Elder Santacruz Turns 20!

Hello everyone!!!! :) Wow what a week! First I would like to thank you all for wishing me a happy birthday! It was so great!!! It was really special too! I cant believe I am 20 now... wow I am still young! haha

The coolest thing ever was on Monday, it was a holiday here so on holidays everyone goes to the river! so... my district decided to plan a service during our proselyting time and so we were gonna dig a whole but it turns out that the whole was a surprise birthday party haha it was so great! It was so cool to see Elisaura she went all the way to Sabaneta to throw me a birthday party. She is such a great friend! Wow thanks guys for the video that was so special to me I LOVE MY FAMILY! It feels so weird that I am 20? Wow where has time gone! Well I am not a teenager any more dang so i guess that comes with more respect haha just kidding! 

With my comp, this comp has been a little slow he is kinda tired of working it makes me a little annoyed because all he is thinking about is going home and it doesn't help the work grow. I have been trying to keep my ANIMO up. The prayers are definitely working. The work is getting better little by little it's just that I'm limited and its sometimes hard but I can handle it don't worry about!:) Love you all thanks for this week! I am so excited to skype you guys this Sunday! Wow we're to our last phone call flip! haha but I think the time will be at 3:00 o'clock here so hopefully you guys can make that time! but miss you all and see ya on Sunday! 

elder santacruz

When Elder realized it was a surprise for him 

The one who made it all possible. Thank you Elisa

It's the thought that counts

Hello family and friends! Thanks for always sending your love! This week was a little hard for me but it's all good! Those weeks definitely come and go in the mission haha 

Well my comp and I are getting better we are getting a long it's just sometimes he does some dumb things that make me think WHAT THE HECK? haha but it helps me to keep my patience. God just wants me to master that! Patience.

But changing the subject.. haha this week we found a cool investigator....well our first one!!!! So hey... we are getting somewhere! It was interesting, we found her from the area book. I was looking at the old investigators and I saw that one of them had a baptismal date but she didn't get baptized and so it was cool! She was gonna get baptized a year ago but then she lost contact with the missionaries because she moved and now she's back so we will see if she is willing to try it again! Please pray for her so that we can have someone that can progress her name is Mari! 

Also this week actually every week we get help from the patriarch and wow he so willing to talk to everyone about the gospel its so great! Every time we see him he says hey missionaries I have a reference for you guys! So that keeps me going. Most of the references say we don't have time but hey it's the thought that counts! 

My favorite part about this week was that the branch president and I were able to play basketball together, he is so great! He is such a loving man, he is always looking out for me and always gives me a big hug. So when we played basketball together we really had a bonding moment and I have definitely gained his trust but wow he can play! haha 

Don't worry about me I am fine! Everyday when I get on my knees it gets all better! My friends in the mission have been helping me, they are awesome! Thanks for everything guys love you all so much! Have a good week! 

love elder santacruz

We help a member with her bakery shop ever week!

Sabaneta Rocks!

Hello everyone! How was your week!? I hope it was good! I am sorry that I couldn't write that much last week. This town is tiny and it only has 3 internet places haha and only one was working!
Well this week turned out great I am not gonna lie it was pretty tough at first because my comp and I kinda got in an argument, my comp has an easy temper! Luckily we worked it out and after that day we worked out and now we have been great ever since. My comp said that he doesn't like Americans but he is starting to warm up to me more haha don't worry God will help me keep my patience. I do love him though, he is an interesting guy! He is the only member in his family and he had a crazy life before!

So I told you guys that we have a new president in the branch and wow he is a powerful guy I will take a picture with him this week. Wow he is so special, he works so hard!  He is the poorest man in the branch. He has three boys and a supportive wife! This week he was trying to help us so much he wanted to leave with us a lot and he was also at every meeting. He sure does make me happy because he is a hard working leader! It is just what this branch needs because a lot of the members say that almost half of the town are less actives! We are going to change that! My district was so happy because they have been here for a long time and they hadn't seen any progress in this area and now they are finally seeing it! Those were the best things that happened this week!

I am loving every single second here! Sabaneta rocks! I know it will grow a ton and I am so excited to see it happen!
love you all and I am so happy that I am a worker in the Lords vineyard!

Shout out to my sister!!! ASHLEY!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Love,
E. Santacruz

Member of the bishopric his name is Machuca

Elder Pinales

This is what hard work looks like

Living with a Mexican

Hello everyone I don't have any time because there is only three internet places in town and two of them are closed and I am sharing a computer with my comp but wow what a crazy week. First off with my comp... we started off on the wrong note. My comp has a bad reputation in the mission for being the most disobedient missionary there is. That's what other missionaries were saying now. My comp is a little rough around the edges and I was completely nervous because he doesn't really get along with his comps and his attitude is kinda like he is here just to be here but I know that this week I have tried to give him all my love! I have seen the difference, he trusts me a lot now. He told me something that he has never told any one else and I was really grateful to see that he has put his trust in me! President had put me in this area because he said that there has been some disobedient missionaries before me and I can see the members didn't really trust them but now I things are changing. We have received 4 references already in these past few days and right there I am seeing trust from the members. Its going great, there is so much work to do but that's what makes it so much better! My comp is awesome and I am seeing changes in him already, he talks to me about his future and he is worried about it so we will see what he will do to try to finish his mission strong! We have a great time together, we talk all the time now and his favorite word is PINCHI hahahah Yep he is a Mexican haha but love you all and I hope you have a good week! 

love, 

elder santacruz

Conference is like Christmas

​Hey you guys! I Got transferred to.... Campo!!!  They are sending me in the middle of no where! Its called Sabaneta! It's 2 hours from Santiago and its such a hot village!

I think this is gonna be my last area! Crazy! My companion is a Mexican! hahah and wow he is crazy but I love his personality already. He doesn't care what people think about him but I still have to get to know him more! My district is only of four missionaries and the hermanas seem pretty cool, they like working with the elders and I am in another branch! I heard the president is new and he loves to work with the elders! I hope he does because that just makes the work so much easier. They say they do activities every week and that makes it really fun.

I said my goodbyes in La Herradura and wow it was so sad My whole family is there and they have been around me for so long, they think I am part of the family! I will definitely visit that area again before I go home! I definitely feel that I have accomplished so much there especially my last two transfers there. The area is expecting four baptisms and a family will get baptized! Carlos, the investigator is now in Mosiah and he went to go see conference and he loved it!! 

His baptismal date is on the 25 of this month so he will be a powerful member and who knows he could be a missionary!

Now the best part of this week was definitely conference  I hope you guys enjoyed it because I sure did! I love the talk by Elder Holland and really I loved the story of the boys. When the boy had to jump and reach for the edge and his brother had helped him from falling over! Wow I almost cried! I hope you guys watched and enjoyed every second of it! It's so funny that conference is like Christmas for us we are all writing down everything we hear and are going crazy like... wow, did you hear that! haha its so spiritual but I hope you all have a great week! Love you all! Bye

E. Santacruz

Last day at the house I was staying at in La Herradura

Restaurant after Conference

A Living Prophet?.... No way!

Hey guys! 

It all started out on Sunday! We had a family come to church this week! Their names are Ramon and Sulieny and they have a month with us and they love taking the lessons. They definitely feel the spirit with us and what is cool is they have date already. They really do want to get baptized and married! Their date is set for the 2nd of May. At first I was bummed that no one came to church but they came to the 2nd hour and when I saw them I was so happy! I looked at my comp and we were like ohhhh yeah buddy!!! They definitely enjoyed it! When we went to their house this week they were like wow church was great. What was even better was when we said that we will have conference this Sunday and said the prophet will be speaking, she said," a living prophet? No way... Oh well I am definitely going!" haha so that was neat!

Update on Carlos and Eliseo, they didn't go to church this week because they didn't have any money. They have to pay for a taxi to get to church and they are really poor but we said that next week we will take them and they said," yes okay we are definitely going for sure now! 

Also with Ricardo and Yokeidis, they have been having some health problems so they are not focused so much like before but when they get over their sickness they will be back on track, they didn't go to church but its okay they'll try next week! 

Also guess what Elisaura, Matas fiance, my reactivated member left with us on Friday! It was so cool to see her! Wow she has progressed sooooo much! She is such a faithful member! She will be a leader in the church one day and a powerful one as well! 

That was my amazing week and I hope you enjoyed it! 

Shout out to Hermana Steele, Welcome home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! love you!

E. Santacruz

Elisaura!

Service... its what we do!

It's a Companionship of Three

Hey guys!

This week started out with a conference that we had from Elder Martinez, hes a member of the seventy. He talked with us and wow he taught so many things! One thing he talked about that caught my attention was when he talked about the companionship's. He said its not a companionship of just two, its a companionship of three! The two missionaries and God! Also something he said is, where ever we are and whoever we talk to its as if Christ was talking to them and that we are directed by him. There are people waiting for this message. I loved that! 

Hey so remember how I said that we received like 20 references! Yeah we received more and we got up to 28 last week! It was great! We are teaching so many new people and its pretty crazy we don't have enough time to teach them all! haha so  we are trying to be more organized.. but hey there is tons of work which is always great! 

So Carlos and Eliseo have baptismal dates, they have their dates for the 25th of April. I don't think I will be here when they get baptized but its okay its not my baptism its Christs! I know they are gonna get baptized because they feel that the Book of Mormon is true, its just a matter of time when they say yes to everything!

I think the Lord has been helping us out so much....and you know why I think he has been helping out so much?.....

Two weeks ago I said to my comp," hey so if we are members and we are trying to be examples, why don't we ever read the scriptures together or say prayers at night right before we go to bed or ever have family home evenings? We practically are a couple! I said to him I want to prepare myself for when I have a wife and a family. So that when I have all that I will used to doing it. So... we started doing it and he and I are best friends, we don't argue and don't complain as much. You will always see a smile on our faces and for that I do testify that those things help a marriage and a family. I testify that the spirit is stronger when those things are put in practice! 

I love the gospel!!!I see a change in me and I love serving the Lord! I stand all amazed of the things I have learned and applied to my life. I am grateful for the leaders in the church and I know they have the power to guide us here on earth and they receive revelation from God!

love you all 

Elder Santacruz

Zone Conference

My Jamaican Friend