Elder Brockton Lamb

Elder Brockton Lamb
Argentina Comodoro Rivadavia Mission
Jan 2014-Jan 2016

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

October 27, 2014- El Captain

El Capitán (Novel Status) #myb

Hey Family!! I have been thinking a lot this week and I just thought I'd write some of it down!

Everyone needs to read Jesus the Christ!!!!

I am so beyond grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ.  I was thinking about it and it's unreal how fundamentally sound our Gospel is.  Jesus Christ was the only Begotten of the Father! He was the only one that could handle being Immortal and mortal.

I was so impressed when I was reading in John where Jesus Christ says, "I came down from heaven, not to do my will, but the will of Him that sent me. My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to Finish his work."  Goodness! It's so incredible! How incredibly selfless He is..I've been thinking about it and all we do is preach and teach about following the example of our brother Jesus Christ and I think about Jesus Christ.  All He was doing was fulfilling the will of the Father. So in turn by following the example of Jesus Christ we ourselves are completely fulfilling the will of our Father.  WE KNOW THE FINAL SCORE!! We know who is going to win! Jesus Christ atoned for the world! We use Him and we win.  He's definitely carrying the team on His back and our Father in Heaven is our Coach.  Jesus is another player that has endured with us since the beginning and will continue to carry us till the end! We are going to fall.  Bad things happen to good people and life seems unfair sometimes.  

I've been thinking about Brady a lot lately and I realized that I haven´t had to many people close to me die and it hit me hard.  If it wasn´t for the misery of our Father in heaven and for the atonement of Jesus Christ I don't know what I´d do.  Everyone has their propio plan.  Sometimes when we don't have anything else to do we have to have faith.  

I remember in the MTC when Reegan was in the hospital way sick, Brother Monson said some words that I will never forget.  He talked about the the words "Compassion" and "Sympathy."  Just think about those words.  He talked about the situation that I was in with Reegan being in the hospital.  We were on the subject of faith and I shared how I was hurting because my best friend was in the hospital and I was a few minutes away in the MTC not helping her and not with her.  He talked about how important faith is.  No matter what...always do what you need to do and always be where you need to be and have faith in the Plan..well that was hard.  

Then back to the words "compassion" and "sympathy."  Brother Monson shared with us that when bad things happen to people others can have sympathy for them because they feel bad for  them but they do not know exactly what they are going through.  I have so much sympathy for a lot people.  The Green family especially.  I have been praying for them so much and it's hard to accept that Brady is gone.  Then I think about an Elder in my zone.  Since the very first day I got to Argentina I have looked up to this Elder.  His name is Elder Smedley.  He is from Idaho.  I watched his demeanor and the way he carried himself and I strive to be as happy as he was.  Elder Smedley's father passed away this week and it's something I can't imagine.  I have so much sympathy for him and his family.  He talked to his family through skype and I couldn´t believe how strong they are.  He was smiling and they were talking about their dad being in heaven now and not only can he speak in spanish but he can speak in every language.  I can't imagine it....but Jesus Christ can.  He has compassion for every single one of us.  He knows how it feels to lose a son and a dad.  

We NEVER have to go through the pain alone.  Jesus is on our team carrying us! I know He is helping and blessing Elder Smedley to keep staying positive.  He still carries a smile and hugs every single one of us and tells us he loves us.  Jesus Christ did two things through the atonement-
1) "The universal redemption of the human race from death invoked by the fall of Adam and Eve and 
2) Salvation! whereby means of an escape from sin.

Christ has compassion for the Green's.  He has compassion for Elder Smedley and his family.  We have to trust in our Brother.  We have to trust in the Plan of the One who sent Him and the One who sent each and every one of us to this world for a purpose. If we follow the example that Jesus Christ has shown to us then we will "sí o sí" be able to stand at that last day knowing we did God's will.       

Jose- who was inactive for 10 years is now fully back in the church and we have the most spiritual lessons with him.  He is in his 50's and lives alone.  This past week at church he volunteered to clean the church every Saturday and I was crying.  You don't realise how hard it is to get people to serve down here! He wants to serve! 

We had a baptism this week in the district and we sang Oh My Father switching off versus in english and spanish! It was so spiritual!!! Then bishop asked us to sing it again on Sunday.  It was just 4 of us and I can't explain how amazing it felt to sing this hymn in the tune to Come thou Fount! One of the greatest experiences! We had the whole room crying!! So weird to sing in english again but so powerful to switch off languages! 
There is so much spirit in music!

I love the mission.... its hard... so much rejection but the thing is...I know I am where I am supposed to be... I am trying to following the example of our brother Jesus Christ...so all the rejection literally doesn´t get to me at all.  We think about how much Jesus was rejected and it puts me in my place real quick.

Don't give up---don't ever give up on yourself and especially your Savior. 

I love you all and I am praying for everyone! 

I am excited that the family is going back down to AZ.  Try to find Zig!! 

Con todo mi cariño
Elder Brockton Lamb



Clean House!


Me and Elder Nelson.  What we got here is our pension.  We got a before and after pic.  Don't judge on the before...but definitely respect the after:)
We did some remodeling and found a new couch!! Now it's great!




Elder Nelson, Elder Watkins and Me.  We send this pic to the whole mission. 


Monday, October 27, 2014

October 20, 2014- Throw it!

THROW IT!



FAMILY!!!:)
Wow.....time is flying!!  How is everyone?   I told President he's bottling me up in here and as soon as I leave I'm going to blow up.
But then I think about it and I'm so beyond grateful.  Not gonna lie...Sunday is probably my least favorite day on the mission.  Waiting for investigator's and then just a punch to the gut when they don't come.  This week was different though.  We had some great lessons in church

In Sunday school we had a return missionary teach us about the roles of the family and guess what.  A member in our ward brought his friend who is not a member and he loved it.  We talked about the roles of the family and I (again) realized how blessed I am for the family I have.  They asked for examples of things we saw in our parents that we want to instill in our lives and I shared how with my parents it didn't matter if they had a good or bad day at work they left work at work and came home and were the greatest examples for us.  I'm so beyond grateful for that.  

We also talked in church about our potential and I've always been intrigued by this topic.  It scares me as well because sometimes I think of how my Heavenly Father might see me and I know he see's me so much better than I am.   It made me think of a baseball game back when I was 12.  We were the Chandler Rebels and i was playing shortstop.  I forget who we were playing but dad was coaching and had Shawn right by him.  We were on defense and I was there waiting for the pitch to be thrown and when our pitcher tossed it I read the angle of the bat well and I got a jump on the ground ball.  It wasn't too hardly hit but it was far up the middle.  I ran over to it and knew I wasn´t going to get it in time so I dove for it with all the extension of my body.  Barely hitting the web the ball went in the glove.  In that instant I was stunned I had the ball but I thought it was all for not because I didn't think I would be able to stand up and throw the runner out at first.  As I hesitated for a second I remember dad yell from the dugout "THROW THE BALL!!!"  Not thinking twice I obeyed and with everything I had I threw it over to first.  It was a bang bang play at first and I threw the runner out.  It was the third out and I ran back in the dugout stunned because I didn't think I had a chance on the play.  Dad came up to me and said "why did you do that?! Just get up and get rid of it from now on."  Shawn was laughing because of how obedient I was to the command that dad gave me in the moment when just before I had it set in my mind that I wasn't going to waste the throw to first. 
I have thought a lot about this lately and it makes me think of our Father in Heaven.  He knows our potential.  He knows our limits.  He's not going to put us through something that we can't handle.  He knows we can dive and get back up.  It's obeying what He says is the important thing.  When he says to do something... do it.  Even if we think it's going to be a wasted effort or it seems to be out of reach.  I didn't think I would make the throw but dad did knew I could.
I am so grateful to have a Father in Heaven that knows my potential and has placed everything and everybody in my life to help me reach that potential.  He has done that with all of His children and it is our responsibility and work to help our brothers and sisters see their potential.  Potential is only a word though if we don't strive to achieve it.  There´s a saying that this missionary gave me. Hell is when the man you are meets the man you could have been.
  
I love being a missionary.  I know I am changing my life out here.  I know that the path that leads back to our Heavenly Father isn´t easy..but it's worth it.  We have to remember though that all we need to do is get up, throw the ball and always be willing to change depending on what our Father in Heaven says:)
I LOVE YOU ALL!!!:):) Have a great week!
Elder Lamb

Thursday, October 16, 2014

October 14, 2014- DON'T GET A GIRLFRIEND GUNNER


What's good fam?:):)  Sooo yup this week has been super busy and stressful but I have grown a lot.. kinda.

So working a ton with trámites and all the paperwork in spanish is... different.  I honestly am grateful in a way because I know when they send me out of the office I am going to explode like a firework and work SOOOOOOOOO absolutely hard! I am learning so much and we have been able to leave and the best part is that Elder Watkins is going to a new area now.  We were a trio with me, him , and Elder Nelson but now Elder Watkins left and Elder Nelson and I already set some amazing goals to get out as much as we can and take advantage of every second while working in here.  

It's such a blessing having Elder Nelson in here with me or else it would be awful.  We are constantly crying because we're laughing so hard and having a great time.  Today we ate at President's house which was awesome and I haven't had that quality of food in a minute! 

No time! Love you all!!! 

Our pension is so clean................. :)


Elder Lamb





Monday, October 13, 2014

October 6, 2014- Conferencia General!!

CONFERENCIA GENERAL!!!


First of all.... I SAW MY BOY GARRY GOING HARD WITH THE VOCALS!:):)

Second.... I loved seeing the picture of everyone at priesthood session. Weird seein that many blondes in one place!!
Third...we climbed a mountain this morning... super dope.. no doubt i'll send some picks:)
Conference was AMAZING!!!:) I watched all Saturday sessions and priesthood in spanish and then in english on Sunday.  I thought the same thing mom.. everyone was so real and pretty direct! They made clear that this earthly life was not about to get any easier so they provided us with tools to fight against temptation and sin.

Elder Scott could not have said it any better.. 1 Prayer 2. Study the scriptures 3. Family Home Evening 4. Go to the temple. Just think how much easier it is to be on the right path if we lived those four principles.  I still remember when we were very little and in the Chandler house when dad busted out the Plan of Salvation map and taught us the Plan of Happiness.  Since then I always had the Plan subconsciously in my mind and I knew I was jeopardizing celestial glory when I made a mistake.  I am so grateful for that. 
I also loved how Elder Ballard said to stay focused on the little things.  It's the constant prayer and scripture study that allows us to have the Holy Spirit with us.  We can't overlook things that seem so easy and simple.  I was nailed with the spirit when Allan F. Packer quoted and said that we have the doctrine of Jesus Christ on the earth, as well as the temples and now the technology.  All we need now is the people who are willing to work.
So much is hitting my head right now.  Elder Bednar could not have had a better talk.  I am so grateful for the words he shared.  The story about his two little sons was awesome and so true.  We want to share with the world what has helped us and brought us happiness in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones.  Absolute truth exists and we invite people to come and see for themselves:) How wonderful is that!
The spirit was so strong when the two latin speakers gave their talks in spanish.  It's a different spirit when it doesn't have to be translated.  Venid a mi.  Seguidme! 
SUCH A REFRESHER! It's crazy to think about that what we hear is coming straight from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  "Whether mine own voice or the voice of my servant, it is the same."
They encouraged us to change things in our life and rethink our priorities if we need to and I am going to take that challenge and try and live how my Savior expects me to live.
We have a living Prophet hoy en día!! Qué más queremos! He knows EXACTLY what we need to do to have celestial glory,  how can we afford not to listen and apply his words!
Thank you for all the support! Love everyone!
S/o to Garry again just because I loved seeing you so much on screen singing during Priesthood session.
Elder Lamb








Friday, October 3, 2014

September 29, 2014- Golazo



Golazo

Family!!!:):) Such a crazy week!! 20 new gringos showed up and we were crazy busy getting all their paperwork and stuff together to ship them off to their areas! 

Of course we experienced so many miracles and found another new investigator! Such an amazing old man and we helped this menos activo return to the church after a year of not attending.

Also, definitely found out how to send pictures so basically that's all I'm gonna do for today!! 
There's a picture with the cutest little girl Julietta who decided to be baptized a few weeks ago! Such an amazing experience teaching her! So spiritual! :):)

Then there's the little Lopez girls! We went to their house for family home evening because they're recent converts and Elder Chavarria and I played Mariposas (butterflies) with them and now they won't let go of my hand when they see me and we were walking to Stake Conference and my companion took a picture of us walking.  Beyond adorable. There names are Mia and Gila pronounced Sheela.  :):)

Well I just didn't understand this picture of a pregnant woman....so uhhh ya:)  
This is a pic of our pension we found..I can now say I bought my first home:) /shack  we definitely made an MTV cribs video for this pension.  it's a keeper:)