Loma Grande.

Dear Mom, Hey! it's good to hear from you sounds like everyone is doing well. Mom thanks for the package! I received the other package that you sent this week and my companion and I love it, Elder Vita says thanks. I gave him one of the towels that you sent and we are going to be making some pb and j sandwiches this week so we are pretty excited. Things are going well in the apartment, we have a pretty nice apartment, clean, organized, and we have hot water. Elder Vita and i are getting along pretty well, he is a great companion. This week we had zone conference and we gave our workshop to our zone which went really well. We talked about finding new investigators by our own initiative and the Elders came up with some pretty nice idea, we are excited to see how that goes and see if we can find some new investigators. As for things here in Loma Grande things are going well with our investigators, we have a few that are progressing but have a few doubts and challenges. We are trying to help them as we pray and read with them. We are trying to focus and help our investigators have a true conversion in their lives and we know that as they continue to pray and read in the book of mormon they will be able to have a true conversion. Thanks mom for the pictures everyone looks great. Looks like Mackenzie went with a little change in her hair color tell her it looks nice. You look happy mom which I am glad to see. I am praying for you always I hope you have a great week. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and that as we continue with faith in his son Jesus Christ he will bless us. I love you mom! Con amor, Elder Brooks.

THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK..............

Dear Family, Hey it's great to hear from everyone and sounds like things are going well. Everything is going well here in Loma Grande. This week I received the package from Mom! Thanks Mom I love you! This week went pretty well and we stayed busy with our district meeting, leadership meeting, and our stake meeting which we had with President Benton and our stake president. In our leadership meeting we are learning new lessons from "preach my gospel" which are really going to be nice. These new lessons are helping the missionaries focus on those to whom we are teaching the gospel and meeting their needs. The meeting we had with the stake president also went well as we were able to talk about the missionary work in our stake and we were able to set goals and put plans in motion in order to continue to improve as Elders. The highlight of this week was a baptism which we were able to have for one of our investigators, Ruben Fernandez! Ruben has been investigating the church for a long time now and he has been attending church for the past few months. As Ruben has been praying, reading in the Book of Mormon, and attending church meetings he was able to make the decision to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized in his church this last Saturday the 14th of August. The Bishop was able to baptize Ruben and Damian who is preparing for his mission was able to confirm Ruben member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The baptismal service went very well and we received a lot of help from the members. One of the members was able to give Ruben a suit that is not being used and other members were able to make a chocolate cake for Ruben. Ruben is very grateful and enjoyed his baptism. I am grateful for my companion Elder Vita and his example. Things are going well and we are getting ready to plan our lesson/workshop for the zone conference which we have this week. I am grateful for the opportunity I have been given to serve. I appreciate your love and your support. I am praying for you. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ changes our lives, gives us the strength we need to continue and finish strong, and gives us hope. I know this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the the Book of Mormon testifies that it is. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Have a great week! Con amor, Elder Brooks.

UPDATE FROM LOMA GRANDE

Dear Family, It's great to hear from you and sounds like everyone is doing well and now my baby sister, Mackenzie is 16 years old! Happy Birthday Mackenzie! Everything is going well here in Argentina and i am enjoying my new area here in Loma Grande with my companion Elder Vita. The first week of every transfer can get a little crazy with the many changes and getting adjusted to your area but things are going well. I am enjoying the area here in Loma Grande which is located near a pretty big city called Merlo. Loma Grande is not located in the city but it is close enough that we can take a bus and get must of our stuff for p-day taken care of in Merlo. I love our zone, we all got together last week for district meeting and we are all pretty excited to get to work. Also there are still a few Elders in the zone from when I was in Las Heras so its good to see them. Our zone Marcos Paz basically starts at the train station in Merlo and goes to the last train station in Lobos. If you get off at the train station at 34.5 km you would be in our area, Loma Grande and our apartment as well as the church are located pretty close. My companion Elder Vita is a great elder and we are getting along well. Elder Vita is from Cusco, Peru and has seven brothers/sisters with Elder Vita as the youngest. I am not sure if I mentioned this before but Elder Vita and myself are scheduled to finish our missions at the same time. The members of Loma Grande are great as well and I have been trying to get to know all of them. The bishop is also very nice and he is from Paraguay. This past Sunday I had the opportunity to give a talk in church and talked about the importance of the scriptures, specifically the Book of Mormon, and how it has blessed my life. I believe it went well and it was a great opportunity to share my testimony about the Book of Mormon. After church we had lunch at the Robledo's house. Damian Robledo is one of the kids and he is preparing to serve his mission, and at times he goes out with us to teach. Damian received his mission call Sunday and he opened it before we are lunch. It was pretty exciting to be there because it reminded me when I opened my mission call. Damian is called to serve to Mexico, Mexico City West mission and he is very excited. This week we have a few meetings planned such as district meeting, leadership meeting, and also a meeting with the Stake President. I am grateful for the opportunity I have been given to serve. I know that our Heavenly Father has a plan for each and everyone of us. He loves us and is willing to guide and help us as we live the Gospel of his son Jesus Christ. I hope you have a great week. I love you and I am praying for you. Con amor, Elder Brooks.

NEW AREA - OLD ZONE!!! NEW DESIRES...

Dear Family, It's good to hear from you and sounds like everyone is doing well. Everything is going really well here in Argentina. Today we had transfer meeting in Ramos Mejia. This past transfer went by pretty fast and now we are ready to start a new transfer. As for me I will starting this transfer in another area as I have been transfered. I am now serving as zone leader in the Zone of Marcos Paz in a area called Loma Grande. I was in Marcos Paz a few transfers ago when I was serving in Las Heras and now I have returned to serve as Zone Leader and I am pretty excited for this transfer as well as our zone. My new companion is Elder Vita and he is from Peru. Elder Vita seems like a great Elder and we both have the same amount of time in the mission. This transfer I have a few goals but one of the goals that I want to focus on is developing the Christlike attribute of charity, the pure love of Christ. I feel that there is always room to strengthen our charity and I want to serve those around me with charity that they may be able to feel our Saviors love. I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve and I want to challenge myself to strenghten the attributes of Jesus Christ. It was a little hard leaving my last area as I spent a short time there and I had begun to love those I was serving, more and more each day. Sounds like everyone is doing well back home and that things went well with Justins wedding, I am glad to hear. Well this was a little update on what is going on here. I appreciate all your love and support. Also I recieved a package from Aunt Diane today! Thanks Aunt Diane I love the package and I am ready to try that protien shake that you sent along with all the other treats and I will be looking to put some more weight back on. I hope everyone has a great week. I am praying for you. Con amor, Elder Brooks.