[Note from Mom:  Elder M has humbly requested letters for Christmas.  So if you can spare a moment or two and something like a buck for postage, will you please, maybe today even, just drop a note in the mail to him as a Christmas gift?  You can also email him at his address, which is elderrandle@gmail.com as I recall, and that will get to him, but it's not as exciting and memorable as an actual envelope with actual handwriting from an actual friend.  Please do it if you can.  He's been away from home for a long time.]

Address:
Elder J. Randle
Quintana 447
Adroguè, BA 1846
Argentina

THE LETTER:

[Another note from mom: the way the LDS church is organized is basically thus: the members are organized regionally.  You have "areas" of the world, and they are made up of large nodes called "stakes" - as in the tent stakes of Zion (yes, yes, it sounds religious, doesn't it?) which are in turn made up of smaller units (from 250-650 people usually) called "wards."  The ward is made up of families, the basic unit of the church (oh- and of societies and cultures, by the way).  The ward is something like a protestant congregation, in that it sees to the individual needs of families and members and is lead by a man called to the position of "bishop."

But there are even smaller units - where there are not enough members to staff a full ward, the unit is called a "branch."  The branch does not have a bishop; instead, it's organizational head is a "branch president."

There.  More than you wanted to know, but you'd miss the joke if you didn't know what a "branch" is in LDS parlance.  Now, you can get it.

You're welcome.]

Oh, the benefits of working in a branch!

This last weekend was the district youth conference, so the youth from Dolores branch, and from Chascomùs branch camped out for Friday and Saturday here in Chascomùs. And we were assigned to be camp counselours by the branch president.

AWESOME!

There were about 25 youth there, and we played games with them, and played sports with them, and got really tired, and got beat up. Also, in the evening we had a fireside with them in the which we explained about mission work, and Elder Boyer taught from the scriptures in Spanish. He’s coming along GREAT!

I really enjoyed being with them for those two days. I feel like we were able to build a stronger bond with the youth here in the branch.

Also, one of the young men who came to the camp from our branch is just recently re-activating. His family had been very strong in the church, and then they had a lot of challenges, and they’ve been inactive for a while. Always with good intentions, but suffering spiritually.

We went and started visiting the 14 year old son of the family a little time back, and he started to read the Book of Mormon again, and to get excited about church. Because he was coming back on his own, his father picked up too, and now the two of them are coming.
Yesterday he was ordained to the office of a teacher.

We’re happy.

Nov 2

Happy Haloween to everyone!

This is going to be a really short blog entry.The mission work is coming along well in Chascomùs. We`ve been talking to a lot of people, or doing a lot of contacts. And because of that we`ve been able to find a number of new people! We hope that some of them begin to keep their commitments and change their lives. It`s a wonderful miracle to see people begin to sample true happiness and want more.:)

The photos are my companion and I in our Halloween costumes. We went trick or treating in the apt. Or in other words, I knocked on the door and he gave me candy, and then he knocked and I gave him candy.He`s a byu fan, and I`m a basketball player. Awesome huh?

Nov 9

Well, first of all, here`s my suntan. Pretty sweet huh?

Second, here’s a service project we did during the week. We LOVED it! We went to some appointments that we had made, and they weren’t there, so we went to a member`s house to see if we could talk with them (they are also amazingly good friends. The mother R is a member and the father C isn’t). Even though they aren’t both members, R and C give us dinner every Tuesday night.
We walked by and C and his son were working on laying the foundations for their house, and they had been at it all day.

We said “Will you lend us some clothes so we can help?” and he said “You think you could?” So we helped him for like 2 and a half hours. It felt GREAT to do some work again, and he was happy because we showed up just as his son was leaving.

Yeah, he said, “When you go home back to the US you can tell them that you BUILT A HOUSE while you were here,” and he also said that they would always remember us.
It was a really feel good time. :0)

Yaaay!
I love love.
I`ve been thinking about love recently. I think it`s an actual existing force that we participate in. If you think about it, why did Jesus Christ sacrifice for us? What benefeit did he recieve? Was he obligated?

Nothing of the sort.

He did it because he loves us. That`s also why you and Dad have gone through so much for me.

D is coming along really well! He came to church again on Sunday and enjoyed classes. Here`s an awesome picture of his rastas that we took (they`re natural! )

We’re continuing to find new people, and we’re trying to help the people that we`re already teaching to be based steadily upon the testimony of the spirit.

D is reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning and also the Joseph Smith manual, and I love teaching him because he has so much experience that every time we teach, he teaches me stuff from his study, and I come away enriched.

Cooool Coooool Coooool.

I love you all!

Nov 16th

There are some dogs in the station. That`s pretty normal, but I liked how that one was sleeping.

And then we have Diego and Elder Boyer in the La Plata stake center.

I should have taken one with me but I didn’t!

Nov 23 [Note from mom: We found out today that he's been called to be district leader over eight elders, the couples and the sisters in his district.  Cool.  He has seven months left.]

This week our bikes got stolen. Awesome.

We’ve had to leave them out on the street locked to a telephone pole for two months because we couldn’t find garage space to use. Everybody said they were full.  Then, last Tuesday morning, we walked out of the pench early in the morning to head to La Plata, and what do we find, but a broken, lonely, bike lock lying on the ground.

The thing that made us feel good was that the neighbors noticed and talked to us, and sympathized. But we still didn’t have any bikes.

This is where the blessings come in.

Some people, even though they don’t attend any church at all, live more Christian lives than many of us who are weekly churchgoers. The man who owns “El Pedal” is one of those men.  Almost every time we come in to get something fixed, he replaces it in the most economic way, and then sends us out without letting us pay.

This time was no exception.

We went in asking if he had any used bikes that we could buy from him, and he told us to come back the next day. Upon returning he pulls out a used bike that somebody had dropped off and never come to get. It’s nowhere near new, but definitely rideable and useable, and he just plain GAVE it to us. Incredible!!  We then found a bunch of parts to put another bike together stored in the pench, and he’s doing what he can right now to put that one together.

And, luckily, the neighbor has offered us a place to keep our bikes for now, so we hope they won’t get stolen.

The other blessings have to do with us being guided to people who are willing to listen to us. I’ll tell more next week.

With much love to all!

The last picture are two of my good friends who are going home today. It’ll be a number of months before I see them again.

Goodbye friends

——–=0=——–

October 26, 2009

Above: here’s what he looks like when he doesn’t know the camera’s going to go off. LOVE it.

(Short note from the mom – I miss him terribly. But I wouldn’t have him anywhere else.)

So, I already introduced Elder B. Here`s a picture of us two. We`ve been working hard, and enjoying our time to work in this great little town of Chascomus. We decided to re-form some of the ways we`ve been doing things, and we re-organized our planning so that we will spend much less time travelling and much more time teaching. Also we resolved to spend much less time in our teaching appointments. We`re shooting for an average of half-hour lessons instead of 1.3 hour lessons. That will help us be more efficient and have time to teach more people. Also, by scheduling things that are closer to each other, we spend less energy and time running from one place to another.

The second picture is of an awesome investigator. We`ll call him D. That was us at english class on Saturdays. He`s really a cool guy. He started out life pretty badly. He got into drugs and stuff, and ended up almost killing himself a long time ago. Then he pulled himself out of it. He started going to churches and started understanding that God loves him, and understanding how God works with his children. Up until today he doesn`t know for sure which church is true, but he`s open to investigate. We have encouraged him to seek personal revelation through reading of the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, and through prayer. He is a genuine christian of heart.

There`s the weekly update!
Thanks for your prayers. I love you all!
Stay strong!
Elder Randle

——–=0=——–

October 19th, 2009

Another fabulous week here in Chascomus!

I know it won`t happen, but I`d be happy if President left me here until the end of my mission. It`s such a beautiful place, and I`m finally getting to know the people and love the branch.

This is my third transfer in the area, which means I`ve been here over three months, and I`ve gone through two companions in that time! Wow!

But this new companion brings special news. He`s a new Elder from Utah! For now he will remain as Elder B. In other words, I`m TRAINING!!

Here, in the picture he was setting the table for lunch. Today we lunched with Bryan, Josuè, and the T family (My comp made pizza – awesome). I forgot to get a good photo with the two of us for this introductory email, but will do next week.

This week we had ZERO invetigators in church again. It was mother`s day in Argentina, and very few people came. On Saturday morning the two appointments we had set up fell through, so we went walking. As we walked we saw a lady sitting outside and went to talk to her. She instantly asked us to sit, and we began to teach her, and a friend who is living with her, then later another friend came and heard the last part of the discussion. Anyway, they all three said they would come to church the next day. But when we called them in the morning, they said “No, because it`s mother`s day! We`re with our mothers!”

Then another inv. of ours who has a date fixed to be baptized said that she would come to church too, but nothing. So we`re working hard and trying to find people who will COME. Or at least let us go look for them. We have a lot of really great people investigating, but the challenge is getting them to DO anything.

Anyway, that`s the status! I love you all, please keep safe, and keep praying for us!
Until next time…..

——–=0=——–

October 12, 2009

A recording of the M here.

It’s supposed to be a recording for Max, but ends up being pretty much M talking to us.

He writes:

Hehe, once again, a blog entry without any writing. Soon I will find it in me to do a beautiful blog entry. Really!

This is gorgeous Chaschomús.

And this second picture is a good family from Chascomús that we are teaching about the Book of Mormon. We´re happy!

 

(Short note from the mom – I miss him terribly.  But I wouldn’t have him anywhere else.)

Sept 21

Fishing day! 

Just a quick note-

My comp and I went fishing today for P-Day! That little fish you see on my hook I did not catch, rather it was the bait. The number of fish caught was less than none.

While we were fishing a tour bus from a seminary from another church pulled up, and a bunch of people emptied out. 

In short, we had a long conversation with them (in two seperate groups) in the which we bore testimony of the truths that we hold dear, and they explained what they believed while trying to prove the book of Mormon wrong. 

It was kind of sad, well, really, it made me sad. They were very nice and polite, but I wish they had talked less and listen more. And instead of telling me a lot why I was wrong, I wish they had listed to my testimony and invitation, which was to read and pray. They were so caught up why I had to be mistaken and wrong, that they didn’t want to take the invitation to try or ask. 

We ended on a friendly note, but I ended asking them why, if I stated to them that I believed in Jesus Christ just as did they, why were they trying to convince me that the Book of Mormon was wrong?

I hope they think about it and give it a try in the future.

Nevertheless… I still am happy!!

 

A sweet photo of Chascomus!

Sept 28

Hey all of you people in the wild blue outside!

This is your friendly Elder Randle reporting from the grand Argentina. 

Just a quick report. This week we had district conference, and the mission president came and gave us a great workshop in Chascomus, and then on Sunday we took a shuttle to Dolores to the District center and listened to awesome talks. In the picture we are with a few of the members of the branch.

In the next picture we are enjoy P-Day with the Tau family by the lagoon, and I thought I’d lean against a tree.

Sorry we`re so short on time, I will prepare a better message for next week!!

With love and love!

Elder Randle

 

Oct 5

This Saturday we did a service project for an inactive family in the branch. We went and helped them paint their house. Here we are on the roof. I didn’t bring service clothes, so I borrowed a pair of the husband’s pants. They are really fun people, and I really enjoyed the service project because we know and are teaching many of the neighbors too, so the whole time people were coming by and talking and making jokes, it was really fun.

Yay for service!!!!!

(another short note from mom: yep.  Yay for service.  And the kind of people who love to do it.)

Note from the Mom: he had a huge transfer, which through off the prep day – and then there’ve been several other missed days for one reason or another.  So it’s been a while since he’s actually written a post for this venue.   I put together all the pictures he’s sent and a bit of the written word, and that’s what you’ve got here.  Playing catch up.

July 20, 2009

 

Elder M with his new companion, on the long-trip bus, which M says is like an airplane inside.

Here I am!

Chascomus is a town far out from the city. It’s on the edge of a lagoon so it’s termed a touristy town. It’s a nice, clean little town with a lot of open space (awesome).

In the picture we have my companion and I, Brian (a recent convert) and brother and sister T (brother T is from another city, but he’s serving as branch president here for a number of years, it will be a mission for them as soon as they recieve their calling). The T’s are excellent people. You won’t find anybody nicer, and they have a lot of knowledge about the gospel.  Elder T was a professional football (soccer) player for a big club here in Argentina for years. About thirty years ago, the missionaries taught him, he obtained a testimony, and became a member of the church. The soccer clubs always play on Sundays here as well, and I asked him how we worked that out, and he said that when he became a member, he straightway quit soccer so that he could keep the Sabbath day holy. What a sacrifice!

The second picture is me in front of the apartment this morning. You can kind of see the lay of the land of Chascomus behind me, it’s a pretty place for sure.

(Cheezy boy – Mom’s note)

We’ve been paying a lot of attention to talking to people in their houses and on the streets, and it’s a really important practice. Also, it helps me to get rid of any shyness that I might have felt before.

Hey! Jumping out of context again…

The T’s have a car (it’s from the 80s, but it’s in pretty good shape) I’m the only one with a license with me here other than sister T, so I drive quite a bit when we go to take people to church, or to run errands.

A couple of days ago, the leaders of the branches in the district had a meeting with the district president in a small town called Dolores. My companion and I went with Elder T because my companion is acting as branch secretary, and I drove . All in all it was a very uneventful trip! The car behaved quite well, and didn’t give us any problems. No problems until after we had already returned, then she didn’t want to start.

Anyway, I want to let you know that all is well here, I’m getting to know the members and the investigators. I’m in charge of helping the primary president with music and with the kids in general, and I’m happy!

Please pray for us to be able to find some people who need to learn about the gospel and change their lives, and that those who we have found will be helped to progress forward.

Thank you all family and friends, with love

Elder Randle

August 3

This was last P-Day.

We were out doing fun stuff with Brian (a recent convert) and we were a couple of miles away from home when his chain broke. We started out walking, but then (here in the picture) he held on to the bike lock chain while I rode. Then in the end, he just held on to the shoulder, and we made it all of the way back!

Sweet!

The next photo is really ugly, but it’s OK, just know that I’m not that ugly. .

This is me with M and A (a member and her daughter who is investigating the church) at the branch home evening.

Aug 31

In these photos, R (from the branch) and I dressed up as clowns for kids’ day, which is big here. It was a hit! One girl, who is mentally challenged, kept running up and grabbing my big red nose! Ouch!!

 

On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 7:20 PM, K Randle wrote:

LOVE  the picture.  But it will frighten your brother (who, at 28, is still frightened of clowns).

Murphy replies:

Yeah, it frightened ME.

This is a wonderful baptismal photo of Damian.

We’re also with the M family and brother Z.

 

September 7

Here! How are we? Do you like to disco?

This is a dog that we met on the street. We said hi to him, and he followed us around for a while.

 

The new pench (apartment, flat-Mom).

We have an excellent door than leads out into nowhere (it`s always closed and locked)

Here I am with a statue of General San Martin who was a liberator of most of South America- (They are coming out of winter just now – thus the scarf – Mom)

September 15, 2009

Hi yaw’lls!

I`m pretty tired! Today was our last chance to go to the temple as missionaries before the temple closes for a 2 year renovation. Even though we’re far away, Elder Roy and I went. I don’t have my little USB adaptor for the memory, so I can’t put photos in the mail, but in the future there will be photos.

The train comes through Chascomus very little, so this morning we had to jump on the train at about four o’clock. A couple of hours later, we found ourselves in Constitution, the main train hub of Capital. From there we took subway, and shuttle to the temple, arriving at about 8:30 in the morning. Wow, we kicked it around at the temple for a while, did a great session in Spanish, came out, changed, took photos, and then headed back on another bus for La Plata this time, and then ANOTHER bus for Chascomùs, arriving at 8:30 at night. Wow!

So, I’m tired, but happy, and grateful for the spiritual blessings that come from the temple.

Yesterday we spent the second half of the day in normal clothes doing service. A sister in the branch with a lot of health problems needed help moving, and we hadn’t planned for it, but the help was needed so we gave it. In the end it turned out good for us, because we were able to gain confidence with the hired moving guys, and we got their address to pass by. Funny enough, one of the guys is the brother of a girl that we talked to about the plan of salvation two weeks ago, and he asked us if we knew his sister, and that’s how we found out.

Sorry for my horrible formatting and grammar! I’m hurried!

Janae, and Kristin, thanks for your letters! They’re very appreciated, I loved getting your words and I’ll write back soon.

Meli, did you disappear?

And Mary, I got the letter from you and Kyle and Jeff, thank you tons!

We still need all of your prayers please to find those who are prepared to receive the message of the restored gospel, and for us to be the right missionaries for the job.

Thanks family and friends!

Your love and support is felt and needed,

I send it back!

Elder Randle

 

Murphy’s letter this week is a recording of his mellifluous voice. For your pleasure -

July 08

Ok, so a blog post.

We´re having a baptism next week!

About two months ago, we did a contact with a nice (but somewhat sad) lady named B. Months passed without going by to teach her because we were focused in other people and efforts. All of this time I would contact her once a week or so by phone, and finally, about two weeks ago, we went by her house with a member.

B is quite prepared, she herself brought up the subject of baptism, and she already had a testimony of the truth of our teachings. Now, even though she still has many challenges and problems, she seems to have much more strength and happiness behind her. We´re struggling to get all of the teaching done in time (partially because the discussions are very active and she spends a lot of time talking too us).

She has a baptismal date of the 11th of July. How exciting!

In the mean time, we´re trying to regularly pass by the golden investigator family that we found a while back.

Oosh, I just got news that an investigator family in the ward just had a hard thing happen. Saturday morning their house caught fire and everything burned to the ground. They have nothing left!

I just called the Bishop, and we´re going to get together tonight to see what we can do in terms of helping the family.

We would appreciate all of your prayers for this family, and for the mission work here! We need to find more people who are prepared to change their lives, and bring them to baptism. We´re doing it, but we need a little more!

Much love to all, thank you for all of your prayers!
Elder Randle

His name is Luis, and he´s really funny.
He´s really cool.

July 15th

This is Hulk, the Toledo´s dog. He´s really huge, and really loves love.

We´re doing well here in the good old Argentina. The swine flu has hit and everybody is terrified. They say that people are dieing all over. I don´t think I believe it, but I don´t know if I should or not. I think we should take care, but I really doubt people are dying all over in my neighborhood. I think people are just spooked. All the same, we´ll be careful and use alcoholic hand rub.

B is coming along well, she´s very excited for her baptism (which has been delayed due to the sickness and cancelled church meetings).

We´ve also started teaching a mother and son (both of them grown up). Vr and Va. The other night we taught Va about the restoration of the Gospel, and it was really cool because I asked her a question about how she felt, and she explained that she could already tell that we are different. She felt peace inside, and she wasn´t doubting of our words. That was a cool thing to hear directly from the mouth of an investigator.
We’re doing well in the office, trying to stay on top of things. Elders are constantly ordering supplies, and I think that this is the most on-top of supplies that we have ever been. Really, Elder Jensen and I make an awesome team

Until next week,
I love you all!
Press on!

Time for a cool thing!

Whoever out there is praying for me, thank you. It´s working. We´ve really been having a hard time getting the area to pick up. We came in in a white-wash, we have little time to work, and it´s really hard for me to be able to split my attention between the office work and the area business. But that´s not really an excuse.

Last transfer was teaching boot-camp for me. I began to realize that I really needed to be a good teacher, not just be able to say stuff about religion, so I started to practice and really examine, gladly I can say that my teaching has really become teaching, and I find it very enjoyable.

The same thing with contacts. I never enjoyed doing them, president gave me a confident, loving kick-butt. I´ve started to do them now, and the experience has completely changed for me. I took away my previous mental limitations with respect to the manner of addressing a subject, and everything is so much more fun!

For example, the other day on the train, I noticed that a guy was looking at me, so I walked over to him, extended my hand and asked his name. He didn´t take my hand, rather, he asked with a suspicious tone why I wanted to know his name. I told him that I saw him watching me, and I wanted to get to know him, and I told him my name. After that he warmed up, took my hand, and we had a pretty trusting conversation.

Miracles like these I am seeing work within me, and I´m amazed.

We were also blessed to find a wonderful family with a father and mother and kids on Sunday, they seem quite prepared to recieve the gospel, and I am excited for it.

Any prayers will help!

Thank you! I love you all! Until the next….
Elder Randle

Pictures of Elder M’s birthday

Inside Hno N’s Mack Truck (it´s really a mack! Lacking an engine right now).

 

My jersy for the football tournament. Charlotte should appreciate it.

 

This is the breakfast that my companion woke me up with for my birthday. What a great companion!

 

This was on my desk when I woke up! (I wrote it and put it on my desk before going to bed) [Mom's note: this is a family tradition.]

 

This is hna Perez (a sister from my last ward who is going to serve a mini-mission soon!) She made me this cake for my birthday!

 

This is my zone, our last district meeting of the transfer, and they threw me a little b-day party. how cool!

 

These last two are the banner that the fitches made for me on my birthday. The eyes and nose are there to represent my smiling face.

What you don’t want to see on your kid when he’s a day’s flight and a hemisphere away:

And then a nice picture.  Behind their Pench.  The train is electric, so they never hear it.