WEEK #32

Hey! The mish is going well! I still have the same companion for 2 weeks but after that my comp goes home and I'll be here in the same area but with a different comp. Haha, I hope he's enjoying it, but I'm not sure with how much I've been buggin him about finishing strong. And yeah recently the weather here hasn't been all that bad, I think it has been in the 60's all this week.. kind of like a nice winter day in San Diego(: Really, this last week there hasn't been much change which I'm a little sad to be able to say that at any point during the mission, but we have just been keeping ourselves busy trying to find some new people to teach more than anything. We have had a little bit of luck in finding some new investigators but I'm afraid they aren't all prepared for baptism yet, so we will just have to keep working hard! Well mom Ill talk to you next week

WEEK #31

Things are going good! On Wednesday we made it to the temple, it was cool to be able and do the session in Spanish and understand everything, haha. Right now in the mission we are doing a mission activity of reading the Book of Mormon in 24 days.. we started on the first of July and we will end on the 24th of July to remember the pioneers then we are going to have a little party or something like that after. We received permission to watch a soccer game on the 4th of July because Argentina made it to the finals of the cope America which is a huge tournament between all of South America, but they lost to Chile in penalties, haha. I dont know why Argentina can never finish a tournament strong, they are always losing in the finals just like in the world cup. But it was fun to be able and watch it. It was a little sad to not be able and celebrate the 4th of July here, but I guess I will see what their independence day is on July 9th. It's funny that everybody here knew the American Independence day too. A couple people talked to me about it when they realized I was a gringo. Time is passing incredibly fast here.. I already have almost 8 months in the mission. Nutz!

WEEK #30

Things are definitely staying busy. It has been a little bit of a challenging week for me as well.. really just because I feel like I have been doing it all around here but its alright I'm sure becoming a better missionary from it. It's just a bit frustrating, however even with working alone we did have a little bit of success which is great. But also I just received word that we won't have a complete p-day today because we are going to the temple this Wednesday! That will be my first time here in Argentina so I'm pretty excited. This last weekend it rained so much here that most of the roads were just flooded with mud which was crazy, haha, but Argentines act like the rain is the end of the world like all the parents wouldn't even let their kids leave the house which I thought was pretty funny, Haha, and the bishop in the town right next to us cancelled church after sacrament which I don't even think is allowed but whatever. Really it was just busy work without too many climaxes. I guess seeing as I don't really have much to say about the week.. oh, and I'm learning to speak Portuguese a little as well. So, I just made that another life goal to speak 3 languages, cause Portuguese is so similar to Spanish it's crazy and I did divisions with a Brazilian kid who taught me a ton already but yeah, that's about it, haha. Well, like I said, we have a short p-day this week because we are going to the temple so I can't write much more.

WEEK #29

I'm proud to say that I really do love the mish life. This last week has been a little crazy, but definitely in a good way. It started out with a divisions, then another day of divisions, then another day of divisions, then finally a baptism! It was cool to be able to do so many divisions and meet so many new elders, cause really everybody has their own unique ways of doing things. It doesn't matter if they have more time than you or less time, you still learn so much. And even better, you are always best friends by the end of the day. On Sunday we were able to have a baptism with one of my great friends and "brother" like he says with his really really Latino accent every time he sees me, haha, but he is a 19 yr old kid from Peru named Junior. And really the feeling you get every baptism might be the best feeling of all time I'm convinced, seeing though when he was finally dunked under the water I could barely breath cause I was so happy and excited it's unexplainable. And to know that he will receive the priesthood in the next couple weeks and go on himself to help so many other people is just coolest thing. I have also met one of the biggest examples I have ever met, his name is Jose Segovia, and now he is our ward mission leader. But before I really didn't know his story, and I still wouldn't know his story if a different member didn't tell us. But it all started about 10 years ago when he finally gave in and listened to the missionaries at about the tenth time that they passed by. But he was a drunk and didn't even know how to read because he left school at such an early age. But when the missionaries invited him to pray about the truths of what they have taught, he prayed and received an answer. And when he received this answer he decided to never drink alcohol again, but he also received the determination to be able to read the book of Mormon. So he tried to teach himself using the bible and book of Mormon but couldn't do it. So he signed himself up for primaria (elementary school) as a 40 yr old man and has now read the Book of Mormon multiple times and is the most faithful member I have met here in Argentina. I just wanted to share that cause really he is such a stud, and I realized how easy we have it with all the truth that we need right their at our finger tips with the scriptures that we can study so easily but still nos cuesta leerlo and learn from the key of our religion. So read and study the book of Mormon and I promise it will make the biggest difference every day! The gospel is so real, I have learned that really even though at times it seems like a huge sacrifice, it really is a huge blessing that we have to help us and bring us this happiness.

WEEK #28

This last week was nutz but I loved it. Really, just a little bit crazy cause we did a lot of traveling on crowded old Argentine buses to meetings that we had more than half the days last week. But I don't know, sometimes it's when you are just doing crazy things and life seems super busy that you need to take a step back and look at what you are doing. Like when I think about it, it still blows my mind that I'm so far away at home here in Argentina working all day every day but I love doing it. I don't know if I just explained that very well but I hope you guys can at least some what understand. It just brings a smile every time. Also, we have been able to see a miracle this last week in the work. So, we went to go visit a family from the ward, and as it turns out one of their cousins named Junior came to live with them from Peru. And right before he came to Argentina, he received all of the charlas and went to the church and really has done everything besides get baptized. So we went to go talk with him about everything, and he basically gave himself a baptism date. But as he kind of told his story to us, it was cool to see how much faith a 19 year old kid could have. Im excited to see him grow in the church and receive the priesthood and all, it will be such an experience. If everything goes right we will have photos next week! Oh and also he showed me a cool game from Peru called "trumpo" which is so sick, you guys should look it up. I want it to get popular in the states haha

WEEK #27

This last week was de diez really even though we didn't baptize (baptisms are definitely in the future). I really enjoyed it. This area is so chill and the people are just so humble that it's cool to be around them and really see how much faith a person that has close to nothing can have. But, one thing I really enjoyed this week is just meeting new people in general, that has to be one of the best things of the mission. Doesn't matter if they are members, investigators, other missionaries; I feel like I have already built like lifetime friendships with so many people. Man the mission is the best no doubt. Well, anyway this last week I had the chance to do divisions with one of my zone leaders in my area which was kind of crazy cause really I still get lost really easy here like I always had the map in my hand but we were still able to have a lot of success because he taught me a valuable lesson that really everything depends on your animo or really how much energy and excitement you bring to the table. It doesnt matter who you are working with, if you are really excited and showing them that you are enjoying what you are doing, the other person is going to want to help. So, that was one of our goals for the day, and man it really worked. we went to go visit a member named Hermano Coco who is a really old guy and I still dont understand a single word he says, haha, but we went and shared this excitement that we had and wow, I have never seen an old guy move so fast to introduce us to some people haha hes nutz. But really thats all I wanted to share is a little bit about animo that everything is in your head, so in any situation if you need to give yourself a pep talk to pump yourself up. DO IT, because it just makes everything 10x better. And also my sd card got a wicked virus, but I think it will be fixed by next week so I'll have some cool videos and photos and stuff by next week.

WEEK #26

This has been a really eventful, non-eventful week. Which sounds a little bit contrary but really, I don't know how else to explain it. Elder Sandoval and I have been working a ton here in Del Viso and I think we are going to end up seeing some results if we can keep it up. I think I have been able to meet just about every member here in this Branch in under 2 weeks and so far they all seem super willing to help us which is really what it all depends on. The missionary work is impossible without you Members! But yeah, so far I love it out here in Provincia. It's a lot more quiet and just more peaceful. Even though their are like 50 diseased dogs barking all at once always.

The reason I said non-eventful is because really I can only think about one experience worth sharing with you guys, but I have been able to think about a lot of the small blessings and lessons that I have received here. Well anyway, that experience was yesterday when I was able to go to our stake center and watch the dedication of the temple that is now open in Cordoba, Argentina! haha Everybody thought it was weird that I was from Utah but have never seen a temple dedication before because I think their are like 13 temples in Utah. And now I realize what I missed out on for never going to them, because really, it was so cool to see. President Uchdorf dedicated it and spoke a little bit of Spanish, which was kinda funny to see, but it was just so cool to see how happy everybody was. And really this joy of the people of Cordoba just carried the spirit so strong. I don't know, it's just that something clicked for me that really it has been such a blessing to have lived so close to the temples and I never really took advantage of it as I should have. But really even an hour of temple work is helping other people be with their families in happiness forever. Well anyway, that was about my week, a lot of walking and meeting new people here in Argentina. (I hope next week we will be able to find some bikes so I can send some action fotos)