The Elders of Chacabuco made the newpaper. Thanks to Josue Barreiro, brother of Elder Barreiro for sharing this article with us. A rough translation in English follows below the article."
Text of the Article:
Their presence, seen riding through the streets of Chacabuco on bicycle, dressing inexorably in white shirt, necktie and dark trousers, in addition to helmets, with the years became something habitual. Mormons, as they are more popularly known, already have spent more than two decades in our city, with representatives that change periodically coming from other countries. With time, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that is its name, built a chapel at Italia 75 at which "the small but faithful" congregation of Chacabuco attends weekly.
At the moment, this religion has four missionaries in our city, whose names, like those of other members of the faith, are preceded by the word Elder, which means brother. They are the Brazilian Elder Barreiro; Elder Fratantueno, the only Argentinean of the group; and two North Americans, Elder Macfarlane and Elder Wilkes. All of them have been in Chacabuco for about 30 days.
24 Months of Mission
The Elders, who visited "De Hoy" yesterday, average 20 years of age and are accomplishing a mission of 24 months of duration, after which they will return to the habitual life in their respective countries and will be replaced by other volunteers.
Talking about the activities they hold in Chacabuco, the visitors indicated the main one as the weekly meeting held each Sunday, from 9:00 to 12:00, in the chapel on Italia Street. The rest of the days they spend "knocking doors" and transmitting the message of their religion to the neighbors who want to listen.
The main material that the missionaries take with them is the “Book of the Mormon", a work whose value for them is similar to the Bible for the Catholics. According to their comments, this book relates a history of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. The writings place special emphasis on a belief that this religion has that, after his resurrection, Jesus Christ visited our continent.
"In the visits that we make to the homes, our main interest is to fortify the families of Chacabuco", commented one of the Elders, who indicated that the message that they share offers aid for strengthening the family.
"Very friendly and respectful People"
Contrary to what one would assume, The Mormons are said to be happy with the way in which they are treated during their visits to the homes of Chacabuco.
"The majority are very friendly and respectful people", commented one of them. "Of all the towns in which I’ve been, never have they treated me as well as here", said another one of the Elders.
Before coming to our city, the missionaries made similar visits in different areas of sub-urban Buenos Aires, and in other communities of the interior. According to them, all of the activities that pursue are voluntary.
In the Church, “nobody receives a paycheck", one of them said.
The Church of the Latter-day Saints, they commented, includes about 12 million faithful members in the world, of whom in Argentina there would be something more than 330,000.
Before leaving, the Elders announced that they are preparing a musical concert that will be performed in the amphitheatre of the General Paz plaza in the next few days.
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