"What an Awesome week that we had here in ARGENTINA!!"

August 27, 2012

WOW!!!

What an awesome week that we had here in ARGENTINA!! First of all we
had the baptism with Brisa on Friday night!! We tried to have the
bishop baptize her so that she could have a good tie to the ward, but
he had to be a guide at the temple. Anyway, she asked me to do it and
I agreed!!  So most of the week was focused on getting everything
prepared for her baptism and making sure we did the interviews and all
the necessary stuff.
  Then on Friday we went and filled up the font, I made sure it was
nice and hot so I didn’t freeze, lol probably cost the ward a pretty
penny, jaja jk. Then the service went really good and her mom Jackie
was really sad and happy. sad that she couldn’t be baptized but happy
that her daughter could be! I know that she will follow her example!
  Then Saturday was the day for the temple. IT was raining and cold
all week long. We were so nervous. But we prayed all week long and
just hoped for good weather. We were also nervous because the frias
family didn’t really want to make the 2.5 hr trip to the temple with
their little daughter, but we just kept promising it will be worth it.
So we went to bed Friday night and it was raining and super windy,
however I was pretty calm that we were gonna be going to the temple! I
woke up and looked outside and not a cloud in sight!! I can’t explain
how good I felt in that time it was awesome!!!!  So then we embarked
for the temple!! It was a fun trip with everyone we took collectivos
and trains to get there and when we got there it was incredible! IT
felt awesome to be at the temple again!
  We went through one time and it was incredible! The family didn’t
have an incredible experience because the guide spoke really quietly
and they couldn’t hear him and their baby was crying. Then we left the
baby with the grandma and went through again! It was so much more
special for them! When we got to the celestial room, Erika frias just
started crying, and then after that we went to the sealing room and
she stood in front of the mirrors with her husband and started crying
even more hard!  Afterwards she just kept saying I want to come back
and be married here! It was incredible I know that they will be! Our
goal is within 2 months to baptize them!!!
  Then we waited for their parents to go through as we waited with the
baby. We were in a big tent where the people walk around and talk with
missionaries and stuff like if they aren’t members and have questions.
There were missionaries that were designated to talk to them and stuff
like that. But they were all busy. So a guide came and told me there
is a family that has lots of questions and wants books of Mormons. So
I jumped on that, who cares if they can’t understand me. hahah so I
went and started talking with them and the spirit was so strong!! They
asked when their children can be baptized, and stuff like what was
that feeling in our hearts we want that again. I explained them all
our basic beliefs and the restoration and they were saying, we don’t
understand how you have so much knowledge you have, and how good we feel
talking with you and things like that. They were like you Spanish is
so good. It was an incredible feeling the spirit was so strong and the
mom looked exactly like Chelsi chamberlain from Moses lake it was
really funny. But they are awesome and will be baptized one day.  I
wish they lived in our area!! Well I got to go! Take care love all of
you! Good luck with school and everything. I will keep everyone in my
prayers!!

Love Elder Kraymer Todd Eppich



Brisa and her family, LaPerlita Argentina

(look how skinny he is! He has to wear suspenders lol)

Elder Eppich and Brisa

Elder Eppich at Buenos Aries Temple open house

We had an awesome week!

August 20, 2012

Family,

Haha first of all I love the rain!! Hahaha and my irrigation boots. It
has rained for 10 days straight, and yesterday we had a beautiful day
nice and warm and no rain. Then it started back up today! HAHAH it is
awesome though because there is a ton of thunder and lightning as well
and you all know how much I love storms!!  It’s pretty funny because I
think if we started building an arc today people wouldn’t say anything,
probably just help or something. lol  But lots of time with the rain
people are more willing to let us in to their houses so that is always
super nice and I am really excited for that!!!
  Wow! we had an awesome week! I really want all of you to know that
miracles still do happen! I am sure you all know that already!! Well
Brisa is going to be baptized this Friday!!! Her mom and everyone are
supporting her and we are super excited for them!! The mom said I want
her to go to church and be baptized so she can set the example for me,
Ronald, and mia, (The rest of the family that isn’t members) She said
once we get married we will all be baptized! They all came to church
yesterday and loved it! So we are hoping this will get them going and
that they can get married soon! I am hoping for the first of next
year!!
  That’s awesome about the missionary calls and I am really excited to
have someone else joining me down here in Argentina!!!  School should
be starting up pretty soon right? I bet all of you are really excited,
haha not! Hope all works out good with school and everything! How’s
Connell football looking like? Hopefully coach riner can give me the
scoop, Haha.
   This transfer has flown by! This is our last week of the transfer
and then next week we have transfer meetings! We won’t know what will
happen till next week.  Normally we have pdays on Wednesdays for the
transfer meeting but for some reason it is still on Monday next week.
Maybe we are going to be getting a surprise or something. Haha
    Yesterday we had 6 investigators in church! It was such an awesome
feeling to be able to be a small part of someone receiving the
opportunity of feeling of the love of our heavenly father!
  That is an awesome picture of all of the guy cousins!!! Everyone
looks really good!
Always remember how important it is to seek guidance from the
scriptures and I know it will change our lives as we always strive to
seek personal revelation and guidance!! Tell Kacie good luck with her
wedding!!!
    Hope all is going well and thank you all so much for all of the
support!!! Until next week!  Love Elder Eppich

p.s. do the weeks fly by for all of you there?

The Refiner's Fire

Familia,

This week was definitely a growing week for me. I got my first
Argentine bug and had to spend the day in bed. I should have stayed a
few days but thanks to you guys I am too stubborn for that and went to
work anyways. HAHA Well I am sure you remember about our
investigators... Jackie told us she had been lying to us and has been
breaking the law of chastity with her bf and doesn’t want to change
that so she said she still knows it’s true but doesn’t want to have him
move out yet and she is just going to wait to be baptized until she can
be married. She said her daughter could still be baptized! But they
didn’t come to church and won’t answer our calls or anything so we are
not sure what is going on.  Really sad the first time I have
cried on my mission.... I know right now that the lord is sending me
through the refiners fire and that through this I can either help it
change me and become the best instrument in his hands that I can be,
or I can let it ruin me and just be an average person! I am determined
to become the best I can be so the Lord can know that he can always
count on me and that he can trust me with his sons and daughters! I
realized this week that the things the mission is preparing me for
isn’t just for the next year and a half, but it is more for the next 80
years of my life and for the eternities. It really gave me a
perspective that I can not waste a single minute of my mission and
that I need to do all I can to become what the lord has planned for
me!!!
   On a brighter note about our investigators we have this
family, Family Frias. They are awesome and we are going to the temple
open house with them next Monday!! So I am not sure how email will
work next week, but either way I am so excited for this opportunity
they are an awesome family that is receiving the lessons really good
and they just need to be married so that is what we are working on
right now and hope the temple will help them speed up the process!!!
 I really want to testify to all of you about the importance of
scriptures and prayer.. If you have any question at all start with a
prayer and ask our heavenly father for help and tell him what you are
looking. Next go to the scriptures and listen to the spirit and it
will guide u to the answers all you have to do is listen and follow
it!!  I know this church is true and that through these things we
really can find more happiness then we thought was possible. I am
constantly reminded of this as I focus more and more in this work..
Thanks for everything love all of you!! Take care!! 

Love, Elder
Eppich



I'm not quite sure why Kraymer sent this picture to me. It was the only one he sent today. I kinda wish he hadn't! ha. I think I know where he got the Argintine bug from..... I think he is showing me that he is using the peanut butter I sent him.



"I can't believe how much I missed showering inside"

August 6, 2012

Hola Familia!

How is everyone doing?!  I am doing really well!!!! This week was
awesome!!!  Well it was doing really awesome up until yesterday:( Only
2 of our investigators came to church and we had plans for about 10.
That is the hardest part of the mission for me!! I feel really happy
for the ones that came, but really sad for the ones that didn't. i feel
like this week we worked really hard and had some lessons really
spiritual that I know helped people come unto Christ, and I thought we
were going to seem them all in church, The morning of church they all
said they were coming, but then didn't show up!! OH well!! I know We
did our part, still is a little frustrating though!!!  Well i received
all the dear Elders from Elders Andersen, Benson, Eppich, Hawkins, and
Riggs! I loved hearing from them and seeing how well they are doing!!
I´d love you could continue sending me those!!!!!   While i read all
of theirs i thought it would be a good idea to give a specific update
about our investigators, so you can know a little about them and give
me advice if you have any!  We have this guy named Jose. He is
absolutely crazy. If he spoke English he would remind me of Mr.
Fitzgerald, because of this I love him and imagine i am teaching Mr.
Fitzgerald!! (Could you forward my letters to Mr. Fitzgerald)  He
loves john Wayne movies and is always asking me about my horses and
stuff, because he thinks I have horses because I live on a farm. HAHA
very funny.. He has change a ton and has a really strong desire to be
baptized. His only problem is he is trying to give up smoking. He is
down to like half a cigarette every couple of days. So we are really
hopeful he will be able to baptized on the 18th!!  Then we have a mom
and daughter named jackie and brisa. They are from Peru and they are
awesome!!!  They have been being taught for like 3 months now, and
want to be baptized but are just a little scared i think, because they
are worried about their friends and what they will think about them!!!
 We had a really good lesson with them and they are going to be
baptized the 18th as well!!   We are teaching a guy named Jose as well
and he had/has a tough life. He was in jail for a while, didn't have
work, had to take care of his sick mom, and he was just super
depressed.  However, since we came around everything is turning around
for him. He has a job, his mom is doing better, he is more happy, and
everything is tranquillo!! He thinks it is because of us! We are just
trying to help him realize that it really is not us but it is heavenly
father that is blessing him with these things because he is keeping
the commandments. He wants to be baptized!
   We had a really cool experience last week. We were heading back to
the pension and doing contacts. We were on the opposite side of the
street and i saw this older guy and had the impression to wave, Which
is pretty weird here now that i think about it, and he got a big smile
on his face and waved back. We kept walking and i just had the feeling
that i needed to go talk to him, but i was pretty nervous because it
was dark and he would think we were la drones (thieves) but we did
anyway and started talking to him. he was really cool! he has 71 years
and is kinda crazy too!! But knows that god is guiding his life and
doesn't believe in coincidences. So we talked a little and set up a
return appointment.  When we went to the return appointment, he was
just telling his life story and how he has been protected by god all
his life and things like that, so i just shared the book of Mormon
with him and told him ¨I know God has been protecting you and guiding
you to us at this time, and that he has something very special for you
planned, and you need to listen to us to find this.´ That is a brief
translation  but the spirit was super strong and he said he would read
some and pray!! We went back 3 days later, and he said ´lo siento yo
solomente pude leer un medio de su libro.´ Sorry i could only read
half of your book. I was trying to think of a pamphlet we left him and
then i realized he was talking about tthe book of mormon!!  He said he
knows it is true! so we are really excited for him and cant wait till
our next appointment!!!   Oh Good News WE are now showering inside!!
Haha i cant believe how much i missed showering inside!! It was so
nice, lol     Um we can actually go to the temple open house one time
if we have an investigating family with us, so we have plans to go and
are really excited.. Um President Eyring, Elders Ballard and
Christofferson are coming to the dedication and the cultural event.
Then they will have a special fireside with the three missions here in
Buenos Aires.. Then there is a culture event the night before the
dedication at a huge soccer station here. The missionaries from these
three missions will all enter together marching in or something!! I am
so excited!!!!  Everything is going really good here!!!   Oh this week
it rained a ton!! Haha the water was up to like our mid-calfs at time
and there was some crazy thunderstorms and stuff as well. So i bought
some irrigation boots and i felt at home. haha I guess during the
summer here they will get flash floods and the water will be up to mid
thigh or something in different places! That will be cool! Hahah
Thank you so much for all the prayers and thoughts from everyone! I
can feel all the extra strength daily!!!!!

 Love, Elder Kraymer Todd
Eppich