I enjoyed conference weekend

Hola todos,                                                                           

Well, like everyone else, I’ve enjoyed conference this weekend. Probably was the best conference that I’ve ever listened to. There are always answers found to our questions when we listen to the prophet’s voice. There is a scripture that we used a lot this week when inviting others to come to conference. To paraphrase it says, ´whether by my own voice, or the voice of my servants, it is the same.´ So what does this mean to us? Like President Monson said last night (or in your case, in the afternoon) We have a loving Father in Heaven who is personal. He knows each and every one of us personally. So when we listen to his words, through the prophets, it is personal. I hope you all felt the Spirit testifying to you and that the Lord was answering your specific question , because I sure did.

Now to my conference experience- We were lucky and were allowed to watch conference in English in the Family History center in the Stake Center. It was a tiny room with about 12 missionaries crammed inside. It was squishy, but the spirit was strong. We watched it at 1 and 5pm. And as of yet, I have not yet seen the priesthood session which started at 9 and ended at 11pm.  It was a rainy weekend, but really great.

I noticed a lot of talks about the commandments. Including one from Elder Zivic of the seventy (He´s from Buenos Aires). The commandments aren´t going to change, they never will. It’s a rod of Iron, not a chalk line drawn in the sand that can be erased and redrawn again. That is the theme that I have seen this conference.

We worked hard again this week. It sometimes feels like we’re just running on a treadmill. We find investigators, teach them, they have a problem, and then disappear. So when the Skalla´s son-in-law said that this was a difficult mission, I can attest to that. It’s a great country and culture, but their way of life is far from the way of God, and very few people seem to be willing to change. It’s a lot like Elder Holland said, “some people just want a God that pats them on the head and sends them to pick marigolds in the grass fields.” It makes the work stressful, but I also have learned that Heavenly Father is a God of patience, and satan is a god of instant gratification.

On a higher note, I played soccer again, and it was great! I’m still getting chubby but it’s because I am only eating bread and pasta everyday. It is pretty much the only food in Argentina, but it’s good. I haven´t had a meal I haven´t liked! Haha maybe that´s a bad thing.

Also just to notify y´all. The government here is being difficult with packages, so our mission president asked us to send this to everyone,

Due to the constraints imposed by the government of Argentina for imports, we are having trouble receiving packages from other countries. Because of these constraints, we recommend that the next time missionaries communicate with their families via email, that they ask them to not send any more packages. If packages are sent, they will probably remain in customs and never reach their destination. We want to clarify that there is no malice in this action. When we receive these packages from customs, it is a costly process for the Church.

Sorry you can´t send anymore packages. That kinda stinks, but I got your last letter with the articles, and also a letter from Elsie Burgoyne with 3 little airheads in them--I ate them in 3 seconds flat. Delicious!

So that´s just the way it has gotta be. IF you want, you can continue to put together packages, but you just have to wait another year to send them to me when I get home. Sorry.

Thanks for everything. Hope all is well! Have a good week!

Love, 

Elder Chipman