Adios Elder Brizuela

Hey everyone, hope everyone doing well. Traslados acá en Simoca, so the not a lot of time, but heres something. Elder Brizuela is headed to Santiago, these past three months have been great with him and he has taught me so much. 2Nefi6:11 When I read this in español, and it talked about people being thrown side to side, it reminded me of how we used to play 'tackle basketball' as kids(all out basketball, in a bouncy house filled with soapy water). This world can throw us around a lot, but the power of prayer is strong, and as you are praying for those in need, family or friends, search for the inspiración of the spirit in ways we can help them. One of these ways, is the knowledge of our Redeemer. Jesucristo. And we can control, the cuando the when. 2N32:3- Palabras de Cristo In the words of Christ we can find peace, joy, and guidance in this life. En la senda del Buen Pastor, in the path of the Good Shepherd, we will not be without challenge, but we can always have 'gozo', joy that isnt temporal, but permanente in Him. These last two weeks have been tough, my heart has hurt to see friends, sus ovejas/his sheep, starting to live and follow this path of Christ, and then lose it. But I every day, every moment I ca still find this gozo, and these things dont way me down, because I know that they are in the hands of the Lord. Trust in Him Seek His Guidance Stay in the 🌊 OLA🌊, Orar(pray),Leer(read),Asistir(go to church) Look for and Take your next step of faith Love ya, Elder Shepherd

-¿en qué sentido cometemos a veces el mismo error que la familia en esta historia? A Milagro/Miracle: Here's a story for you. During my first month here, we were searching for a familia, let's call them la familia Bednar, and we didn't have perfect directions. So we asked for a round, and ended up finding a family with the same apellido,last name, la familia Bednar. Miembros who haven't been back to the Church in years, a young couple who were baptized together. And now we have a son, about 10 years old. They were caught off guard at first, hadn't seen missionaries in years, but ended up inviting us into the house, we gave a lección, and we reignited a bit of their testimony, they were so excited by the end they pulled out old photos from their baptism. And from this time forward we kept passing by, helping them to rebuild their testimonies and for their son, who is super cool, to follow. But then... the day hit. The padre has been working, and studying at the same time, and the world started to way down on them. And at some point they said, not to pass by anymore, they were dealing with too much, and they sent this in a large message for text. They didn't want us to come by anymore. Like a hard breakup, it broke our hearts. And for a month or more we didn't pass by. But this last weekend we passed them 3 distinct times in the streets, and said hi. They were perfectly placed moments, all over Simoca. It didn't make any sense, once just in the street, once in the feria, and the last outside a house of one of their friends in the middle of the night, on the opposite side of the town. This was Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Three days in a row, three different areas, three perfectly timed moments. And then Martes/Tuesday. We were giving some lessons, finished one, went to our next appointment, but they weren't home, and as we were leaving, we got a message that our Noche de Hogar/Family Home Evening was canceled with other amigos. We had some back up plans, out of the neighborhood, closer to the Noche de Hogar. But I got the impression we should stop by one more place in the neighborhood, a referencia, that really didn't seem like it had the most potential at the moment, but I felt like that's what we should do. So we headed that way, towards the entrance of the neighborhood, but on the second street, which we wouldn't take if we were leaving, and passed construction in the middle of the street, which we would have otherwise dodged to go to the main street. But no, we continued forward and this referencia was for the house frente/in front of the familia Bednar. And we headed to the house, but just as we were arriving the familia Bednar was waking up from the siesta. And so we walked over to them just to see if they knew the name we had, if that person really lived there. And so we did, they said 'oh yeh, that's them' and we were about to head over, when Elder Brizuela asked for 'Alguien Más' (is there anyone else we could visit). He was like, 'And do you know anyone else in this area we could visit'.... And the padre responded.... 'sí...yo' ('yes...me'). Woooahhh. A Milagro/Miracle. They invited us into their home, they talked about more challenges in the family, how his mom is now in the hospital, and how he had to drop out of school to handle this, and now they're just trying to hold together. We shared a message of esperanza, got the name of the mom so we could pray for her, and as we left he said 'Las Puertas de esta casa no vay a estar cerrado nunca más por ustedes' 'The doors of this house will never be closed for you again' Words I hope never to forget. El Buen Pastor/The Good Shepherd has been preparing them to come back to his fold, I have seen his hands in this work, and I will never forget it. We've had a couple lessons since, the mom is recovering, the son is preparing for baptism, and for the first time in years this family was in the capilla/chapel this Sunday. They came in, and my heart was just filled with joy. I'm the chorester here, so that's cool, and I love it cause I get to see everyone in the chapel. I greated them when they entered. Then during one swong I noticed the boy didn't have a hymn book, and during the next as Elder Luthi was playing the prelude, I ran and gave him mine, showed him the way the music worked, and ran back to start the song, so overjoyed to see them in the Church. His sheep, are returning to the fold, and there is no greater joy.

¿En qué sentido cometemos a veces el mismo error que la familia en esta historia? In what ways do we sometimes make the same mistake as the family in this story? How can we keep our doors open to the Savior? Obediencia One of the best ways to keep the Savior close by is our obediencia. When we are obedient, we have the promise (from baptism) to have his spirit to be with us, siempre/always. We show our love for him when we follow him and his words, and every day can come closer to him. 2N2:28 28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great aMediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit; 1-¿Cree que nuestro Padre Celestial nos ama, y sabe todo? 2-A veces cometemos el error a escoger contra él o no seguir sus mandamientos, ¿Porque cree qué es así? 3-¿Qué podemos hacer para vencer esté 'hombre natural' 'el mundo'? 1-Do you believe that our Heavenly Father loves us, and knows all? 2-Sometimes we make the mistake of choosing against him or not following his commandments, why do you think so? 3-What can we do to overcome this 'natural man' 'the world'? Jacob 5:72 Always Remember our Divine Identity and Our Covenants con Him Discurso-Poise🏀 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/04/31bragg?lang=spa Convenios por medio de Cristo=Fortaleza Our covenants with Him strengthen our relationship and help us grow closer throughout our life. Fe/Faith 2N28:30 línea por línea Aprender un poco más de él cada dia Alma 32:21, no es conocimiento perfecto Like Pedro in the tormento/storm, or this family in the tempests of this world, the Savior is always there calling our names, to come closer to him. What can I do today to head the call of the Savior, and come closer to Him today? What is my next step of faith?

¿Ustedes Sienten Esta Ahora?

Elder Brizuela says hi everyone. Welcome back to Simoca, or as we like to call it here la tierra prometida (The Promised Land). These past couple of weeks have been fantastic acá en Simoca. It's amazing to see the work of the Lord continue to move forward, to see His hand in everything, and to see Milagros/Miracles. It's in the little things, that really truly are huge. We made some new friends this week and have started teaching a few that really want to learn more. I always love to start teaching new amigos because that means we get to share about the Restauracion and the Holy Ghost. And that's what we did. We have one amiga in particular we met this week, and started teaching who is super interested to learn more. She has great preguntas/questions, is reading El Libro de Mormon, and we've only had two lecciones, but is progressing a lot. We talked about The Restauracion the other day, and I don't think I will forget that day. We talked about how because loves us he has given us this luz/light, this gospel for guia/guidance in our lives, and how we can pray to know the truth of these things, mediante el Espíritu Santo/The Holy Ghost. Y yo compartí algo como esto, "Yo recordad cuando oré. Estaba pensando en este momento de mi vida que ́ yo necesito saber si estas cosas son verdaderas o no. Qué está realmente es la senda del Señor o no. Entonces, yo oré. Yo me arrodillé, respiré, y tuve un deseo de saber la verdad y actuar. Yo oré, y todavía recuerdo el sentimiento, un ardor en mi corazón, esta paz, tranquilidad, felicidad, y claridad en mi mente, estas cosas son verdaderas, y todavía puedo sentirlo, como ahora.´ Vamos a google translate And I shared something like this, "I remember when I prayed. I was thinking at this point in my life that I need to know if these things are true or not. What is really the way of the Lord or not? So, I prayed I knelt down, breathed, and had a desire to know the truth and act. I prayed, and I still remember the feeling, a burning in my heart, this peace, tranquility, happiness, and clarity in my mind, these things are true , and I can still feel it, like now.´ Sharing a personal testimony/experience is one of the best things you can do I've learned. The spirit you can invite when you share directly from your corazon, your propio mismo/personal testimony, your propio mismo/personal experience is insane, something I've learned from some other Elderes over the past couple of weeks. I shared these things, and she was like '¿Ustedes sienten esta ahora?' 'Do you feel this now?' (Then she described this feeling like warm arms embracing in a hug or something like that.) Sí, yes we do. The spirit was so strong in this leccion and so many others this week. I invite you all to be un poco/just a little more obedient in following El Buen Pastor/The Good Shepherd. You will find more felicidad/happiness, and have the spirit with you more frequently and strongly to share with others. Had my first entrevista/interview with Presidente Palmieri this week and this was his segundo pregunta/second question, therefore very important. ¿Comó es su obediencia? How is your obedience? Like the words of Elder Holland, show me your obedience and I'll tell you the success of your mission. We have this guidance, los mandamientos/the commandments and this gospel for guidance in this life, and I have found that the more we follow these things, the more joy we find. And the great thing about these things is there is always more we can improve. Nunca ya-ta, never already that (doesn't really translate but the point is never finished). Compartir su experiencia personal con alguien

The Post Credit Scene: Had a an amigo pray to ask God if el Libro de Mormon is true, and he recieve his answer. In this difficult, painful time of his life, he felt this paz/peace and that these things are true. A milagro/miracle. The Padre/Dad of Elder Brizuela was Baptized yesterday, and we got to watch the ordinance from Simoca by Zoom. It was a wonderful spiritual experience, so joyful, oooh so cool. So excited for him and his family. With 4 Elderes acá en Simoca we are working to have 100's across the board in the month of Mayo. 100 Referencias, 100 Lecciones con miembros, 100 people in the church the final week of Mayo. The animo is through the roof here in Simoca, I love it every day. Jacob 5, super cool. We are all Called to Serve, called to help others to recieve these blessings. And it can be easy to think you don't make a difference, but I can promise you do. I have seen so many people here with seeds planted before us, a Book of Mormon in the house, friends who have talked with them about the Gospel, or family before them who have helped them return to the fold of The Shepherd. I love Jacob 5:61-64, because it gives so much hope to these things. Work diligently to share the gospel of Jesucristo with everyone you can, in simple and natural ways. Plant a seed, and you may not see the fruit of these things, but 'prepararás el camino para que crezcan.' You may not think your actions are much, or even that bring one person into the gospel is much, but when we can put these things in the manos del Señor/hands of the Lord and think of what he can do with this, it's amazing. The generations to come, the little knowledge of these things, El Señor can use these things to make huge changes in people's lives, in familias. So share, share a little, share about your weekend, your studies, your experiences, in the way you live, the way you serve, we can always share in simple ways, and have esperanza/hope that God can use these things to bless the lives of our friends and family. (Also I like to think of verse 63 like Temple work, we are the últimas called to help the primeras, those who have come before us receive these things, and help others now so that they can help there family before them and on and on...So that's super cool, can't wait for the Temple here in Salta).

esperanza en Nuestros Debilidades

We've been teaching a family here in Simoca for the last 2 weeks ish, and last night we had a great lección with them and some great members in the Ward, the Soraire family. We talked about the last two paragraphs of the introducción of the Libro de Mormón, and the promises in that part. The Book of Mormon is really the key to everything, to gain a testimony of profets, the iglesia, and a greater testimony of Jesucristo. And we gain a testimonio of the Book of Mormon, we know of a surety the camino we should walk in this life. I testified of the importancia of these things and how marvalous it is that we have a loving heavenly Father who listen to our prayers. I know that he hears our prayers, each person individualy and we can recieve answers to our preguntas and know the truth of these things mediante oracion/prayer. I dont know how to say 8billion in spanish, but I do know that our loving heavenly Father is always wants to and always will hear our prayers. It still amazes me the way we found this familia, they were a referencia of a referencia, a friend of a friend, and we had tried a few times, but they were never home. But one day we were in the barrio/neighborhood, and we went to meet with a nowhere amigo there, but they weren't home, but we already had another plan ready for another amigo we could visit when we got the impresión, both of us at the same time to go to the house of this familia and give it a shot. A we did.(Iremos y Harémos). And they were there, ¡woooh¡ Had a great lección, and they had great questions and were looking for the truth. And now they've preparing for bautismo, the whole family, and I'm so excited for them because of the bendiciones/blessings I know are waiting for them in this camino. Crazy day today, and had a great big outline for this email, that one day I'd like to share, but for now I want you to have at least this part because I know that these things our true. God hears our prayers, he loves us, and he has given us the way to find more blessing in our lives, especially in our familias with his gospel. And we can know the truth of these things through him, through oracion/prayer. Love you all, I'll see yah next week. https://www.facebook.com/MASCristoTucuman