July 22, 2013

Dear family,

I miss you all too, it's crazy what's going on since I left. I know I say this every week, but the girls always looked like they had grown up way too much since I left, and now that I've seen that pic of them next to mom, I know that it is flippin absurd how much they've grown. That is just not possible. And robert is home already? That can't be right. One of the missionaries I'm living with right now acts a lot like him. It's been a fun time. This house is seriously the best. I'll have to send a picture, so you guys can see what it looks like to live with two college football players.

There was a miracle baptism this week, the other companionship that lives with us baptized her, but I found her a while back before they got here. It was really a testimony builder because I got to do her baptismal interview and hear the full story of what happened after I taught her a lesson and gave her a booklet in the street. She went home, read it, prayed, and said, I want to be a member of this church. The next time I saw her was in church, she had showed up without me even inviting her in the initial contact. The spirit touched her very strongly, and she went and found her mormon neighbor, a priest in the ward, and made him take her to church. Really crazy to think of, because what would have happened if we just hadn't talked to her? It was a single girl walking down a dangerous dark street at almost nine o clock at night. But she is an amazing convert and will be a strong member. Moral of the story is share the gospel, friends.

I've been feeling good lately, but confession, I've been having elbow problems lately, so I'm going to talk to the mission nurse today. So...I don't know if you guys could send me my brace? 

I've been thinking a lot about the purpose of missionary work lately, and had one of those cool spiritual moments where a gospel principle just cements itself in your mind all of the sudden. I'm not here to baptize every person I see. I'm here to find the people who will keep the commitments and get baptized. That one little realization has helped with my sense of urgency and to not get discouraged a ton. So I'm super excited to go find them this week. The mission is baptizing a ridiculous amount lately, so I'm ready to reap some of these blessings that the Lord has. 

It is dang cold today.

Love you all, you're the best family I could ask for!

Elder Pyper

July 15, 2013

Dear fam,

I am well this week. It's been a hard one, it rained a good part of the week, and now that one of the missionaries that moved into our house has a thermometer, we found out how cold our house is in the morning. 40 degrees fahrenheit. It is awful. The sleeping bag is literally saving my life, haha. So it's just been a cold miserable wet week. But la fe no se pierde. It's a crazy world I live in. 

I cannot believe all this nonsense thats going on out there. What's happening in our family is just as nuts as in the outside world. One of my investigators the other day was trying to show me some pictures of his baby boy, and he asked me for help with the computer, cause he didn't know. I confidently told him I knew how to run a computer, and proceeded to encounter some kind of funky operating system that I had no clue what it was. I was defeated. But that's not all. I don't remember if I already asked about this, but Hostess is out of business? what the heck? Who is going to make cupcakes?

This week we saw a lot of effort and little results. I think what happened is that we directed our effort too much at staying happy in freezing rain, and not enough at trying to find people in freezing rain. So I'm working on it. Two wonderful investigators that we have are not coming to church still, and yet again, I find myself facing a seemingly impossible baptismal goal. "It'd take a miracle." But we are seeking one, and we hope to deserve one at the end of this week.

I am honestly learning way more from the guys in my district than they are from me. The only thing I know how to do in Uruguay is butcher your hair and get really fat. But they are excelent missionaries who have helped me to grow a lot already.

Anyway, I love you guys, I am excited to see all of you on some undisclosed date in the future!!

Love, 

Elder Pyper

P.S.  Here is kind of a sad picture:

Andy and Pres. and Sis. Armstrong, they are being reassigned because she has some hip problems and can't do all the travel required as a mission president's wife.  So this is a farewell pic.

July 8, 2013

Dear family,

Ok, I just wrote for like twenty minutes, and then this dang keyboard deleted my email. So I'll sum it up. 1) We worked better then ever last week. The Lord gave us a lot of miracles. 2)Being a district leader is way awesome. I'm kind of power hungry. 3)I am super jealous of piranha fishing. Moving on... There is a new missionary who is living in my house who is teaching me a ton. The small and simple things are truly made strong with humility. This kid works miracles, and his spanish is barely comprehensible. Big testimony builder for me. I did an intercambio with him, and his absolute fearlessness impressed me so much. He is awesome. Rachel is marrying him. I am way happy about the roscoe the donkey picture. That was too good. Everybody in the whole zone thinks dad is so funny after I translated donkeys in the mist for them. And what the heck? The whole pyper clan and andrews people got so big!  Anyway, I'll write more next week. Expect great things.  Love, Andy

July 1, 2013

Dear family,

First of all, I totally know Alex Reed, and I can´t believe he got baptized! That's awesome!  That was a bit of news I was not expecting at all. Missionary work is so crazy. It's getting pretty hasty over here too. So here's the change news, me and Elder Ve'e are staying together for a third change. Almost unheard of. But I'm totally fine with that, we're like best friends now. And I have a lot to do here in this area still. And get this! They made me a district leader! I don't know what these people are thinking, but there goes all the free time I ever had. But luckily I'm still in the most dangerous zone in montevideo, so no sister missionaries in my district, haha. Just kidding, kind of. But seriously, I can't believe the miracles that happen in missionary work. It's been exciting.

Haha the music is awesome. Obviously we don't listen to the muse, but the CD of Pyper Clavinova Hits is very entertaining. 

The thoughts are just that I hope I can keep up with the pace the Lord is setting in this work. IT'S going too fast. We had a miracle girl randomly show up at church this week, and we're gonna go baptize her probably. Or not because they divided the area again. Back to still really big Aeroparque B. I love and appreciate all the support, I know this gospel is true and I'm never coming home!

Love

Elder Pyper