He's Home!

I could probably write a novel on the day Lawrence came home, but I think pictures are much more interesting than anything I could say. I'll just leave it by saying it's incredible to have him home again.

I've enjoyed keeping this blog up since before Lawrence left, and I hope anyone who's read it has enjoyed following Lawrence on his journey through sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of Argentina. I am going to leave the blog to Lawrence now, and he will decide what to do with it. Thanks so much for reading!

The last e-mail sent from San Juan, Argentina!

Yep, the very last email! The next post in Lawrence's words will be a blog post straight from him! This was received on 2/8.

Dear Family,



Thank you all so much for your love, letters, prayers, pictures, packages, support, care, for everything you've done to make this such a wonderful mission, and for everything you've done to make this missionary feel wonderful!!!!!! I really can't thank you enough for how faithful you've all been in writing me and telling me about how your lives are doing. Every so often I hear from other missionaries how their family hasn't written for a long time and then I think about how wonderful my family has been that I've never really opened an empty e-mail inbox. It's because I have the best family in the world :) !



This is indeed the fateful last e-mail I'll be sending from Argentina so I had better make it a good one. I was thinking about sending pictures but then I realized that ya'll will be able to look through my entire collection of pictures pretty soon. This way I'll have more time to write as well. I hope all of you have been reading each other's e-mails to me as well. It's so great to see everyone's personality as they write. I can see you talking to me as I read your e-mails. I loved especially this week when Dad told me about his spreadsheet that he made to calculate how much time I have left on the mission. I know I would have done something like that if I was waiting for someone else's mission. There's just something about spreadsheets that make numbers so much more vivid. Lisa's pictures have always been wonderful and have helped me to feel so much closer to ya'll. Julie's always had great funny stories and adventures to tell about everything from tons of snow to being a Word Processor. Jennifer has helped me to remember High School and what's going on in California. Mom has been so good that she basically never missed a week writing her e-mails! She's shared her strong testimony of this work and has build such a great connection now that we have this wonderful country, Argentina, to share. I know we'll be talking for hours about all of the funny experiences we share and how Argentina has made such an impact on our lives. There's no place like it anywhere else in the world. I'm going to miss everyone and everything here but God always puts us where He wants us to be. He has wanted me to be in Argentina but soon He will want me to be back with all of you.



Through every experience I've had here I've just gained a stronger testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living church on the face of the Earth. There has been no religion, thought, or organization comparable to the very hand of God which has guided this church. No evil man could have written the Book of Mormon and no good man would have. Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restauration and no man can honestly deny the power that he had and has. A single man could not have accomplished what he accomplished without the very help of God, our Heavenly Father. The Holy Ghost testifies of the truth and divinity of the Book of Mormon to all who are willing to listen and make the sacrifice it implies. All who are willing to truly search will learn of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon but those who seek to find fault in the book must fight against the very power of God. For trusting in the flesh of their own arm they will not be able to destroy the Church of Jesus Christ but will only destroy themselves against it.



I, as well as many other members of this church, have paid a high price to gain and strengthen a testimony of Jesus Christ and His teachings. Would the price have been any higher, I would have paid it just the same. There has been no more fruitful period of my life than these past two years. No school, no job, no training, and no experience could have produced even a fraction of the change that this mission has caused in me. I can say with all the power of my heart and spirit that I know that Jesus Christ lives. He is the Savior and the Messiah prophesied by the Old Testament. He speaks to His prophets. He speaks to President Thomas S. Monson, his counselors, and all twelve of the Apostles. Jesus Christ formed one church and that church has been restored to the Earth. I would rather lose my life than my testimony of Jesus Christ because I would not truly lose my life but gain life eternal with every one of you in the highest realm of the Celestial Kingdom, in the presense of God Himself. I hope every one of you have a testimony of Jesus Christ but I know you do. I have felt it in your e-mails, letters, and packages. I love every one of you and though I will miss Argentina I look forward to seeing you. Give me these few more days which God has seen prudent to give me and then I'll return.



Have an excellent week!!! See you soon!!! I love you!!! Bye!!!



Love,

Elder Lawrence Williams, Jr.


P.S. I might be able to check-in on a cyber next Monday for a few minutes so send any requests of something you can only buy in Argentina. The scriptures say "Ask and ye shall receive" :) .

Special Day

Today is February 13, 2010. Exactly two years ago, we dropped off our missionary. A son to some, a brother to others, and an uncle to my little boy, who was barely 1 at the time, we knew we would miss him a great deal, and we thought two years would crawl by. Here we are two years later, and we only have a few more days to go. We are making plans, and can barely contain our excitement that soon our whole family will be together again. I can't believe we've finally made it! Here is the last handwritten letter we got from Lawrence. My mom transcribed it so it'd be easier to read. Look forward in a few days to pictures and a review of the 17th!
Dear Family,
Thank you all so much for your letters, love, e-mails, prayers, packages, pictures, and support!!! This is probably the last time I'll send a hand-written to ya'll so I should make it a good one. There's even a slight chance that I arrive before this letter does. Everyone says that a two year mission flies by and I have to agree with them. I never thought I would be this close to the fateful day of February 17th 2010. In about a week or two I will be giving the infamous "farewell testimony" that the old missionaries have to give in their last Zone Conference. I still remember when I was giving the "welcoming testimony" as a young missionary. I can't imagine what I would give to go back to that moment knowing what I know now. Young missionaries see their missionary call as "24 months, no fewer" but older missionaries see "24 months, no more."
I understand the Lord has plans for my future. If the future wasn't going to be better, I imagine He wouldn't have sent me to Mendoza, Argentina. There are many good things I could have done with 24 months but there is nothing like the best thing I could have done which is serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Here in Rivadavia has been a culmination of what I've learned so far. As any missionary at any time, we must learn to use everything we've learned up until this point in our life, from the day of birth until now, in order to bring souls unto Christ. There may be many missionaries from many faiths all trying to bring people to Christ but we can "open the doors of the celestial kingdom to the sons and daughters of God. No one else can do this" as Elder Oaks said on page 9 of Preach My Gospel. We work the way we do because this is the true labor of Christ. No one is paying us to be here and no one is forcing us to be here. The blessings, though, for being here, are incredible.
In every area I've seen miracles that seem to be "once in a lifetime." Ricardo and Maria had waited years for a divorce and when they had finally received it and got married they had lost contact with the church. In that time we happened to contact Maria working at some else's house at a time when she would have been inside all day. Right when she had the feeling she should sweep outside, a missionary appraoched her with his broken Spanish and that's how I met her. Sure enough, and after great sacrifice on their part, they were baptized. Ricardo once worked 24 hours driving an ambulance, ending 2 hours before church started, yet still arriving for sacrament meeting and the following two hours of classes. That's an example of sacrifice.
Oscar, in San Ignacio, had been learning about the church for decades but in the first few weeks after the transfer decided to be baptized. He had read "Jesus the Christ" cover-to-cover which very, very few investigators ever do. He knew a great deal about the church but for some reason, in spite of his testimony, he waited many years for his baptism, but he was indeed baptized. I imagine those first missionaries decades ago might have thought their seed had died. I've learned that the Lord has a different time table than man and preserves those seeds for when they are finally ready to grow, whether it be today, tomorrow, or after this life.
Luis Espinosa taught me another example of patience. We found him because he had put a sign on his door that says, "We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." He wasn't a member but while waiting for divorce papers he knew the blessed day of baptism would one day come. Sure enought that day came. Luis had the honor of being baptized by his son who has served a mission and been sealed eternally to his wife in the temple. It was hard not to see how touched Luis was. He wanted so bad the blessings that many members practically receive at birth. We can reach our goals, even when they take years to achieve, and our work is worth it.
Nancy had a life that would emotionally destroy just about anyone. She had to pass through trials o fire that no one deserves but as much as that fire might have burned, it cleansed her. She was ready for a great change in her life. I've never heard again what she told us, "Ill be baptized whenever you want me to be." She could have hardened after all of her trials but instead she had her heart softened to the only Gospel that would heal the damage that had been done. She applied Ether 12:6 before even knowing it existed. Her faith will take her to unknown glory.
Yessica and Marisol lived in such humble conditions that even the poorer members in our ward often told us how sorry they felt for the Villegas family. Even in these circumstances they fought to earn their living and provide for the family. I'll probably never have the experience of fighting the family turkey in order to provide food for the family. While us city folk had little to no success, Yessica artfully went in and grabbed the bugger by the legs. It shows that anyone can survive any economy if they work at it. Walking kilometers to church, Yessica and Marisol made it to church and were baptized, following the example of Yessica's Mom and Marisol's aunt, Luisa. I bet they'd have some good stories to share with the pioneers.
Here in Rivadavia, after making incredible changes, members of the Lopez and Espejo families have been able to enter the waters of baptism. Many of the converts in Rivadavia have had such a change of heart that their old friends barely recognize them. If God can part the Red Sea, rain fire from heaven, raise the dead, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and mobility to the lame, I want you to know He can give humility to the proudest person. Moving a mountain seems easier than moving the will of the proud but God can do it and has done it. Even the deepest addiction can be the weak thing made strong. The Lopez and Espejo families have stepped out of the sorrows of the world and into the light. The next time proud man thinks he's strong, he should shine the brightest light he has at the sun to see what happens and to compare.
I can't imagine what I could possibly have done for 24 months that would even compare to this experience. This is a preparation for life that I wish lasted longer but preparation is worthless if not applied. The time is soon to come when I'll have to use everything I've learned from birth until now to live a better life while helping others to do the same.
This is the only church of Jesus Christ with His prophet and The Truth. I have done His will and I know this doctrine is of God. I love you all and I have you in my prayers.
Love,
Elder Williams

Giving the pavement the beating of its life

Dear Family,

Thank you all so much for your letters, love, pictures, prayers, and support!!! I love hearing about all that's going on in all of your lives and I hope to keep up the same e-mailing tradition after the mission. I feel like you've all been here every step of the way, sharing the same experiences I've been having and letting me in to your experiences. I was thinking the other day that when I see you all in the airport it's going to feel like we haven't been that far away for very long. When I think it's been about two years I just don't believe it. It's hard to understand how fast two years go by until they're gone. I haven't been thinking of the end of my mission under my own free-will really. When we get together with other missionaries, like today, everyone asks "so how does it feel to be almost home?" or "isn't it crazy that in two weeks you'll be home?" I've also been refered to as the "oldy," the "nearly-dead," and the "already-home." While we were waiting in line at the supermarket a random man was trying to walk by and politely asked to be excused as he passed by, saying "permiso, viejo" which means "Excuse me, old man." Supposedly that's not entirely uncommon in Argentina but it was still kind of funny as everyone looked at me and basically said, "you are an old man." As Monty Python and the Holy Grail would say, "Well I can't just call you 'man.'" It's been funny...but it will be even funnier when I beat the living daylights out of the next person who calls me old...just kidding :) ...but seriously >:) . In better news, we've been finding some good new people lately. We met a lady named Silvana who is the sister of Maira who are both the daughters of Susana. We met Susana in the street and then went to her house and gave her grandson a blessing. Maira ran into the Sister Missionaries in the street and then the Sisters told us to go by and we ran into Silvana who is the mom of the child who received the blessing! All of this was coincidence interestingly enough. We had no idea they were all in the same family, under the same roof, until we arrived and started teaching them. Then it all became apparent and we were convinced that we had to be in that house. The baby we'd given the blessing to about a month ago is now looking happy and healthy which is just another testimony of the power of the priesthood. I'm happy to have known the family. For P-day we played Ultimate Frisbe in the park and had half of our fun getting the frisbe out of the trees. We all had a good time :) . From there we went to the Libertad Hipermercado (instead of a supermarket it's a hypermarket, like really, really big) for lunch and bumper-cars and there we ran into a bunch of Elder from the other zone in San Juan. Elder Rios and Elder Wetzel were there too. It was good to see them and talk to Elder Wetzel who is a big Jeep enthusiast :) . You can probably tell what I talked to him about. Well, I'm already out of time but I'm looking forward to your e-mails next week, the last time I'll be able to check them. Just remember that on February 13th this e-mail might suddenly drop-off from existance so be prepared. I love you all!!! Bye!!!

Love,

Elder Williams