Matt's email 11/22/2010

Well I send some great big hellos to everyone out there reading this email. I know it is Thanksgiving week and you won´t be blessed with my presence, but I hope you all enjoy yourselves and have very happy holidays. The mission life up here in Albardon is awesome. This past week was great and there isn´t much more I could ask. Elder Orduña and I are doing good. We are working hard, knowing that this transfer is rapidly coming to a close. It is incredible how fast the time flies out here. If only the school days were like this. That would be a dream.
There was a lot that happened this past week so I ask for your patience as you read this email. The first blessing that happened occured on Wednesday. We were studying the area book, trying to find new people to teach and we ran across a name that looked promising. We planned her into the next day and passed by her house. When we arrived, we were surprised to see a dentist sign marking her house. We entered as if we were clients and took our seat. We waited for a minute and then came Dina. This lady is by far one of the craziest ladies I have ever met. She would get along really well with mom. But anyways we started talking and realized that she had already heard about the Gospel and she was more of a friend to the missionaries than an investigator. We didn´t want to waste a lot of time there, but I was going to take advantage of the time we had. As we sat talking, I remembered  that dentists are really good at cleaning teeth. I then ventured into my mind, thinking about teeth cleaning, and remembered that I had a permanent retainer that was really hard to keep clean. I asked her if she had one of those threader deals that the orthodontist gives and to my dismay, she didn´t. Knowing that the Lord blesses His missionaries, I ventured out on a limb and asked if she had an extra one of those little pokey deals that the dentist uses to scratch around. She asked me why I would use it, and then willingly hooked me up! So now I have a tool to clean behing my retainer! Pretty sick story right? But then another story, more spiritual than comical, happened on Saturday. We entered into an appointment that we had set on Wednesday with a couple that was super Evangelical. When we came up to the house we saw the husband just chillin. We asked if we could enter, but he told us that he had to leave to look for one of his kids. He then, without warning, began bearing his testimony of the Evangelical church. He was talking, and talking and talking, to the point where it became ridiculous. I have never heard so many absurd stories. He told us that God gave him  his house, and his car, just because a simple prayer. He told us that he has used the power of God to cast out devils, heal the sick, and condemn certain people. He also went as far as to condemn Elder Orduña. He asked us if we really believe that the Book of Mormon is inspired by the Holy Ghost. We all said yes, and he followed with a condemnation. This guy was a joke. He was the biggest liar/apostate preacher that I have ever seen. The power showed itself when we both butted in and bore testimony of the things that we know. He was left speechless. He couldn´t answer one question we asked him. The only thing he had against us was the fact that he felt sadness when he read the Book of Mormon with his pastor. What a surprise right? When 2 people get together, with the intent to find evidence to attack the mormon missionaries with doctrine, and they feel sadness. Hmm it makes someone wonder. He was more corrupt than anyone I have ever seen, but through the midst of it all I realized the strength of a testimony. I don´t mean to say that my testimony is the biggest, most powerful testimony in the world, but it is enough for me to know, without a doubt, that the church is true. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World. That God is our Eternal Heavenly Father and that he loves us as a father loves his children. I know that the Book of Mormon was written as convincing evidence that Jesus is the Christ. That it was written by prophets of old, living here on the American Continent. What they wrote is real. They saw what they said they saw. The heavens have not been closed. Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. His story isn´t a fable. He was called by God to be the Prophet of the Restoration. He did translate the Book of Mormon. I don´t have a single doubt about that. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the most valuable principle that there is on the earth. It is the only way that we can come to have eternal happiness. It is the means by which we can become clean from the stains of the world. Yeah the mistakes we make here are stupid and they bring sadness and feelings of guilt, but with true repentance comes true forgiveness. A divine forgiveness. A forgiveness that words can´t describe. The power of God is real. He is a God of Miracles. This is the true church of Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God here on the earth. We are so blessed to have it in our lives, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to share it with the people of Argentina. I love you all. I hope you all have a great week. Keep me in your prayers is all I ask.