Baseball

Well I can easily this was the best week when it came to teaching, Me and ol EIder Harris and the spirit made 2 moms cry, and got some more people to accept a baptismal date. This week we met a family, the Guato family. They have three kids who are all super cool and the mom who told us that the Catholic Church just doesn’t feel right. Aka she’s gold. So we have been teaching their family a lot this week. We had the most spiritual lesson with them. We started talking about the plan of salvation, which it was ok but I felt like something was missing. So I said a little prayer in my heart. The next thing you know Elder Harris shared a scripture and I shared my testimony and boom she was crying. We asked them if they want to get baptized and they said ya... I still to this day have no idea what we said. But the spirit is a real homie and helped us out a ton.  I also had an interview with President Franco. The man is soooo loving. Anyways he complimented me on my Spanish soooo pretty much up in the big leagues now. After the interview we took a bus an hour and a half back to our area. Without AC wow it was hotter than a dugout of summer ball. I seriously somehow fell asleep and when I woke up I was completely drenched. But don’t worry I showered. Other than that this week was full of a lot of finding knew people. Me and E Harris started really trying to use the tips in preach my gospel on how to begin teaching...... and wow that book is better than a grand slam. You wouldn’t believe the type of miracles we had the opportunity to see and the people we were able to find. Home runs bro.  

You know this week I’ve been reading 3 Nephi in the book of Mormon when Jesus comes. I really am excited for Jesus to come again. Sure it might be intense. But like the book of Mormon says that the righteous need not worry. I really want to prepare for that day. Sure you can say that this is really a cliché thing for a missionary to say but really that’s the reason why we are here on earth, to prepare to meet God. And sometimes living in the world there are so many distractions.   I’m soo grateful for this opportunity to be a missionary. I love it so much....... Like baseball  and my family and all my friends. And while I’m at it shout out to all my missionary friends.

To Dad: One of the things that I really have learned on my mission is just how much drugs and alcohol tears families apart. It’s terrible. And thank for the help with the less actives. They are soooo hard to reactivate because the know it’s true but the just don’t want to go. Hey thank you for everything love you!

To Mom: Ya people here in the mission are focused a lot on the numbers. How many baptisms.... how many months... how many months I’ve been a leader. I really don’t want to get sucked into this number game because it’s really is so much more than that. And ya my number one pet peeve is when people pretend to be people they are not. And for that I will always be Tanner Simmons. It’s cool to hear you guys are having missionary experiences too. This Sunday we had 20 people tell us that they were going to go to church and none of them showed up. Me and elder Harris literally had the most spiritual week with the investigators but the hard part is we can drag them to church. They have to choose. I’ll make sure to send you guys some mail like once a month or so. And ya we have a lot of people praying for us. Anyways love you tons. Miss you thanks for everything!!

SnapBacks and Barrio Toba

Another week in the heart of Argentina. And let me tell you that the heart of it is really hot. Like 110 degrees with 80 percent humidity hot. Parental discretion advised for this next sentence, because it’s kind of gross. It’s so hot that I literally swim in my own sweat to all our appointments. But don’t worry girls I shower, and my companion tells me I smell good soooooo :) This week we did a lot of work with a recent convert, he just got baptized and he literally thinks that the gospel is better than sliced bread, which first off the gospel IS better than sliced bread, second off sliced bread doesn’t exist here.   He took us to every single one of his family members so we had a ton of lessons and new investigators. Hopefully we can really help them come unto Christ. We also have been working with a less member active named Oscar he’s like 21.  2 weeks ago he was really drunk and got in a fight and it turned out really ugly. Just like a lot of things do with drinking and drugs.  We later had a lesson with him and the spirit was stronger than Spencer Steck.   Shout out to him if he’s reading this. We invited him to prepare to receive the Aaronic priesthood. That was 6 days ago and he has now gone 5 days without drinking or smoking and came back to church where the bishop had an opportunity to give him a priesthood blessing of strength. The kid is a stud. Other than that I’ve been trying to speak Spanish find new people to teach, be obedient and have a little fun. This week we had a lunch with a less active member, and after talking for a little while he randomly told Elder Harris that he could have two alligator skins. Ya real alligator skin!   It still has little chunks of alligator meat on it.  He brought them home and  put them on our plush tile floors and it smelled awful. I’ll give you a comparison. Those of you that know Salem Hills, know that in the spring the soccer field is a swamp. And it smelled like my soccer cleats after playing a whole season with them in the mud. It stunk. But ya anyways we have alligator chilling in the house. I Skype'd home yesterday (because it was mother’s day in Argentina)  :) I had an hour but it literally felt like 6 minutes.

 I miss my family a ton, but I know what I’m doing is what I’m supposed to be doing.  We are all on this earth to learn and grow, to make decisions. And this is probably one of the best decisions I’ve made. I’m loving every minute.

Much Love From  Elder Tanner Matthew Simmons

Bunk Beds

GUESS WHAT I'M GOING TO WRITE IN ALL CAPS CAUSE THAT'S HOW BIG OF NEWS THIS IS. I GET O SKYPE YOU GUYS THIS UPCOMING SUNDAY!!!! BUT I NEED YOU TO MAKE ME A SKYPE ACCOUNT AND ONE FOR YOU. I'M GOING TO SKYPE YOU GUYS AT ABOUT 4:30 AFTER YOUR CHURCH. TELL DAD TO CANCEL HIS MEETINGS IF HE CAN :)  It's mother's day in Argentina.

We made bunk beds in our pension. It was the non-proselyting (yes I know I spelled that wrong I speak two languages so lay off) highlight of my week. Then we moved our desk into the same room, All because it’s the only room with AC and it's hot. 

Anyways this week has been really good; it’s the start of a new transfer so we got all new missionaries basically in our zone. Elder Harris and I are still in good ol Clorinda 6,  (Which just happens to be the smallest area in our mission. I found that out :)  The work this week was pretty good. We got to set a date for baptism with an older Lady named Romona. She is super pumped for baptism so we will see how that goes. We also had a little bit of a miracle this week too. A man moved into the house of the only members in our area.  He’s the brother of the Member. Anyways he is a member but his girlfriend isn't. We had a lesson with him where we invited him to receive the priesthood. (he has been really less active to say the least for a good time now.) And his girlfriend to be baptized and pretty much set a wedding date too.  I’m an Argentinian matchmaker. Kind of. We have been looking really hard for new members but it’s hard.   I gave a blessing in Spanish. That was cool. It works the same as in English as in Spanish. Words just come to you. Like girls come to my little brothers. Oh and for those of you that think I still can’t speak Spanish. News flash I can :) not super good. But just so you know, if I got stranded here because of a flood like the one that happened to Noah  I could make my way around. That was a bad example but you get what I’m saying. And I’m forgetting English words left and right. Like the other week I couldn’t remember the word Bratwurst. I think that is how you spell it. I don’t know.

This week I’ve really been thinking about the book of Mormon. I was thinking I’m literally in the middle of nowhere for a book. How crazy. But the truth is I know that it’s true. And it’s crazy how much it can bless our lives. I don’t know I was just pumped up about it. And everything Joseph Smith did too. I just know that the church is true. And I love the mish.

<3 Elder Simmons

The man got married and then baptized.  He needed a suit so I let him borrow mine.

Elder Brown , Aunt Rhonda's neighbor. It was funny the week after Rhonda asked me about him he transfered into my district.

Our new Zone

Q.  What time do your rise in the morning and go to bed every day?

A. I get up at 7 every day and go to bed at 11. The schedule is weird so we study during the hottest hours of the day to kind of protect us.

Q.  Are the Argentina kids in school, about the same schedule as us here? When’s their summer break?

A. Ya except there school is about to get out. And they have two sessions of school a day, One in the morning and one in the afternoon. They have a long lunch.

Q.  From your pictures it looks very poor, do people have cars or how do they get around?

A. Our area is the poorest of the whole town. It’s like a privilege to have a car here. But almost everyone gets around on little scooter things here. EVERYONE

Q. Do you guys get a cell phone or a land line?

A. We have a brick for a cell phone

Q. How often do transfers happen?  
A. every 6 weeks

Q. Do you like peanut butter?

A.  I do now

Alfajors

Hello ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, it’s been another good week south of the equator. This week we only had like 2 full days to work due to conference, paperwork, weddings, and baptisms but we saw some miracles in those two days we did work. So there is this Senora (for those of you that don’t speak Spanish that means old lady.) Anyways she was really sick, her side has been hurting for years now.  We gave her a blessing and in the blessing it was said that God was calling for her to return to his fold.  Anyways fast forward two or three days.  We go back to talk to her and it turns out that her husband that had passed away about 12 years ago(and had just got his temple work done,

by a daughter that’s a member), had come to her in a dream and said that if she wanted her side to be healed, that she should listen to the missionaries....... so she had told us that and then we just bore our testimonies of the truthfulness of this gospel.  The spirithit harder than macklemore 'the heist' album hit junior highs. Sorry if you don’t understand that metaphor. The spirit hit hard! that’s what I’m getting at. But then she didn't come to church....................................... it’s so hard to see people needing the gospel so much and then just simply blow it off.  Especially as good as conference weekend, dang agency.

Anyways we got to go into Resistencia this last week so I can actually be in Argentina legally, and we went to Walmart!!!! I felt like I was in the states again <3 I bought some peanut butter because it’s the only place you can buy that. 

 The Simmons family has a tradition, where we eat crepes every Sunday morning of general conference, and just cause I’m thousands of miles away doesn't mean I’m breaking that tradition. So i made some, but they turned out more like 'craps' than 'crepes', really they were awful.   They were awful. hahahah I don’t know what was wrong but it looked like overcooked oat meal and tasted worst. But it made our pension smell good.

Wasn’t conference great. I got a lot out of it. One thing that really stood out to me is when some dude was praying and he said 'we thank you for Joseph Smith, and all he did for eternity.

I would just like to bear testimony that I know Joseph Smith is a prophet that was called of God. And that he did restore this gospel once again in these later days that it will never be taken off the earth again. Not to get all heavy but I know that Jesus Christ is coming again so let us prepare the runway for his second coming for the fullness of his glory. Wow I just love this gospel. I love being a missionary. I love Spanish. I love my family, and my friends, and well everyone. Like the prophet said the essence of this gospel is love.

Well PEACE and LOVE until next week.........

<3 Elder Simmons

 Q.  What's been your interaction with the mission president so far?

A.  Interactions with the mission president. I had an interview with

him the first day I got here. Then he stopped by our pension on time

just to see how it’s going. Other than that I have shaken his hand 5 or

6 other times. President Franco is one of the most loving men I know,

In that little time we have talked I’ve felt it.

Q. Do you teach on Sundays?

A. after 6 on Sundays we work for a good three hours like every other day.

Q. What's the best way you've found to contact investigators?

A. I think the best way to find people is to go talk to people just

sitting outside drinking mate, or references from members. Mostly just

talking with everyone.

Q. Do you have a lot of inactive families?

A. We could honestly focus our whole mission here on just less active families

But the thing is they all heave a reason they aren’t going to church so

it’s hard to get them back. Most of them are offended by another

person. But like someone said in conference they stopped doing the

Gospel basics.

Q. What do people do for work in Clorinda?

A. Everything. everyone pretty much runs a little store out of there

house. a lot of the men are construction workers. there are  thousands

of little shops downtown people work at. Also there is this thing

called campo, its where people go harvest bananas in the middle of no

where or other such fruit.

Q. Was conference in English or Spanish for you?

A. i watched the very first session in Spanish. But to

tell you the truth I didn't really understand a lot. So me and some of
the other white missionaries, got on the computers in the church and
watched it in English and that was a lot better

I actually love these little questions. Cause here a lot of things that

are so normal to me that you probably want to know. Anyways I love you

guys stay safe. Love you mom. Thank you for everything.

IDK

It was hot this week. I’ll start with that. Yesterday it was like 95 with what felt like 100 percent humidity. I was swimming in my own sweat. It’s kind of funny cause all the people here just take all of their clothes of when it gets hot. buuuut that’s not an option for missionaries. This week we traveled to a little town called Laguna Blanca for a district meeting. The church there is tiny. Like 20x20 feet and the baptismal font is out back in a little pool looking thing you get from Walmart but smaller. We passed a huge banana plantation on our bus ride there so we decided to buy some bananas. I hate to say it but the bananas in America are fake. The bananas here are a thousand times better. But enough about bananas. Oh and my one month mark in Argentina was two days ago....!!! wooh I celebrated by working all day. Really  the happiest  I am on my mission, is when I lay down at night knowing that I sweated and worked my heart out. 

We had a cool experience this week we started talking to this old lady out in front of her house. And she had told us that her husband twenty years ago had talked to the missionaries. But had since then passed away. But last night she was cleaning some old boxes and found his Book of Mormon. She thought it was "ironic" that the missionaries had shown up the next day. HAhaha. Ya the Lord is definitely preparing the people, they just need to accept it. 

We also did some service this week. We cut down a ton of what is like poison ivy around an outhouse. And I’ve never been so itchy in my life after. 

We also found this other family, the Simbroms, and they are way cool. The dad hates the church but other than that, they are way cool. They invite us over for lunch once a week and we eat and play volleyball, which is really big here.   It had rained super hard the day we had went and so we were soaked and muddy but it was sooooooooo fun. The mission really is the greatest. I really do know that this church is true. And that God does really here our prayers. I think we don’t really think about how big of a blessing that can be. Anyways pray because it’s good.

The picture of me and the thing tied to the telephone wire... Ya that’s a frog someone tied to a string and got stuck up there hahahaha so of course I took a pic.

The other is the sunrise from the Zone leaders apartment. When I went on splits with a native speaker Elder Santana from Ecuador. I didn’t speak English for like 27 hours.

Until next week.

Elder Simmons

Q&A

Q. Where do you go for general conference? Do you get to see it next week or will it be delayed for you?

A. we go to the church. They are going to broadcast it in Spanish and English. So I’ll probably get to watch it in English and it will just be live but three hours difference.

Q. What's your favorite part about the people in Argentina?

A. The people of Argentina are generous especially given how poor they are. They will feed a missionary till his pant pop off even if it’s half their weekly income, but don’t worry I realize this and so I limit what i eat. And plus I don’t want to be fat. But ya they will give you everything.

Q. Have you seen a small improvement in Spanish?

A. I haven’t experienced and big clicks like people say, but I have been noticing little ones. Right now I’m a thousand times better than the MTC but I still have a lot to go. By end of next transfer ( 7 weeks from now) I think I should really be getting a hold of it.

Q. Have you eaten any cool fruit?  I just ask this because President Franco posted a picture of a ginormous mango tree on IG the other day.

A. As for crazy fruit I’ve seen some. I haven’t tried it because it’s expensive.  I did eat this root thing that taste like potato. Once I figure out the name you can google it.  

Q. Where do you do your laundry?

A. as for the laundry hahahahahaha i do it in the shower on p-days while I’m showering than I hang it up to dry outside on the neighbors clothes line.... hahaha it’s a little rough but hey its life.

Please if you have more questions ask. I want to include as much info about things that happen here it’s just hard to fit a whole week into an hour on the computer.

Vamos

Well another week. This week was filled with a lot of work. And for those of you that are confused I do still have my toes. Well I think. Anyway this week we invited 9 people to church and none of them showed up. That was a bit hard but hey it’s their eternal salvation not mine. JK but really. We also gave out some blessing this week. That was really interesting. There was this  one lady that had been sick for 22 days. She had mold growing in her mouth from all the throw up. After the blessing the next day she had the strength to get up and go to the hospital. Power of the priesthood is real if you didn’t know. We also had an Asado this week. AKA a barbaque. This family bought 1500 pesos of meat. That’s about 2 weeks of their income for the kids’ birthday. They invited us cause well we’re the missionaries. They honestly treated us like it was our birthday. I felt bad but I ate like there was no tomorrow. I also tried Morsillo (aka blood sausage, literally just fried blood) It was interesting. Can’t say I like it. 

One thing about Argentina is people really only eat one meal. And just snack throughout the day. They eat a huge lunch and that’s it. I actually kind of like it, gives us more time to teach. A funny thing about here in Argentina is everyone wears shirts with English words. It’s like the style, but nobody knows English. So the shirts will literally just have random words. hahahaha like ´hat happened while chicken nuggets´....... People always ask me to translate it and I’ll just make something up. And on the weekend people have nothing to do so they will just get absolutely wasted on beer, every drunk wants to talk to us. They either want to tell us how spiritual they are and show us their bible, or they want are money. It is actually kind of sad to see people like that. We are blessed to have the word of wisdom. We also had a mullti zone meeting this week. We had to wake up at 3 in the morning and take a bus to a different town. Elder Gonzalez of the 70 talked to us about the importance of the Book of Mormon.  Today I walked down the border road of Argentina and Paraguay. You can actually see Asuncion.  We played soccer today.  I’m not as good as I was in high school but I still embarrassed a few elders. I’m not gonna lie. Liars are thrust down to hell. It’s says it in 2 Nephi somewhere if you are wondering. This week Elder  Harris and I have been working with a lot of nonmembers, and we have been teaching a lot about the sacrament. The sacrament is a sacred ordinance. And next time you take it listen carefully to the sacrament prayer. Anyway mission life is treating me well. Haven’t gotten bitten by a dog, I love my companion; I have food to eat and a bed to rest, and people to teach. Life is pretty good. I’m just trying to soak this whole thing in and not just let it pass me by.

That was either cheesy or really deep. You can decide. Till next week.

Elder Simmons

Some more pictures

Here's some more pictures compliments of Tanner's companion's blog.

Here's the FHE playing the "flour" game that the Simmons love to play in Payson too

Clorinda church building that 2 branches attend

Service project of clearing a path

We got more detail from Tanner's companion on his toe surgery. 

 So... my new baby, with his tender feet, got 2 in-grown toenails. 2 pretty bad ones on his big toes. We went to the Doctor here on Tuesday right after our Zone Meeting, and we ended up waiting there for about 2 hours since they have something like "Obamacare" as their medical system here. (It's terrible and I hate going to the doctor´s here...)  Anyways, that's another subject. So, we went to the doctor, and they said that he would need to take an antibiotic, so we went to buy it, and we asked the doctor of the mission if it was okay and all that jazz... so he took his meds and he had an appointment scheduled for Thursday.  But after talking to a few people here... well, we decided the public hospital wasn´t gonna be the best route. A few people told us that "ohh el hospital es muy bruto con las personas"... Bruto... or brute... or... rough. :) So we decided to go to a special clinic on Thursday to get it treated and the doctor sent us around the corner to buy the needles, syringe and anesthesia for the toes. Yup. We went and bought our own needles.  He told us it would be cheaper if we went and bought our own... But after applying the meds, he cut about 1/4 of the toenail and we went on our way.