First transfer in the Argentina!

Today we had transfers, and now instead of being in central Salta in the nice touristy part, I am living in a small pueblo north called Pichanal y a Mi me encata(and I love it)!! As I look around I am the only white person! I just arrived this morning and I really don’t know a lot so far about the town but I am excited to get to know it better!! :) I am now with an Elder Arcos De Buenos Aires, and he is great so far!! We live in an apartment that is about the size of our living room!! and my companion was saying that the temperature gets to about 40 degrees celsius or more thats like around 1104 degrees.

I am very excited to work hard and to get to know the area!! We will go out and visit some families tonight so I will have to let you know how everything is, and how it compares!! It really is just fun!! the food is great and the country is beautiful!

To my family I love you and I am glad you had such an amazing Thanksgiving, and I am stoked to talk to you guys in a few of days!! :) I am about out of time now but I will update you more next week!!

Ustedes son De Diez!! (You are of Ten)

Elder Sandberg

Short Message!

So this week was kinda interesting to start it off we had two baptisms!! Natalia and Jesús! It was awesome!! We saw a miracle with Jesús we went to fill up the baptismal font and it is super slow, in an hour it was about up to the knee of my companion and the baptism was to start then. So we said a prayer that everything would run smoothly and we left and started to meeting and the first part takes about 15 min. After 15 min we returned and all of the sudden it was up to our waist and there is no possible way that could have happened but the Lord was watching out for his son Jesús!

Sorry I don't have more time this week but that was the highlight!! :)

Family and Friends

I am so glad to hear you are all doing well!! Know that I am also doing well here!! We are about to go and buy our cereal for the week, that’s what I live on now days, milk cereal and bananas! Life really is great! I am learning how to devote all my time thought and energy to the Lord little by little!! 

There is a quote I love "There are three types of people in this world, those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who say, “What just happened?”!!

For Danielle and Micheala who are about to leave for the mission my only advice is this, enjoy every moment, do your best and trust the Lord to carry you the rest of the way! You will absolutely love it! It really is amazing!

My companero and I are excited for 2 more baptisms this week, they are really great Natalia and Jesus. They are both so prepared and super excited for their baptisms!!

I just have one more thing to say in "the book of mormon will tell you all things which ye should do" 

Love you all,

Mom, Dad, Kaden, Brennen, you guys are the best!! 

Please send banana bread instructions and also the rules for dippy dippy dip! 

Until next week!! :)

Elder Sandberg

First Baptism!

Thank you for all of your love and support!! Truly, I can feel your prayers as I walk through the streets and as we try to find and teach people! I am so blessed and I thank my God often, because of the many mercies I see every day!! I am so glad you are all so involved in so many good things It brings me joy to hear this!! I know It sounds cheesy but really you are all so special!! You are all so strong and such good examples to me!

This week was really good, and really hard, and difficult at the same time. But this week has taught me a lot! So let me tell you some of the things I learned that helped me personally:

1. You have the ability to change your attitude immediately you can choose to be happy excited, to have energy, and even to try your best in any moment! You just simply say ok I'm ready and Im going to give it my all!

2.You can get along with anybody. All you have to do is look for the good cause you can truly learn something from everyone. If they refuse to get along with you just look at them as God would, compliment them, serve them!

3. Really the harder you work, and the more sacrifices you make, for the people the more the Lord sees this and the more blessings you will see.

4. Be grateful there are always blessings :)!

5. 3 Nephi 13:33

On the bright side of this week we got to see the baptism of Nancy!!! She is awesome and she Is truly setting an example for her family! Also Jesus her 8 year old son  is a kappo (stud) he wants to be baptized as well!

I want to end with my testimony, that I know with out a doubt that this church is true, I know that Jose Smith was a prophet and that Thomas S. Monson is our living Prophet, I am so grateful for the mission and everything that came with it. I love the scriptures and I know that they were written by inspired men of God, I have a special testimony of prayer and a testimony of the power of the Atonement!

I hope you all have a wonderful week, until next week 

Elder Sandberg

Update 11/3/14

¿Como Esta?

Thanks for all of the great encouragement that you give!! I really do know that the mission field is all about serving the people. The thing I am learning more and more is the fact that, in the mission the key to success and being an amazing missionary, is having the desire to do the work and be a great missionary.  You also need to have the vision of what you and your area could be and also what your investigators could be. More important than that, is ENJOYING the mission because when you enjoy the mission you have the desire to serve and also you have the vision and you have a desire to expand that vision and to push yourself. I really believe this is the key to a lot of things in life. Messi one of the greatest soccer players in the history of soccer once said "The moment I stop loving soccer I will stop playing".

With that being said I am working on enjoying the mission!! It is something that I pray for often along with the ability to love my companion and the people! I have an awesome companion and he has taught me so much. We don’t always see eye to eye on matters, but never the less he has taught me a lot and he is a good companion,

Sometimes I feel like I don't know the area and I have not memorized all the people and names. But I know that I trust in the Lord and I know that if the Lord can perform miracles he can help me feel the animos (excitement) and also the deseos (desire) and also help me preform all I need to do!!

I am learning to rely on the Lord and I have a special testimony of prayer, and also the scriptures!! and I know that the Lord will help me in his own time!!

Sometimes I feel its hard, but I know who I am! I want to be a missionary with great energy to inspire the people around me and be strong in all situations. This is one of the things I fasted for and I know if I have the faith it can happen. My patriarchal blessing talks about helping those around me and lifting them up. I can do that with animo!

Anyways I love you all so much and I am so happy Mom that your birthday was amazing I love you all so much, let me know for next week what you would like to know!! And also don’t send the package it will make it here but it will be very expensive

Love you all. Have a wonderful week.

Elder Sandberg

Hola! 10/28/14

¿Como esta mi familia? (How is my family?)¡Estoy muy agradecido por la cosas bien en la casa! (I am so glad things are going well at home!) También te doy gracias para este oportunidad de servicio para el Señor.(I am also grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord.) El es nuestros mejor amigo y el siempre quiere dar nosotros bendiciones! (He is our best friend and always wants to give us blessings.) Su propósito is para ayúdanos ser mejor y disfrutar ese vida!! (His purpose is to help us be better and enjoy this life.)

Haha sorry mom about the horrible spelling.  I always have to write really fast!! But yeah I am really trying to pray and get lost in the work! And It has been working! 

Tell Nick (Foster) he is awesome I hope he recovers soon and I am glad to hear a little from him!! We really have some great investigators Nancy is doing awesome. She is going to be baptized on the 8th of Noviembre (November)!  She also has a little son named Jesus who is 8 years old and wants to be baptized as well!! On top of that we have a lady named Natalia who is amazing and truly has a desire to know the misterios (mysteries) of God! she is going to be baptized on the 6th and Jesus on the 8th   They are so awesome and we love teaching them!

The area is awesome! Its starting to become summer over here and is getting hotter!! Today my companion and I hiked up this trail and that was fun so we will get some pictures of that!!

I will be thinking about you mom on your birthday!! You are the best and I love you soo much!! 

Danielle (LeFevre) I am so happy and Excited for you and your choice to serve, it will be one of the greatest blessing in your life, my advice to you in this moment is read and study the words of the scriptures and the prophets just set an hour aside each day like in the morning from 7-8 or in the night and just study read ponder pray and keep a study journal. Also when you get out on the mission stay firm to who you are, don't rationalize with the rules and doing what’s best. Always be true to who you are and remember that there will be hard days but remember you can do it.  Focus on the people, and pray for love for them always!! When you bare this with patience the Lord will bless you with success!! :)

Thank you my family. I love you with all my heart!!  Danielle you are amazing I look up to you!! 

Until next week 

Elder Sandberg

To my Family and Friends

¡Hola mi familia y mi amigos! (Hello my family and my friends) ¿Como estan?(How are you?) ¿Cual es nuevo en sus vidas? (What is new in your lives?) 

        Typical Street I walk in my area in the city of Salta.

Wow there is so much I could tell you!!! I will start with our investigators. First we have Nanci who is an amiga (friend) of  the Familia Florez!! (the familia Florez are converts as of 4 months ago and they are amazing! They prayed about the book of mormon and got an answer and their whole family was changed forever!! The parents used to drink a lot and the father wasn’t very good but they completely changed and now their whole family is stellar! The father and mother are kind and full of life and caring!!) Anyway Nanci is awesome she is about 38 and is hungry for the gospel and change in her life. She is friends with Dina Florez (the mother and they are about the same age) and yesterday we bore our testimony of José Smith challenged  her to read the introduction of the book of mormon and pray about it!!  We are so excited for her! She saw the change in the live of the Familia Florez and wants the same for her family!

Next we have Gonzolo Gonzalez who had all of the leciones (lessons) except one, la lay de castidad (the law of chastity), and so we taught him and he want to get baptized!! He is actually a referral and he is just out of our area so we are setting him up to be baptized with the missionaries in his area!! He is stellar and has such a great spirit!! He is 20 years old!!

Also we have a investigator named Brenda who is 28 and is awesome she just needs to have a spark in the gospel and then she can build her testimony from there!!

This week was kinda weird my companion was sick for a day so I made the best of the day and cooked some Mate ( a popular drink here in Argentina I like it but its basically boiled grass clippings) and I did a study of Doctrine and Covenants and I got in 2 work out sessions and cooked some brownies for my companion!

Anyway, You guys are awesome I would love to hear whats up and whats going on In your lives I hope you have the best week 

Until next time!!

Elder Sandberg!!

(This is an additional letter sent to Brennen. He is Nico's youngest brother.)

Brennen,

I want you to know that I love you and I am so glad that you are having a wonderful time at school!!! :) I miss YOU so much and I want you to know I talk about you I tell people how cool my brother is and how smart and thoughtfull he is!!

I'll tell you Brennen there is a lot of darkness here in Argentina. A lot of the people here don't live very happy lives because they don't have the gospel in there lives and they are lost and confused!! But with the scriptures and the help of family we can have that light in our lives.

Think about how much your mommy daddy and kaden have helped you!! They love you so much!! I want you to know that I am doing well and trying to do what God wants me to do because God knows us so well. He knows us the best!! :) I hope you have a wonderful week Brennen and if you have any questions about here and what it is like just ask me!! :)

I love you Brennen so much, you are so amazing and special!! and a good example to me!! :)

Love your brother forever Elder Sandberg