the earth to forgive sins he told the man to take up his bed, and walk.

Christ had all power that had been bestowed upon Him by his father in heaven. He performed miracles. The other week someone asked me, what miracles has your profet performed? The truth is I have never seen President Monson heal a blind man, part a sea, or cast out demons. However, it was also said of John the Baptist that "he did no miracle." Yet, I know that President Monson is a prophet of a God. I know not because of what I have seen, but because of the witness that God has given unto me. 

I know that Christ lives. Elder Holmes and I were very blessed in His work this week. We were able to have Enrique at church, and were able to help the Barro family, along with many more people keep coming closer to Jesus Christ. I hope that I can have the faith that works miracles, or that doesn´t according to the will of God.

I love you all!

Elder Lambert

Photo:

1. Me, Elder Shepherd, Elder Siale, and Elder Holmes (Albuquerque, New Mexico) with the "Hamburpizza" that the Rojas family made for us (a hamburger with a pizza to replace the buns)

Resfrio y la tormenta antes de la conferencia....Que va a hacer?, Oct. 2, 2017

Hola Mamá y Familia!!!

Thanks for the updates on conference weekend! Sounds like you guys were really able to enjoy this past week! I got a little sick unfortunately- we had to stay inside this past Friday. But I absolutely loved the talks from conference! There were so many great moments! I felt so empowered listening to the words of the apostles, and leaders of the church!

As for my companion...drum roll please..........his name is Elder Holmes! Elder Holmes is 18-years-old and is from Albuquerque, NM. He´s a really good kid, and he´s the first person from his family to serve a mission. Some fun facts about Elder Holmes are: he grew up playing soccer and loves to play, he is really good with cars and traveled the streets of New Mexico in his own Mustang before the mission, and he studied German in high school because there wasn´t any more space in Spanish class.

Elder Holmes and I really had a great first week together. I misspelled the name of the paraguayan family this past week- they are the Barro family. We had a great time visiting with them again this week. On Wednesday we went by and shared a part of the story of Nefi- how Lehi was commanded that his sons should get married before crossing the waters.

In the scriptural account it says that when Nefi and his brothers were married that they were able to fulfill all of the commandments that the Lord had given them, and Nefi expresses that he was highly blessed by God as a result of his faithfulness. We felt the spirit very strongly and we invited Miguel (the father) and Virginia (the mother) to live the law of chastity and get married. 

Even though they didn´t accept I was grateful for the confidence they showed in us. Miguel (the father) explained that he wants his family to be happy and united, but that him and Virginia (the mother) commonly fight. He expressed desires to be married, but Virginia expressed that she doesn´t feel desires to marry him because of their relationship problems. They committed to reading in the Book of Mormon and asking God for the strength to take the marriage decision.

We were feeling very positive about their progress as a family but hit a stumbling block Sunday morning when we went by to accompany them to church. Their was a storm here Saturday night, and the wind had literally blown their roof off, drenching all of their things. We´ve been trying to work with the members since them to be able to help them out in their current circumstances.

It´s moments like that Sunday morning where I wish I knew better how to help. I am a man, and my power is limited. However, I know that I have a God who is all powerful. In these moments, I want to better remember that I can get on my knees and ask for the help of a being who has known me for the eternities. Elder Holmes and I are going to keep seeking the power of God in our lives to be able to help the Barro family and other families to come unto Christ. I hope that you all can also remember to stop and speak with your father on your knees each day.

I love you all!

-Elder Lambert

Photos:

1. Elder Sparks and I on our last together in front of the basilica of Luján

2. The main avenue in Luján

3. Inside the basilica of Luján

4. A stained glass window of the basilica

5. A statue from the basilica

(sorry I´ll get a picture of Elder Holmes and I out to you guys this next week)

Estamos renegando, Sept. 25, 2017

Hola Mamá y familia!

Glad to hear that you could spend some time with the Squires, and invite the exchange students to Women´s Conference! I´m excited to hear about Dad´s trip to the Ukraine this other week!

Elder Sparks and I just finished of our time together, and we did it in miraculous style. I really didn´t think that we could have a better week than what we had just had, but God proved me otherwise. It felt like we were walking on clouds for the first three days this week.

One of the most exciting things of the week was being able to teach the Varros family- a family of 7 from Paraguay (Miguel, Virginia, Daisy, Marcos, Marian, Lucia, and Angel). The family is extremely nice and they are all very sincere. They actually speak a language called Guaraní better than Spanish, and we have been trying to learn a little from them. 

We were able to read a little bit in the Book of Mormon and it was awesome to see the focus that they family gave to our lesson, and their willingness to commit to reading in the Book of Mormon and coming to know if it´s true for themselves.

After finishing a week of miracles I found out that my companion, Elder Sparks, will be heading to the mission offices as the finance secretary and that I will be training again. I won´t know who my companion is until tomorrow so you´ll all just have to wait for the news next week!

I know that God lives and loves us! Something that I remember very distinctly from my youth was President Parry telling us that if we ask God if he loves us in prayer that he will always answer us. That advice has helped me for my whole life to be able to recognize the Spirit. I know that God loves you all! I hope that you can feel his love as you listen to his prophet and apostles on the earth today.

Much love,

Elder Lambert

Photos:

1. Elder Shepherd, Elder Siale, and I on the bikes

2. Our district: Elder Sparks, Elder Neto (Brazil), Elder Siale, Me, Elder Quintero (Spain), Elder Shepherd

3. The group heading to lunch Tuesday

4. Lunch with the Ramponi family: Rosa, Jenny, Gustavo (our stake president), me, Elder Sparks

5. Elder Sparks and I with Enrique

Lo que nunca me imagine, Sept. 18, 2017

Hola mamá y familia!!

Sounds like an interesting week back at home! I hope Dad continues to enjoy the Ukraine, and that you all can keep showing that living the gospel brings you joy! Elder Sparks and I had a week incredibly joyous here in Francisco Álvarez. We had miracles that I have never experienced to this point in my mission. We were truly blessed by God.

Lucas right now is looking for a job, and has committed to get married and baptized once he finds a job! We have been getting the help of the ward so that he has his resume ready to apply for jobs, and move forward in his life as fast as possible. To add to our joy that Lucas committed to marriage, Ruth and Enrique came to church with us! After a couple weeks of sickness and trials, they were able to come and feel the Spirit in church!

The miracles in the progress of Caro, Lucas, Ruth, and Enrique were compounded upon by an outpouring of blessings as we testified to many people and were able to share a message, pray, leave a commitment, and set a return appointment with 21 new people this week. It was nothing short of a miracle.

I know that God is going to help us find the ones that are willing to read in the Book of Mormon, come to know that it´s true, and be baptized. I really am excited to see the changes that the Book of Mormon will bring into the lives of the people.

The story that I feel was most characteristic of this week was Saturday. We were heading towards a return appointment with a pair of investigators, when my back bike tire was punctured and began to deflate. We asked our investigator if he could repair the tire and he called out to his neighbor. 

The neighbor, Ricardo, let us come in and proceeded to help me patch up the tube of my back wheel. As he worked on the repair we talked about our purpose as missionaries to share the Book of Mormon and he told us how he came to believe in Jesus Christ. We were able to leave him with a pamphlet of the Restoration, share a prayer together, and arrange a time to give him his own Book of Mormon. 

God put us in the right place at the right time. For me, the coincidence was too well organized to not have been the hand of God. We were placed in the exact place to have Rodrigo help us and accept an invitation to come to know his Savior Jesus Christ more fully. I know that God lives and loves us. He´s going to help us see miracles as we continue to work like we did this past week.

The miracle of God is that as we accept his miracles- he gives us more. I will forever be indebted to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Much love,

Elder Lambert

Photo:

Elder Sparks (Alberta, Canada), Me, Elder Siale (Tempe, Arizona), and Elder Shepherd (Boise, Idaho)

Tormentas, Chivilcoy, y el Poder del Libro de Mormon, Sept. 11, 2017

Hola Mamá y familia!

I´m glad Noelle could enjoy her 21st birthday! She´s doing incredible things in Australia! I´m proud of you Sister Lambert! That´s also good to hear about your experiences, and that Dad made it to the Ukraine safely.

This past week was unfortunately a bit more difficult working with Caro, Lucas, Ruth, and Enrique. However, we still have high hopes for them. Lucas has some blessings of different job opportunities coming his way that will help him to better keep the sabbath day holy and support his family. We hope that he can get the job!

As for Ruth and Enrique, we had some great lessons with them. Enrique has shown very sincere desires to know if the Book of Mormon is true, and has been reading in the Book of Mormon each time we have given them an assignment. However, when we stopped by Saturday Ruth told us that she will never change from Catholocism. It was an intense moment, and we sought to understand her and explain the importance of reading in the Book of Mormon and seeking her answer from God. God blessed us that her heart softened and she accepted to attend church with us!

Unfortunately as Sunday morning rolled around Ruth and Enrique had gotten sick. We passed by for the house, gave them blessings, and kept on our way. They weren´t able to come to church, but I know that we were able to do God´s will and we hope that they can keep reading, and praying so that God can work in their lives.

Besides all the visits with Caro and Lucas, and Ruth and Enrique- we had a zone conference with Presidente Resek in a city called Chivilcoy- a 2 or 3 hour trip to arrive from our area. In the conference we talked about the power of the Book of Mormon and how we can introduce it to people. Elder Sparks and I started applying what we learned and were blessed by God´s hand to have already met quite a few people that will be visiting this next week to be able to give them a Book of Mormon.

I know that the Book of Mormon is true. There is power in the book because it brings us closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. He guides his church and loves us. May we all find strength in Him.

Love,

Elder Lambert

Photo: 1. Me, Elder Lohrmann, Elder Shepherd, and Elder Sparks, 2. Milanesa Sandwich (classic Argentine fried Chicken sandwhich)

Vamos con toda la honda, Sept. 4, 2017

Hola Mamá y familia!!!

Great to hear from everybody this week! Thanks to everyone for your love and support. Elder Sparks and I finished our third week together hear, and we were able to see some great miracles! And we didn´t walk in rain up to our knees we rode our bikes in rain up to our knees! Our wheels were basically completely covered by the water! But the streets were only flooded like that in a few places.

We continued our visits with Caro and Lucas this week and they are making some great strides. The first step of faith was that Lucas asked his boss to not have to work on Sundays. It was a really big deal because here in the majority of the jobs they have expectations of working on Sundays and people have a lot of fear of losing their jobs and not being able to find work.

The biggest trial of faith right now for Caro and Lucas is that they need to get married. Caro really wants to get married, but Lucas still doesn´t feel ready to take the step. His parents married but then his father fell prey to addictions to drugs and alcohol- harming his marriage and the family of a Lucas. As a result of this, Lucas is afraid of taking the leap of faith and getting married. I hope that they can trust in God and keep this amazing commandment that God has given to us.

In addition to Caro and Lucas we met another young couple, Enrique and Ruth, from Paraguay, that are waiting for their first child. Enrique expressed very sincere desires to come to know God and to know God´s will for him. As we finished the lesson, Enrique offered a kneeling prayer that was very sincere. He asked to know if the message we shared of the restoration is true and to know what religion he should join. We´re excited to help him keep increasing his faith.

Sorry about another lack of pictures this week. I need to get better with that! I just get worried about taking my camera out with me because it´s been raining a bit more recently. I know that Christ lives and loves us! I want to keep looking to him as my standard of excellence instead of looking around. He is the perfect judge, and is there to lift us up and make us something greater.

Much love,

Elder Lambert

Anda conmigo a Lujan, Aug. 28, 2017

Hola Mamá y familia!!!

I only wrote Tuesday this last week because there was a holiday. Every so often if there is a holiday on a Monday a lot of the businesses don´t open and we can´t write. Don´t get used to Tuesday emails.

My second week in Francisco Álvarez has flown by. We were very blessed to be able to watch a multi-stake conference yesterday that was presided by Elder Rasband. It was an awesome experience and included Elder Gavarret- a seventy that spoke several times in Guaraní during his talk (a language that is spoken in Paraguay). 

God blessed us to have two of our investigators- Caro and Lucas in the conference. It was the first time that Caro and Lucas have gone to church, and we had arranged to meet them at the train station to be able to travel to the conference together. We arrived at the train station, and didn´t see them there. We were a bit worried because we tried to call them but we were sent directly to their voice mailbox. As we waited, we saw in the distance two people- Caro and Lucas walking to the train station just in time to leave on the train with us. It was truly a great moment, and a big blessing that they could go and feel the blessings of honoring the Sabbath Day.

Besides that, we had an amazing miracle as we were also able to teach, Cristina, the mother of Melina, another investigator. This past week finished one year since one of the children of Cristina was killed when being robbed at gun point. The tragedy hurt Cristina deeply and she had been unable to sleep due to the stress when we arrived at her house. We were able to leave a prayer with Cristina, and I felt the spirit strongly as I asked God to bless her and her family. You could see the difference in her disposition as we finished the prayer. I´m excited to see her come closer to Jesus Christ as we continue to visit.

It was a great week with alot of rain. While you guys were able to enjoy the eclipse I was also able to joy the beauty of God´s earth as we experienced a torrential downpour this past week. It was a really awesome experience to go out to work- even passing through rain up to our knees in some of the streets, knowing that were doing the work of God.

I love you all! I hope that you can continue to follow your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

With all of my heart,

Elder Lambert

Bienvenido a la vida de la bici, August 22, 2017

Hola Mamá y familia!

It´s been a great week here in Francisco Alvarez. It´s not really countryside, but it´s not city like my other areas either. There´s a lot of dirt roads, and a lot more space but at the same time there is a lot of people here. My new companion is Elder Sparks from Alberta, Canada. He has been in the mission for 7 months and we had an awesome first week together!

This week was filled with a lot of crazy events. I got to Alvarez this past Tuesday and a had a couple of hours to get my first taste of the life on bicycle. We´re practically mountain biking out here because there are few paved roads, and all of the dirt roads aren´t well maintained. It was super fun to get on a bike though after over a year.

After only a few hours to get to know my new area Tuesday we already had to return to the mission offices early Wednesday for a mission conference led by a member of our Area Presidency- Elder Bragg. It was really cool to hear from him and his thoughts about our need to be humble and remember that we are exactly where God wants us to be at all times in the mission!

With the trainings Wednesday I had a big priviledge to be interviewed by Elder Bragg! He had selected two missionaries personally to talk with and I was one of the two! He just asked about the mission and my thoughts on several things, and gave me the chance to ask him questions. It was a great priviledge to be able to talk with him for several minutes.

We are already seeing many miracles here in Alvarez. I´m loving working with Elder Sparks and we have been blessed to start teaching several people that I hope keep cultivating their faith in Jesus Christ. I know that God will work through us in each moment as we live worthy and seek to be instruments in his hands.

I love you all! Let me know if I can help you out in any way!

Much love,

Elder Lambert

Photos: 1. Elder Bragg and I, 2. Elder Sparks and I after arriving in Francisco Alvarez, 3. the missionaries in my apartment (Elder Lohrmann- Santa Cruz, Argentina; Elder Sparks- Alberta, Canada; Elder Shepherd- Boise, ID)

Chau ciudad...hola campo, August 14, 2017

Hola mamá y familia!!!

My time in Castelar has come to an end. After over a year in pure city, I will be heading out to the countryside for the first time- Francisco Alvarez. Elder Ruiz and I had an awesome time together and we saw some great miracles over the course of our time together and this past week.

To answer your questions, Mom- we are still meeting with one of the couples. The other couple told us that for now they don´t want to meet with us. That´s a part of life and the mission though- every person has to make their own decisions. 

Our biggest miracles this week were with our investigator, Ezequiel. Ezequiel is 12-years-old and his mom is a less-active member. She found work Sundays and said that her son couldn´t go anywhere without her, as such, Ezequiel still hadn´t gone to church. 

However, this last week we taught Ezequiel and explained the sabbath day- inviting Ezequiel to the church. His Mom denied us in the beginning, but as we waited Ezequiel began to persist with his Mom- expressing his desire to go to the church. She agreed that he could come for a part of sunday school and all of sacrament meeting if we would come get him with a member and bring him back right after church. 

With Sonia´s permission, we picked up Ezequiel with the Young Men´s president and introduced him to several of the other deacons upon arriving to church. One of the deacons, Juan, sat with Ezequiel, talking with him and explaining to him the sacrament with another member, Gabriel (priest). It was amazing to see the friendship that Ezequiel developed with the other young men almost instantly. I´m excited to hear from Elder Ruiz how Ezequiel progresses to come to know for himself that Jesus is the Christ and he has established his church upon the earth.

Overall, I´m extremely grateful for the time that I had in Castelar. I will never forget the wonderful people that we could meet. I have no power but I know that the Spirit of my Lord can work in the hearts of the children of men in all of the world. 

Much love,

Elder Lambert

Photos:

1. Elder Ruiz and I with the bishop and his family; Elder Ruiz and I with the Benavidez family (Felipe, Gerardo, Sofia, Bianca, Valentina, Ivan, Juan, and Yael); the Benavidez kids (Juan, Sofia, Ivan, Bianca, and Valentina)

Matrimonios en casa - y que se comprometan en Argentina, August 7, 2017

Hola Mama y familia!

That´s so crazy that you have an Ecuadorian and a German foreign exchange students. I have had companions from both countries- my companion right now, Elder Ruiz, is from Ecuador! He´s from a place called Porto Viejo- pretty far from Quito, but it´s Ecuador! My first companion, Elder Wendt, is from Germany- he lived right on the border between Germany and Sweden.

Elder Ruiz and I had some great moments this week. We were able to teach several couples for the first time. The first couple was Elizabeth and Rodrigo, and the second was Esteban and Mariel. We taught Elizabeth and Rodrigo for the first time this past Tuesday during divisions with Elder Vieyra (one of my old companions from Santos Lugares). 

As we taught Elizabeth, she shared her experiences going to churches growing up and how she was bothered by the arguments that took place between the adults that attended the church. These arguments utlimately caused the dividing of the congregation into two separate churches. We were able to relate her experience to Joseph Smith and how he was lead to pray and ask God what church to join. I really hope that they will progress and recognize the blessings that they will receive by getting married and forming their family in the way that God has ordained.

The second couple that we taught was Esteban and Mariel. Esteban is an atheist and his girlfriend, Mariel is Catholic. As we shared the Restoration with them, Esteban said that he had heard the message before but he wasn´t sure where. It will be exciting to see how the Book of Mormon will help them change their lives and move forward!

Besides being able to find some great investigators- Elder Ruiz and I really pushed ourselves with our contacts. We had been in the habit of starting off contacts by offering a pass-along card to people. So we set a rule that we could not start a contact in that way- forcing us to come up with a way to start a real conversation. As we did this, we really saw miracles. We were able to have much higher quality of contacts and we could feel the difference in the way the Spirit guided us as we really listened to the people. I was really amazed by the difference God made as we trusted more in his Spirit and feared less.

Thank you all for you love and support. I know that God lives. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. He has given his power to man, and we find that power in the Church of Jesus Christ. No matter how much a person wants to get around it- it is the only church with the saving power of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I love you guys!

Elder Lambert

Photos: 1. The primary kids that helped us go out to teach the gospel with their parents Saturday! (Amira, Juan Ignacio, Ivan, and Franco), 2. Elder Ruiz and I with the primary kids, 3. Elder Ruiz and I with the Mussi family (the bishop and his family- Bishop Mussi, Ezequiel, Hna Mussi, Matias, and Bruno)- yes I know I look crazy in the picture