"The Lord has a Specific Purpose for Every One of His Children"

June 24, 2013

Familia,

Wow I don’t know where to start!! Well to start off, I am doing internet next to a McDonalds, Haha. I got transferred to my new area and I love it!! It’s Called Lujan! I have a new comp named Elder Hernandez from Colombia. He has been a member for 2 years, and he is the only member from his family except for his grandma! He is 21 and has a super strong testimony and I love working with him because he loves to work!!!! We are going to see lots of miracles in this area. 

 So I am currently reopening an area that had been closed for a few months. There were a few investigators but not really, so we are just starting from scratch, but it’s all ok because I already have done this in Saladillo!! The Members all received us with arms WIDE OPEN so we are really excited to work with them and we are sure we are going to be able to help them all a lot as they help us!!!!!

  So the area that I am in is super famous for a few things, one - the Virgin of Lujan, the picture that mom sends on all of the packages, is from this area, and also they have the Largest Catholic Cathedral in the whole world, you can see it from everywhere. Look it up on the internet, it’s called La Basilica de Lujan, its huge!!!!! Kind of scary, Haha. 

  We have quite a few investigators that look like they are going to have quite a bit of progress.

  We are still on bikes which is nice so I don’t have to walk around a ton on my foot so that really helps a ton!! 

  Our apartment is quite a bit smaller than the house in Saladillo, but that’s ok!

  I am super excited to be here in Lujan, it completely caught me off guard, because President normally tells us if we are training or not and he didn’t tell me so I wasn’t planning on it and then saw I was training and I was really excited to tell ya the truth!!

  This week it has just been incredible to feel that the Lord has a specific purpose for every one of his children. Sometimes we feel like its all chance, but I promise you that the Lord does everything for a purpose and his hand is always guiding us. We saw lots of miracles as we followed the spirit. The Lord is always going to lead us to where he wants us to be, so that we can become the best people we can be!! Follow the spirit always!!! Ask the Lord for help in everything and it will come!!! Make the most of everything!! Love you all so much!! Hope you all have a great week!

 Love, Elder Eppich

Leaving Saladillo :(

Elder Eppich with group members in Salidillo

Elder Smith and Elder Eppich with helicopter that is built in Argentina

June 17, 2013

Familia,

Well to start off, I am leaving my beloved town of Saladillo. It is so crazy to think that I’ll be leaving.  I can’t imagine the mission without being in Saladillo. I have been here for 9 months and 1 month in 25 de Mayo, so crazy. I am going to miss these people like crazy, they have been great and there have been so many obstacles and trials that we have worked through so we have grown super close!! It was a great last Sunday however!! We had a lot of good people there and converts and members that we helped reactivate and then I found out Fabiana got a new house and she is doing SUPER great right now! We ate with their family again, it was so great seeing her happy again and I felt like I could leave Saladillo in peace knowing that she was doing good. Also Victoria and Gonzalo are doing great and are planning on going through the temple in November so that I can go with them, I called Gonzalo as the priest quorum 1st assistant yesterday, he will do a great job, this will make him in charge of the young men we have and help them come back to church! We are really excited for the progress of Saladillo. At times it was hard to see the results of all the hard work that I put in over these last months, but yesterday and the past week I just kept feeling super blessed and saw many blessing and realized that the Lord worked LOTS of great miracles through me, and I was very grateful for that!! I love this work so much!!!!! 

  We had a mission tour, or that means that we had a General Authority (Elder Vinas) come and visit the mission and talk to the missionaries! It was great! I loved it! I learned a ton!!!! We talked about the atonement and repentance and a bunch of other things that I don’t have time to talk about, Haha sorry about that!!!

 Maria is still smoking, it is super hard for her, but I am sure she will be able to stop it and Marcos is doing great!! He finished the book of Mormon! I’m stoked for him, he is a great kid!!!

  It is so crazy to see how much I have changed since I got to Saladillo and how much I have learned! I will never forget this place, if Mom and Dad you end up picking me up we will definitely come here to visit everyone!! The whole town of Saladillo is in tears right now, including me. Haha but I am excited for the next area and know the Lord has something special for me in another place!!! Thanks all for all the support! I love you so much!!

Love, Elder Eppich

"I try and help all Come unto Christ"

June 10, 2013

Familia, 

Well this week was really good!! We are working super hard with a lot of the less actives and with Maria and Marcos to get them baptized soon. Maria is just as great as ever. Yesterday we did the baptismal interview, we are just waiting until she stops smoking all the way and then she will be baptized! So if all you pray for her it will happen!!! We are also teaching her neighbors and they are all doing great!! They all want to be baptized as well so we are helping them as well!!! Marcos is doing good! His mom just had her baby on Saturday and they all wanted us to go and meet him! So tiny and made me excited to meet my niece!!!! Marcos started reading the Book of Mormon that has pictures, it’s for younger kids, and he read half of it already, he loves it, he is 11 and instead of doing drugs and having kids like most kids his age he studies makes gardens and forts!! He is such a capo and wants to be baptized super bad! So were really excited for him!! 

  Oh Saturday we found real BACON! It was SOOO good! I haven’t had bacon in a year and a half and I loved it!!! Haha were going to go get more right now, before it’s all gone!!! Haha

  Oh laundry, so we do our laundry all by hand like Kade does, I just put it in some buckets to soak and then rinse it a lot and then wring it out and hang it out to dry! Haha it was super hard at first now I am just used to it and enjoy it Haha, kind of weird I know, it’s crazy what a mission will do to a person. Haha 

  Next Monday I will know if I leave or if I stay, we will see what happens!! I have no idea whatsoever!!!

 This week we were with the Familia Funes again and I was helping the Hermano work on his truck for harvest and I felt like I was at home when I was a little guy helping dad and everyone. I love that family so much and they are making so much progress I can’t wait to see them go through the temple! He will be the next leader here!! 

 Everything is going super good for us here and I love the mission more and more every day, especially as I try and help all Come unto Christ! Hope all is going well for all of you!! Remember God has a plan behind everything and never doubt that!!

Love,

 Elder Eppich

"This work is awesome! I Love it!"

Biking in Saladillo haha

June 3, 2013

Familia,

Wow what a great week!! The week flew by and it was such a great week!! I learned a ton and felt the spirit super strong!

So you all remember Maria right? She is the one that lives in the little town about 6 kilometers away. Well we found her a day after she had a dream we were going to visit her. She has a super tough life, she raises 6 kids solo, and lost her job recently, just SUPER humble. But yesterday at church she got up to bear her testimony, which is definitely not her, she is super shy.  She bore her testimony about how grateful she is that we visited her and brought her unto this gospel. She talked about before we got to her house she didn’t want to live anymore because everything was so bad and she didn’t see a way out of all the problems she had, then she knelt down and prayed to God that he would help her know what church she needed to visit to find the help and change. Then she had a dream that we showed up to her house, and then we did the next day! I didn’t realize that we more than likely saved her life. I am just so grateful to be able to have known her, and to have been able to follow the spirit as it led me and Hermano Hurtado to visit them.

This Gospel is so incredible and I can’t believe how blessed we are to have it! I wish all had the opportunity to have this! I feel bad for those that do not want to accept it for one reason or the other. If people would just realize all they gain by accepting this!!

 We also have been working with some families to help them come back to church, we have been working with the Familia Funes and they came to church!! Hermano Funes is going to be a great leader, we are helping him stop smoking so he can baptize his son and then receive the Melkezedik priesthood, and he has a strong testimony! Then Victoria and Gonzalo and their family came back to church!! They are excited to start up again, and we are preparing Gonzalo to receive the Melkezedick priesthood as well!! The members are starting to respond to all of our hard work!!! We are excited!! We are teaching a lot of good people at this moment and we are working with the members to find some more good ones!! This work is awesome! I love it!!! Love you all so much! Take care!!

Love, Elder Eppich