"This is as close as you'll ever get to 'real life'"

 A side note from his email home:  So Good news on the pension (apartment/house?). Oh, Mom, we moved pensions because we are getting more elders here, so they needed 2 pensions in Benavidez.  We had the guy who is in charge of housing for the mission come to put in our oven. And he told us it is the worst he has ever seen. So good news is, this is a great place to start out, because it can't get any worse! 

His birthday is Dec. 6th.  I sent a free pouch letter through dearelder.com-- you click on send free letter by pouch, then choose Argentina, Buenos Aries North, and then write a quick note.  It arrives at his mission office, and he gets it whenever he happens to be at the mission office.  If anyone wants to respond back with an email for him, I can forward it to him.  They have limited computer time on preparation day, so he may not be able to answer back right away.

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From: "Heath Tenney"  
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 2:14:29 PM
Subject: "This is as close as you'll ever get to 'real life'"

Hey Family! 

Thank you so much for all of your prayers. An inspired Sister in the ward gave me some antibiotic pills for my stomach and it got rid of the infection or whatever it was, so this week I was pretty much all better! It really was a miracle. I can definitely say that missionary work is much more fun and effective when you are healthy. And it was such an amazing week. Elder Holland visited the mission this week and spoke to us, President Ayre came out with Elder Hamilton and I to several teaching appointments,...It was an awesome week. 

1st of all, this week we were on our way to our investigator, Valeria's house. She is great. She is 19, from Peru. We were planning to just stop by and see how her reading was going, but I felt like we needed to do more. So we shared Moroni 10:3-5 with her and it was exactly what she needed to hear. She opened up with several concerns she had and the spirit completely guided us in our conversation to help her. Later in the week, she told us about amazing experiences she had from reading what we left with her that resolved the concerns she had. Ahh! The Book of Mormon is SO powerful. Really, all we have to do is just follow the spirit to know what each person needs to read in the Book of Mormon, and if they do it, the spirit will touch their hearts. Then when President came with us, he bore such a powerful testimony to Valeria, the spirit was so powerful. Now, she is getting baptized this next Sunday! The Book of Mormon changes hearts. It is so true.

Having President with us for one night was so great. I was amazed at the pure love he had and shared with these people he had never met in his life. I have never seen someone who could make someone else feel so loved within minutes of meeting them. He is a powerful missionary.

The meeting with Elder Holland was sooo good. It was incredible to hear from him in person. He told us his main purpose in coming half way across the world to talk with us was to tell us of his love for us. And we could feel it. In his simple but powerful words, "I love you." you could feel the love of him and the love of the Savior. I wish I could tell you everything! He told us to not think about 'real life' after the mission, he said "THIS IS IT! This is real life. This is as close as you will ever get to real life...You are an apostle during this sacred time. You do what I do. From the morning to evening, we are focussed on saving a human soul." It was so powerful and left me inspired to give my heart more and more to the Savior and be focussed on His glory. 

Yesterday, Vivianna, who was baptized last week, was confirmed a member of the Church and received the Holy Ghost. It was such an amazing thing to be a part of. I have only been here for 2 weeks, but the changes in her have been unbelievable. When I first met her, she was kind of upset because she thought I couldn't understand anything she was saying (luckily I understood her when she said that..) haha. But yesterday when we met with her, I saw the evidence of the converting power of the Spirit.1st of all, she wore a completely modest and beautiful dress to church! Then she told us when we came into her house, "Oh, Sorry Elders, these shorts are probably too short..." Then she told us how she has been teaching her children to pray and prays with them every night. She has been reading the Book of Mormon to her inactive husband and asking him every night to pray with her. And she has been rereading all the pamphlets we gave to her so she can be ready to share them with her friends. AND, during the lesson, her kids were going crazy and not being respectful to her, but she didn't yell, threaten them, or even get angry. We were just in aw. She has been transformed, in 2 weeks, she has completely changed, 2 weeks! And I ask myself, "What did we do?" and the answer is absolutely nothing. We simply went where the Lord wanted us, and the spirit did everything...EVERYTHING. It is the spirit that changed her heart and desires for modesty. It is the spirit that helped her to be patient. It is the spirit that converted her. It is soooo humbling to see these changes and feel the difference when we are around her. I truly know that this work, the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is all about Him. We can't change hearts, it is Him. I am amazed over and over again at His power.

Thank you so much again for all of your prayers. They mean the world to me and I feel them. I am loving Argentina. I am still adjusting to a lot of things, but I can definitely say there is no place else in the world I would rather be, because I know this is where the Lord wants me. I love Him and I love this work.

Have a wonderful week! I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Heath Tenney