We went to the Alfajore (cookie) factory!

They have a disco room at the factory. Haha

Well, first off, I have a new companion! Elder Cruz is from Peru. He is very quiet, and very laid back. However, he likes to work really hard, which is good. We are getting along really well.

This week was super busy, and we walked a ton! When we were out in the field, there was a group of bulls.....and they charged at us. Luckily they didn`t jump the little wire fence, haha but it was super funny. We took off running!

This week there was a ward baptism, and we were in charge of filling the font....unfortunately, the water stopped running in the whole church, and there was only one foot of water.....luckily the little kid was really skinny.....so they baptized him anyways. Haha.

Our investigators are doing really well, and it looks we might have a baptism coming up. So keep them in your prayers.

I am not sure if I told you guys or not, but a few weeks ago my companion and I gave a blessing to a woman with cancer, and we both got the impression that she didn`t have much time left on earth....we passed by her house so my companion could say goodbye before he got transferred, and we got the impression again that she didn`t have much time left.....we even almost considered giving her a blessing, so she would go in peace. I started praying, and I just prayed that if it was her time, she would go in peace.....she passed away the next day......I find courage and testify that the Plan of Salvation is real! Each of us have a purpose, and Heavenly Father knows when it is our time to go.

I hardly have any time to write today, because we went to the alfajore factory, but just know that I am happy, and that I am working hard!

Love you all,

Elder Vanderlinden

The tree to the side of Obilia's house looks like the tree of life.

This is Obilia. Super cute!

¡Hola Amigos!

Changes!! I can`t believe how fast these last six weeks have passed by. I have learned a lot from my companion, and I will be sad to see him go. I am going to be staying here in Las Piedras for the next change. My new companion's name is Elder Cruz. He is from Peru. It seems like they are giving me a companion from every country in South America. Haha. I don`t know him at all, but I am excited to meet him.

The past few days we had stake conference, which went super well. The messages were extremely good, and I learned a lot. Lately, I am learning a lot about patience. Patience with the work, with my companions, and with myself. It is helping me a lot. I am doing great, and I am loving the work.

Our investigators are progressing, slowly, but they are getting there. This last week we knocked a lot of doors, and we actually found a decent amount of futures. I am excited for the future, and to work with a new companion.

My companion and I have been running around to all of the members and investigators so that he can tell them goodbye, and it has honestly been tons of fun. Before he left, he wanted to share his testimony with all of them, and he was able to speak to them very sincerely and directly because he is leaving. Other than that, President Cook is leaving this week, and we are getting a new mission President. President Cook has taught me a ton, and I always be grateful for what I have learned from him and his wife. 

I have heard that my new comp is very interesting......so this next week I should have some....very interesting stories.....Haha, Like I said. The Lord is teaching me to be patient. 

I hope that you all have a great week!

-Elder Vanderlinden

Quote of the week "Its never too late to be what you might have been" -George Eliot.

Making a ton of popcorn! 

Family night!

Asi es,

This week flew by. My companion and I worked really hard this week to visit our futures and investigators as much as we could to get them to come to the church on Sunday. It payed off, because yesterday in church we had 9 investigators, which was amazing! We left the house early in the morning to help Alejandro walk to the church. (The blind investigator). He loved the church, and he asked us how long it takes to get baptized....so that is a good sign. However, like the other 7 of our investigators, he needs to get married first. Haha. If I had the power to marry people...I would be pretty happy.

This week we visited a super old woman named Obilia. She can`t really hear that well, and she can`t see super good. She told us that a while back, she was losing her sight because of cataracts, and she asked in a prayer that God would allow her to keep her sight so she could read church material….well, she can read, but she can only read books from the church. If it is another book, she can`t see or read the words. How cool is that?

Anyways, this next week we are going to try to put some marriage plans together for our investigators, so we will see how that goes. Have a great week everyone!

-Elder Vanderlinden

Quote of the week: "No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist.” 

Me and my companion

Reunited with my trainer Elder Fonseca

Que hace wachin,

I hope that everyone is having a great week! The work in Uruguay is coming along! My companion and I had some very cool experiences this week, so I want to quickly share them with you.

The first one, is that there is a 8 year old boy in our ward who needs to receive the lessons so that he can be baptized. His mother has been telling us to come and teach him for a while, but we hadn´t made any time to pass by. On Friday, we were walking in the area, and we decided to pass by and start giving him the lessons. We walked up to the door, and his Mother walked out and was shocked to see us. She started laughing, and was saying things like "Wow, I can´t believe it!" We asked her if we could teach her son. She was extremely excited and invited us in. Then she told us... “Today my son and I said a prayer, and we prayed that the Elders would pass by today, to prepare him to be baptized.” That goes to show that our Heavenly Father listens to every single prayer. Every single one!

My second experience is that yesterday, we went to visit a less active who has cancer. We talked with her for awhile to see how she was doing. She was in really rough condition, and she was shaking pretty bad. She asked us if we could give her a blessing of health. My companion was preforming the ordinance, and in a way...he was kinda going through the normal motions....but then he paused during the blessing. He paused for a decent amount of time...I was a little worried what he was going to say next. Then he gave a super comforting blessing to the Sister. He spoke with power and authority, and used words and phrases that I had a hard time understanding. He talked about some incredible things, that I don´t even know how to begin to explain. I got the impression that this Sister doesn´t have very much time left on earth, but she will be taken care of. When we left the house and started talking, my companion didn´t remember what he said in the blessing. I was pretty amazed. I learned how important it is to pause, reflect, and let the spirit guide.

Our area is doing good! We have 6 investigators that want to be baptized, but none of them can be baptized because of marriage paper issues. Soooo...we are still in the hunt, but we are having fun.

I hope that everyone has a good week!

Les Amo

-Elder Vanderlinden

Quote of the week: "The best teachers are the ones who show you were to look, but don´t tell you what to see.”   

- Alexander K Trenfor