Arocha family, Ricardo's investigators and speaking with friends from Ezpeleta

NO I'm not set on BYU-I.  I've been thinking and listening to a bunch of opinions from a bunch of different elders and I think UVU probably will be a better option... easier transition to BYU and all that jazz.
So this past week was pretty crazy, first of all we spent a lot of time looking for Ricardo and luckily we found him and he got confirmed.  Yay! very exciting! So we are all very excited.
As for other investigators,  2 weeks ago Elder Palmer and  we on exchanges with the district; he was in Platanos and I went to Hudson. Anyway when I got back he informed me that they were doing contacts and ran into this family that had been listening to the discussions like 6 years ago, or at least the wife was. They are awesome, she wants to get baptized so bad but needs to get married.  Her son Santino is ten and he loves the discussions.  Then theres the dad who wasnt really interested before and now is!  We are very excited for them they called the Arocha family and they came to stake conference yesterday and liked it a lot.  We were very excited. As for other investigators, the girlfriend of Ricardo who got baptized (shes a member and how we found ricardo) She has been having a bunch of problems lately with sick family and new houses and all that jazz.  Well her parents had been watching/helping her a little with this and they wanted to know how and why she has so much peace in her life in spite of so many problems.  So we are teaching them now and took out a baptismal date for 2 weeks! References are the absolute best way to do missionary work. It really helps a lot.
Yesterday was stake conference and I saw so many old friends from Ezpeleta.  It was so cool actually being able to talk to them because before I didn't know the language yet.  It was really cool. The pic of the dog is just a dog I saw that I thought looked like Toby. Ha!  So ya hope everythings going well over here.  You are all in my prayers.
lvlv
elder schupple

Thanks for family miracles, Ricardo and his baptism

Oh my goodness! Jackie and Brad didnt even mention  a car accident in their letters.  I am so glad they are ok.  My goodness I am so glad they are both ok.  You are very right when you said miracles exist.  I am very grateful for prayer and that our Father watches over us.

Mom as for schools and stuff, I think BYU Idaho might be my num 1 choice right now with UVU number 2. I talked to Brad and looks like we are going to be rooming together so that'll be fun.

Huge congrats to Brit, Aaron and all the Johnsons!  Twins?!  I'm excited that I'll be there when they nacen? ... get born how do you say that.... dang it

OK so this last week was a pretty crazy week.  First of all we have this guy named Ricardo who was our focus this week cuz he really wanted to get baptized but we hadnt taught him everything yet.  So we taught him every night in the church with a member it was great. But then Friday, the day of his bap interview came around, and he didnt show up. PANIC everyone!   So Elder Palmer and I called him that night but he wasnt home and he doesnt have a cell phone so we decided to go to his house.  He was living with his brother at the time so he and his ¨wife¨ (They aren't married yet but will be soon.  Anyway he lives with his brother so they dont break the law of chastity.   So, his brother lives in another area where I had never been before but we got the address from his wife. So saturday (the day of his baptism) we woke up and left the pinch early so we could find his house and get him to the Elder that needed to do the interview. We took a train to the area where his was, asked directions and walked about 20 blocks looking for his house.  We finally found it and he came out.  YAY!  He told us that he had to travel to Tucuman (another province way north) and had to buy his train ticket last night, so we grabbed him and took him to the elder who was doing his interview.  During this time I called the bishop and told him the baptism was back on and all that jazz. So after the interview it was about lunch time and we decided we would just do the baptism at 6 that night.  So off we went.  We went to our lunch cita and filled up the baptismal font and did some other stuff and 6pm came and he hadn't show up.  Ahhhh stressful!  However he did eventually showed up and got baptized. All that needed to happen was the confirmation the next day in Sac meeting. Here they do the classes first and then Sac meeting last, so we waited for him.  The first class came and went and we called his house.  They said he already left so we just had to wait.  The second class ended and Sac meeting started. It was extremely important that he get confirmed Sunday because next Sunday we cant cuz its Stake Conference and the Sunday after that he will be in Tucuman.  So we were praying really hard. Well sac meeting ended and he didnt come and we were both just sad/worried. So now we have to find him and find out a way to get him confirmed this Sunday.  We have to do a lot for it to happen tho-- permission from the Bishop and Stake President and just a bunch of stuff...Ahhhh stressful! So ya that was pretty much what happened this past week. I finally have a computer that accepts my camera, so heres some pics :)

I love you all and hope all is well, your in my prayers always.

lvlv

elder schupple

We miss Elder Nalder / zone conference & service projects

Hi family,

No we weren't the 2nd top baptizers in our mission we were 13th but in our zone we did pretty great. HA its kinda funny mom... we are kinda having the same situation with investigators and missionaries. Remember my side of the story where the elders  almost destroyed the referral that the Stake Presidency's wife gave us because they had other appointments to go to like weddings and other stuff?  Well the one trouble maker missionary got transferred out but when Elder Nalder got hurt guess who came back to the area to do the lessons with this  referral?  ... ya this same missionary.  Well the stake presidency's wife thought we were joking that he came back... but no.  So ya we all miss Elder Nalder cuz the investigators liked him and everything. But we are just guessing that heavenly father knows what He's doing. So thats kinda funny.  I heard this quote once that says the church has to be true cuz if not the elders/sisters would have destroyed it a long time ago. I dont want to tell the sisters how to teach the lessons but  prayer is kind of a big deal.  Has she never prayed at the end of the lesson? Oh well thats their jurisdiction.  I dont recieve inspiration for her so ya just pray she feels the spirit. Ill pray for her also, and it might not be a good idea to mix dating in with the lessons--it sends mixed emotions, and she might get the wrong idea of why your trying to get her to listen to the discussions. Again thats just my opinion so ya.

Well im kinda bumbed cuz I have my camera its plugged in to send pictures but I cant seem to get the pics to pop up esspecially cuz i took a bunch of pics this past week so ill keep working on that.

And hey old man dad happy 50th b-day and also kayla happy bday.  Dang i cant believe its already been a year since I said this a year ago.

This past week we had zone conference and a service project so it was kind of a slow week concerning datos and all that jazz but it was still a very fun week. Goodness i cant believe how fast time is going.

I hope everything is going great, hope dad and kayla have great bdays.

lvlv

elder schupple

P.S.  No I didnt feel the earthquake in Chile or anything.  Hey mom  I got my release papers, and they are asking for  my bishops address and stake president's.  They have  Pres Labrums, Bishop Hartjes and our address but they want to know where I'll be flying to and who will be releasing me and all that jazz so they can buy  my plane ticket.

District and leaders meetings/ Rainy soccer and broken ankle/Cruising in baptisms & lessons

 That is crazy Christian Austin is home already!  These past 2 years have really been flying. Im really happy to hear that my package got there.  I was so nervous it wasnt going to arrive, and wow I thought I had
bought little jerseys but they look huge on the girls but still adorable, so thats good. And those pics of them pointing to Argentina made me so happy. As for school either one--UVU or LDS Business College-- sound good to me.  I'm just glad I'll have some time to be with the fam before I start school. Oh mom could you tell Steve Branham to give me his address at school so I can send him a letter please. The pics of St George look nice and dry with a lot of red rock. Elder Palmer has been telling me a lot about Utah and how in St George there's a lot of red rock.  I dont remember anything about it over there. So will I be flying into Chicago or Utah? 

As for this past week, a lot happened, first we had to go down town Buenos Aires so Elder Palmer could do his documents, but it was during district meeting so we were trying to hurry back so I could do the dist meeting which didnt end up happening... but o well, the zone leaders did it for me so it turned out to be ok. On Tuesday I woke up with a little bit of a head ache but we still went out to work.  We ate lunch and after that I layed down cuz my head was killing me and when I woke up I felt sick.  I had  a 102 temp so I took a tylenol that they have for us in the appt and tried sleeping while Elder Palmer went out with a member to our citas.  Well it was pretty bad so I took another tylenol and then realized that they put a whole lot more punch in their pills here than we do in ours-- instead of putting 200 ml in each one like we do in the states they put in 500 ml and ya I took 2.  So I started getting kinda loopy and couldn't really sleep and when I did sleep I had weird dreams.  It was a long 24 hrs for me. The next day I had a leaders meeting and I had to to no matter what.  So the next morning came and I still felt a little weird but got up and went to my meetings and felt ok by the end of the day. So that was an interesting way to start off my week. Oh, after we got back from the capitol and raced to the district meeting, they had pretty much finished and were about to go to lunch, so we were on our way with everyone and guess who stopped me?.... Yup Maria from Ezpeleta! (which is next to Quilmes...my first area :) She was waiting for a bus and saw me so she stopped me and said in English (just in case I was still having issues with the language) ¨Do you remember me?¨ So that was amazing and I finally got a pic of her. Her husband is coming back from the states to visit again and she is planning on him getting baptized.  So ya it was just a very cool reunion. It made me very happy.

 Today was another crazy day. It was Preparation day and so I  made some plans to play soccer and ping pong with a bunch of elders in the church right next to our area. So we were all having a great time, until it started raining really hard while we were playing soccer.  Nobody wanted to stop and what made it worse, we were playing on very wet and rainy grass.  It was way fun until Elder Nalder and Elder Wanless ran into each other and Elder Nalder broke his ankle.  Hes in my district and now we are all really worried about him and hope he doesnt have to go home. So ya pretty much that is what has been happening in a week. Hope all is well with everyone at home.
P.S. This past transfer Elder Palmer and I were the 2nd highest baptizers and lesson teachers so we are just cruising along inspite of everything. 
Thanks for the email and letters,
love you so much

elder schupple

Transfers today...staying in Platanos with Elder Palmer!

Transfers today and I will be staying with Elder Palmer which is good cuz he keeps me on the ball. Im really excited to still be in Platanos.  We had a pretty good transfer (the past 6 weeks) and we are expecting to have an even better one this transfer. This week actually was worse than last week because after I got better Elder Palmer got sick.  So I tried to go out with members but its really hard to get people during working hours.  He was sick until Friday.   However we had an experience this past week that was kind of like your experience with your investigator out there. SO...We got this referral from the wife of the 2nd counselor in the Stake Presidency (they live in our area) and it was supposed to be a golden couple who just lost their 18 year old son in a car accident.  So we looked at our map and and realized that they lived a half a block out of our area, so I called the zone leaders to ask them  if we could teach them regardless.. They said no, so I called the Stake Presidency wife back and told her that because it was out of our area we would have to give it to the elders in the next area.  So I passed the referral on and thought that was that. Well that night at 11:30 as I was sleeping and the phone went off. It was the Stake Presidency member of the wife who had called.  He asked who he was talking to so I told him it was me, and then he just started chewing me out saying that his wife had called the elders in the next area but had to schedule and reschedule and reschedule the appointment because these elders had other appointments--the first time they had a wedding to go to, then the next cita they had a baptismal interview, then the next cita they had to plan for the wedding party. Well she got frustrated and told her husband so he called me, and the stake president. His conversation with me was interesting saying he didnt care what set of elders were at the cita tomarrow at 4pm as long as someone was there. So I told him that we would be there.  He said thanks and good night, so i wrote the cita (appointment) down in my agenda, and went back to sleep.  Half hour later, the zone leaders called me up saying the stake president called them and told someone to be at the cita, so they gave us permission to go. Goodness it was a crazy night and I didnt sleep much. So ya i thought of your story when this happened. FRUSTRATING!!!
Then today was crazy too.  We missed the transfer meeting because the trains stopped because someone had gotten hit by a train a couple stations down. So we waited a little and decided to just call a taxi. The taxi finally came about 45 mins later, and we were off until it broke down like 2 miles away from where we started, so the guy called another taxi and  we were off again.  Well we were almost there and THAT taxi broke down.  So we got out and started pushing. We finally got there at 11:30... just in time to watch everyone walk out of the chapel. Thankfully I still got to say hi to friends and old comps like Elder Jones (who was just made Assistant :) eat at Burger King and  play soccer.  Now I am dead.  I havnt been this tired for a long time and I dont even know why.

So ya that was my week in a nutshell. Hope your weeks were good, love you all so much
lvlv
Elder Schupple

P.S. Brad:  As I was saying hi to friends at transfer meeting this girl came up to me and just pointed at me with her mouth wide open saying ¨Elder Schupple!  I know you!" ( I was with Elder Holladay at the time so I just leaned in to him and said..."uhhhh who is this girl?") Ha! She whipped out her camera and said she knew Kristin Rock and Brad. So ya that was fun.
P.S.S.  I have pics but this dang computer doesnt want to take my camera. so next week.

More cockroach stories/ Sickness/Rain/Slow week

O my gosh mom that is an absolutely crazy story about the sister missionaries telling your investigator they couldn't make room to teach her another lesson that week due to their doctor appointment.   I am way sorry to hear about that.  Ya... Ive come to notice that in the mission there are really awesome obedient sister missionaries and then there are the terrible ones.   Man that would just annoy the heck out of me.   If you have a golden investigator you change whatever other appointment you have and you go. Maybe its just different or maybe this sister is just out of her mind, who knows.

Anyway that got me a little frustrated but no big deal lets just talk about something else.

As for our week over here, it was a really slow week which involved me being sick pretty much of the entire week.  Then on top of that it rained, and pretty much all Argentina shuts down when it rains so that made things really hard. So this is our last week before transfers and we are looking forward to finishing it off well. We both think we are staying together which would be great cuz this area is awesome.

Something that did happen was I ate some Peruvian food in a restaurant and it was really good (Spencer Washburn on his mission in Peru, is really lucky to get that food every day) Anyway, I was eating and was about to take a another bite when I saw something in my food. It was a cockroach!  I was pretty grossed out but I took the cockroach out and kept eating. However after another couple of bites I just couldn't stop thinking of the cockroach so I stopped eating and just sat there disappointed. That was petty much the most exciting thing that happened this week.

So ya hope everything's going well with everyone out there. Sorry i didn't write much.  I'll come back a little later cuz we don't have much time right now.

lvlv

elder schupple

2 more baptisms!

Aww Mom... talking about Steve Branham was weird but it made me feel really good. The story about giving Bishop Eyre a blessing after his surgery when Steve and I were newly ordained elders is something I remember rather vividly.  In fact I told that story about 2 weeks ago with my companion as we were sharing our first blessing stories. So yes I remember it very well.

As for Elder Rice having a golf scholarship at UVU I did know that and was trying to get him to go back there so we could go to the same school, but hes not sure if he will have his scholarship by the time he gets home, and he says if he doesn't he will probably go to the U or something like that. So ya its crazy stuff, I guess we´ll see what happens... either way it´ll all be good. Today as you can see from the pics we played golf.   I remembered how bad I am at that game but oh well, it was still fun.

As for this past week it was a pretty good week.  We baptized 2; the older lady is named Gladys and the girl is Lucero. They are not related or anything but they are both really great people and it was kind of fun to go by yesterday after they received the holy ghost because elder Palmer commented on the noticeable difference in both of them.  I realized he was right.  Ive been here for a long time that I guess I have been getting used to these amazing experiences.  Its fun to have a new person notice these things and bring them to your attention. So ya we had a great week.

As for the lady with the dream, it turns out the husband talked with their pastor and now they keep dodging us  so that's a real bummer but Elder Palmer and I have both feel like it may not be now but they will some day come to the waters of baptism. So we still are trying to get a hold of them... but if not their records are in the area book and eventually other elders will go by and hopefully be able to teach them.

This past week I got a little sick.  Its been very hot out and I dont know if you remember but I sweat a lot and it turns out I wasnt drinking enough water on Tuesday and I ended up throwing up and then getting chills followed by coldness in my body which was weird because it was like 95 degrees that day.  It turned out I was a bit dehydrated, so I laid down and slept for 2 hours with a blanket (after a blessing from my comp) and when I got up and realized my entire bed was wet from my sweat. But I felt better so we went out and worked again. Ive been drinking a lot more water lately. So ya thats pretty much the deal of what happened this week.

hope everything is well up there, love you all

elder schupple