Jujuy Providence

Boom, I've been moved! Left this morning at 8:15, got here at 10:30...

I am so excited to be in an àrea again. The apartment is 1/3 the size of that where i was living in Salta, but I the bathroom is very clean. it feels like Grandma and Grandpa Gibbs house a little bit. I don't know why...

Keep our ward members in your prayers please. We are going to explode this area but we need a net to catch them all... especially our bishop. New as of 5 weeks. Maybe a prayer so that Elder Brazzell and I can find ways to serve him and his family.

Elder Brazzell is from Logan, Ut. I received him 2 transfers ago as a newbie. He's a stud. I really am stoked to be with him.

Being in the offices taught me a lot but i lost my patience i learned in Tucumàn and the humility i learned with Elder Vera. Keep me in your prayers from this too. I love you all. VERY VERY VERY MUCH!

Élder Hampton | Misión Argentina Salta

Socks & Tazers

Hello Parents!

I got both my birthday package and my socks package this week! It was awesome to feel like I was right at home reading your "I like --" from all the family. Thank you for making me feel at home :)

I also have to say the dog tazer works like a champ! We always have this HUGE dog at the house of one of our investgators and Elder Mann always gets suprised (I don't know how? It always tries to eat us through the fence...) Well, this last night we went by to test out the device.

We walked up, clapped our hands as usual, and Fausto the member who was teaching with us leaned against the fence. Not a good idea... The dog came bolting our of its house and I nonchalantly took out the tazer and just in time pushed the button and you would have thought the dog got shot. It hit a wall. Litterally stoped dead in it's tracks and bolted in the opposite direction. Fausto was so intregued by the device. He didn't understand how it worked and was so suprised. We then spent the rest of the night teaching and scaring sleeping dogs in the street. Thank you very much!

I will try to take a video and send it next week.

Also my socks are the best gift I have gotten since being on a mission. I really love them thank you.

Have a great week Mom and Dad.

Élder Hampton|Secretario

We receive references every day as a mission from all the missionaries passing them to me so I can pass them to the right mission or the right area.

This was a reference I got this last week.

Love casting out bad spirits!

Savannah

Savannah,

You make me so proud. I love reading your stories and hear of your experiences. I makes me happy to hear that you are so aware of the needs of others. You, I and every single one of us remember what it was like to be a 6th grader. It wasn't that much fun and if a 6th grader doesn't have many friends it makes it even worse. Savannah, the Lord is always trusting US as members of the church to help and watch over his children. You being a example to your new friend and being and being so nice to her is like saying to Heavenly Father "It's alright, I got this one, you don't need to worry about her. I'll take care of her! Don't You Worry, Heavenly Father. You can count on me to be her companion!" Savannah, people like her are nothing less than a child of God who has the potential to become a Heavenly Mother someday. Did you know that, Savannah? That exaltation means becoming like our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother, even Heavenly Fathers and Heavenly Mothers like them? When I have a hard time teaching people (because I don't want to listen to them or they don't want to listen to me) I try to think of them as if they accepted the gospel, were faithful all throughout their life, and had made it to become like their Heavenly Father. It changes our patience level with people. It makes us stop and think just a little bit longer about WHO we are talking to.

I love to hear that you are helping her. That makes me so proud of you.

Maybe you should think about inviting her to one of the next Young Women activities... Can you imagine if she met all of the awesome young women and then felt like she really had a group that loved her and where she was welcome? Don't be afraid to invite her. If you don't know what to say, ask the missionaries to help you. The next time the missionaries are over, ask them if they can help you practice inviting her to an activity... It might help.

Savannah, I love you very much. I am so excited for your birthday in 2 days and hope that your enjoy not having your birthday on a Sunday! ;)

Happy Birthday Savannah!

Love you very much!

Élder Hampton|Secretario

A Big Bear

This week was tough... Elder Purser is leaving the offices to be a Zone Leader in San Pedro de Jujuy. He'll probably end his mission there.

Elder Mann from Murray Utah is the new financial secretary of the mission. He has 4 months in the mission. He's awesome. I'm really excited to work with him in the offices and teach alongside him in the área. He's 18 years old... I'm about to turn 21... Oh I remember the days of juventud and the mentality of a young one... Older and Wiser now I am excited to be taught by him.

I have fallen in love with our backyard. It has a huge grape vine. I moved a table outside and 6 chairs under the grape vine and we eat grapes and spit the seeds as we plan every night in the house.

I about had to hold Elder Purser down in a lesson yesterday. On a scale of 1 - 10 Elder Purser don't have much patience... and I don't blame him... We were teaching a guy named Mauro. Golden! He uses his head when we're teaching him, Listens and Responds to the questions we ask him, but one problem... He loves his Catholic Church... He loves it so much... We were teaching him about Joseph Smith and he just laid it all out for us.

"I am really glad you guys came over and shared this message with me. I know the Book of Mormon is true, but I'm never ever going to change my religion."

Receiving this question from Heaven, I asked him: "If God himself came down from the Heavens and said 'Mauro you need to change religions and change your life' Would you do it?"

He responded (this is not a lie) "...um.....well...no... I really love my church. No, I wouldn't change."

Oh goodness...

Elder Purser's eyes about shot out of his head. Elder Purser is like a big bear. Elder Purser then asked him in a very tense and elevated tone "You think you are bigger then God?!" Well in English he said "You think you are you better than God!" Geez... I couldn't really believe Mauro's answer... I don't get how BLIND people can be at times to the things of God.... Ugh...... my patience is really tried when people don't open their eyes. It's so hard to see people being lead by the hand of Satan... It breaks my heart and makes Elder Purser want to punch Satan in the face when the sons and daughters of God are so easily mislead....

Goodness Gracious...

Well. That's about all to report this week.

Traslados are this weekend. 13 leave and 12 are headed in. I love the nuevitos... I love love love it.

Elder Purser se va, voy extrañar ese oso.

Siguen adelante con su fe puesta firmemente en el futuro y no en el pasado.

Watch this video. It's a good one:
Look Not behind Thee

Love you all very much,

Élder Hampton|Secretario

Watermelons

Thank you for taking the time to take that video and send it to me. I loved it. Felt like I was sitting right next to Harley and Bowen.

Thank you for making me feel loved and apart of the family this Christmas. I loved hearing from the girls their "gifts" that they gave to other people this year.

I wanted to be a part of the giving this year too... Elder Purser and I bought water melons (they are kind of expensive so most people don't buy them) and gave them to some families in our ward. I loved setting it down in front of their house and then clapping and running around the corner.

Service is the best. I love it.

Enjoy Utah and send my love to the Williams Family and all the Gibbs whom I miss very much.

Love you.

Elder Devin G. Hampton

Family

Savannah and Natalie and Trevor,

The biggest problem we have as missionaries is feeling like we have a family. It is a strange thing having your family stripped from you and then thrown into a completely different world. THE BEST THING EVER is when as missionaries, we have the support of the ward and the families in it. There is NOTHING more filling and more comforting then feeling like a family needs you. Every day we are rejected and rejected and rejected and REJECTED. It is a very difficult life, but when you have someone, or some family that ACCEPTS YOU and what you have to teach it fills every broken piece of you and makes it easy to go back out and try to help once again.

As a missionary, I get to taste a little bit of what Christ Suffered. The Savior of the World, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings was rejected, spit upon, thrown out, beaten, broken, and ultimately killed for trying to help those whom he loved. I cannot say I know what Christ suffered, but I do know better and will continue to know better the suffering and sacrifice he laid down for us.

I know know know know know know know know know know that our family is one of those families that helps missionaries. I know how Elder Pexton, Hall, Doe, and ALL of the many missionaries that have passed through have felt... We feed them well. they are always welcome. they are apart of our family... Now here is the catch... ready? Savannah, if you really want to help the missionaries keep doing all of that and then one more thing, HELP THEM FIND PEOPLE WHO ARE READY TO RECEIVE THE GOSPEL. THEY NEED PEOPLE TO TEACH!!!! Invite the missionaries to teach a family home evening and invite a friend who is not a member. Invite you friends over and then call the missionaries and tell them that you have people who want to listen to a story or message about Jesus or the Book of Mormon. THE MISSIONARIES NEED PEOPLE TO TEACH. They need people to help look for investigators Sunday Morning so that other people can feel of the filling and renewing spirit of the Sacrament and LEARN about the Savior with people and friends and neighbors their age... The Missionaries Need Help.

The family that feeds the missionaries and helps them out at church and is really really good friends WILL be remembered, but

The family that helps the missionaries Find, Teach, and Baptize, will be remembered far into the ETERNITIES.

Savannah and Natalie and Trevor, the missionaries need your help... We Need Help.

I love you guys very much... I hope you know HOW EXCITED I AM to talk with you guys on skype and see your old faces.

Love you love you love you.

Love The Language

So in Argentina we use busses for everything. As secretary, one of the jobs I have is to buy tickets for missionaries who are traveling to and from their area, leaders going on divisions, AP's checking on zones, missionaries being transfered...etc, so I get to spend some time in the Terminal...a lot of time.... I LOVE SEEING PEOPLE FROM THE USA (or other countries that speak english) BACKPACKING OR traveling or vacationing... I also love sharing the gospel in Engligh becuase I am so BAD at it! I don't know how to speak english... Yesterday a couple was at the window next to me buying tickets too and they had their dictionary out and they knew NOTHING of spanish! All they were doing was changing thier accent to a spanish accent BUT STILL SPEAKING ENGLISH.... I leaned over to them and threw a witty comment (Normal Elder Hampton) out and they were so supprised to hear english!

"Where are you from?"

"We're from Austraila"

"Thats awesome we are missionaries in Argentina but are from the US"

"Wow, you guys know spanish very well?"

"Kind of...we try..." trying to be humble ;)

Then I started to talk in spanish at the workers in the ticket window... this was the guys response to me. the guy from Astralia

"You smashed it!"

Judging by the comment, I guess my spanish is getting really good now... Never gets old running into people of a different cultre in the Bus Terminal. Love it.

I think I have strep throat.

Legal work (marrages and divorces) is nuts here. Satan must be at the bottom of it all...

Well. That's about it. I need to go buy a christmas present for our white elephant dinner this next Thursday ! 3 Zones getting together! Woop woop woop! And a marrage the same day for our investigators...ojala......

Love you bye. 

Elder Devin G. Hampton