10-13-14

Holy cow! I am in Uruguay!    I dont even know where to start!!   So we got to the Mission home on Tuesday last week, and met the Cooks. They are the greatest Mission President and Wife EVER! We got to go out and prosylite in Montevideo after some mission training. I had gone prosyliting in Argentina, but it was so much cooler to be with an experienced missionary, and also to be in MY mission!!!!  That was way cool. We stayed the night in the Church Hostel that they have right by the Montevideo Temple. In the morning, after a doctors appointment and breakfast, we all went to the mission home to meet our trainers! they were all sitting on the couch in the house, and they had us sit down next to them. They pulled up a map and starting one by one calling our Areas, the trainer,and the Oro (The new missionaries are called Oros, or Gold in ingles!)    they called my name last, had me come up, and then called my trainers name. Elder Ochoa!        I found out that he is from Thatcher Arizona, I thought he was native when I first saw him!  But he is so great, He works so hard, and it has been awesome working with him!    We have been assigned to the Lascano area, right outside of Treinta y Tres. It is so tiny!  It's like the no name village in Uruguay!  They have a branch, but since we've gotten here, there has been no branch president!  We've had to act as the brach president this week, and collect tithing and stuff! It's been pretty crazy! But they called a Brach President Yesterday, and that will make it easier for us to focus on the work!   But Lascano is like the Promised land! Almost everyone is willing to talk, and hear our message! The culture in Uruguay is just like that, people just sit outside, and drink Mate all day! It is so chill! I love it!    My Spanish is progessing, it's still pretty tough! i've had to rely on Elder Ochoa for everything- He is going home next transfer, he's a really seasoned missionary!  I'm really learning a lot!

So we had a baptism last Saturday! Her name is Maria, and she had had some of the lessons already! We picked up where the other elder's left off, and we baptized her. She is so awesome, it was so great to see her get baptized.   It is so incredible being apart of the work here in Lascano. These people have NO idea what being in a Stake of Zion feels like. Our sacrament meetings would seem like a joke to anyone raised in the church, We meet in a house! But they still have so much faith to get baptized and be faithful! It is wonderful to see!  We have a lot of Menos Activos, simply because the church is so small, so we are working with them.  But I got to baptize and Confirm Maria, In Spanish!!!  Holy cow it was crazy!  And it's been so crazy being brand new and having to run the church here, BUT I can testify that the Lord Qualifies those whom he calls! Elder Ochoa and I have been called to this area to build up Zion, and that's exactly what we are going to do. I have felt to Lord's help.     I don't have much more time, but this church is true!  These are the last days, and we have to bring Everyone we can to Christ before the second coming! It's such a sacred calling!        

I love you, and know that only good is happening here in the best mission in the World!    VIVA URUGUAY!!!!!!

Elder Carroll