Does Verano mean summer?

Buen día gente! I hope you´re all doing well. This week was a good one in the Zarate 1st ward of the Zarate stake of the area SudAmérica Sur in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is Elder Smith speaking. I will be your reporter today

the weather

"it´s indecisive. it can´t decide" (thank you Justin Beiber)

"it's hot and it´s cold" (thank you, Katy Perry)

Rather unspiritual references but that´s what it´s been like here, haha. In the morning, we´re soaking wet and freezing and by the afternoon we´re sunburned and sweating. 

the people

we found a good number of new people to teach this week! We contact a lot of people in the street and this week we found Lautaro. He was sitting on his front porch when we knocked on his aunts door. His aunt (his next door neighbor) kindly told us she was Catholic and didn´t want anything but Lautaro listened to us. We invited him to read the book of Mormon and he accepted. We set an appointment for Thursday.

Thursday we passed by his house but he wasn´t home. But, his mom talked to us and said we could come back Friday. 

Friday we had interviews with President Smith (our mission president). After the interviews, he came with us to the lesson. Elder Pereyra and I were nervous to be teaching with President Smith there but we ended up having a really spiritual lesson. Lautaro and his mom accepted the invitation to be baptized. I almost couldn´t believe when Lautaro´s mom said "baptism would be great for my kids. My oldest kids are baptized by the youngest few don´t go to a church and aren´t baptized yet." We´ll be explaining on Wednesday that being baptized will be great for all of the family but we were happy that she is supportive of her son going to church and being baptized. 

Lautaro came to church on Sunday and had a great experience. More on him to come. 

We also taught Noelia for the first time this week. She was a street contact from another set of missionaries that said we could visit her. She lives alone, has one daughter, and is a cat lady. We taught her about the restoration of the gospel and she had a million questions. We answered a good number of them but assured her that going to church would help her understand more. 

This Sunday was stake conference.

The stake patriarch spoke.

Noelia has more questions. 

the missionaries

We are happy! Elder Pereyra and I are getting along better every day. I am learning how to be more humble and more supportive in this companionship. Elder Pereyra doesn´t have a lot of support from home and he is here anyway. I am impressed by his desire to serve the Lord despite the challenges he has. I am grateful for him and hope that you can all keep us in your prayers. 

This week I studied happiness. I´ve been thinking about my boss from home (Dale Perry) and how he is always happy. I wondered, "why is Brother Perry so happy even when everything breaks and the people renting his property trash everything and don´t pay? That doesn´t sound like things that would make me happy." 

Hours of wet contacting in the rain led me to the conclusion that he is happy because he´s obedient and obedience brings happiness. 

Mosiah 2:41 says:

41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.

I know that this is true. I have seen the gospel of Jesus Christ bring happiness to so many people; a happiness that is not just a condition but rather a state of joy that perseveres through all situations. I know that Christ is the source of this happiness and invite all of you to seek this Jesus. 

Love,

Elder Smith