Bien Dia (translated to Good Day)

Well I keep with my record of a new companion every transfer and a new area every two transfers. I am now located in a city called Villa Dolores (about four hours from Córdoba to the west southwest). My companion is Elder Bushnell from Ogden, Utah (we have the same time in the mission, he was in Elder Lamb's district in the MTC). There are four of us in the area. One of the others is from Mesa and the other is from Utah and we are all going to have an awesome transfer. This city is very reminiscent of Oncativo: small, quiet, dead during the siesta, and a branch of 25. Usually you receive transfer news from your district or zone leaders unless there is something special like training or becoming zone leader or something. Well I was not sure what to think when President Olsen called me transfer night. He told me that Villa Dolores has had some missionaries is a slump lately and that he feels the area has people ready to hear the gospel and he wants me to pull it out of this slump. So we're gonna see what I can do.

That's way awesome about Dad's coworker!!! I love baptisms! I'm sad I'm not going to see a couple in Argüello that will be happening the week after conference, but the important thing is that they are making covenants, not that I'll be there to watch them do it.

Alright something that I have come to dislike about missionary work. You become very close to people; to the members, investigators, the girl who works in your bakery, etc. Then comes transfers and you have to say goodbye. It's not fun, especially when I know I'm going to come to love the people here in Villa Dolores as well then I'll have to say goodbye...at least till the Big C.

Anyway I'm stoked to be in the middle of nowhere again. Thank you for the prayers and support and the love. You're great.

Love,

ELMX

Way Awesome Week

Okay, well this week is just full of fun things to fill you in on...
My trainer Elder Shae Curtis Abraham is back in the states. I painted a house and ate a huge asado and had root beer for the first time in my mission (it does not exist down here a member buys a ton of extract when he goes to the states, which is regularly). I was able to work up in the mountains for an afternoon, way sweet! Elder Haacke and I started changing ties when someone leaves the room to see if they'll notice, no one has caught on yet haha. I received the biggest, sloppiest, drunkenest kiss (on the cheek) by a man in the street. Elder Haacke's girlfriend completed another year of life on Saturday so we celebrated with an ice cream cake some lil banners and a baptism.

As for some miracles this week: Elder Haacke and I clapped a door and when a woman answered we saw one of our old investigators sitting in her house. So we taught a lesson and kind of used Mariana like we would a member to help teach. I think it went very well for both Carolina (the new girl) and Mariana (the old one). Other miracle: Elder Haacke and I were talking to a lady in the street when a car pulls up next to us and asks us where our church is and when we can come visit them. This family has five children and we were able to teach them all and half the family came to our baptismal service Saturday.

Way awesome week. So this is the last week of the transfer so next week we'll see where I'll be (I'm hoping to stay, due to the awesome area, companion and other roommates).Well I'll catch ya next week.

Hasta luego
LMX

Working Hard and Loving It

Elder Haacke and I are working hard and loving it but sometimes it's hard, but never discouraging. I'm still loving this work and my time here. I don't want to leave Argûello but I think I only have two weeks left.

We have an investigator named Miguel who reads every reading assignment before we come and his countenance is brighter every time we see him. Also, an investigator named Noelia who we took a family with to teach her turns out to be even closer to the family than we were told making it more of a miracle that we chose to take them to a lesson with her (she was their late daughters best friend for many years, and we had no idea).

We received some more crazy rain which was my fault. As we were eating lunch that day I commanded it to rain without a cloud in the sky. That night it rained, and it did not stop for the next day and a half. I'm still waiting for cold weather, I'm tired of this hot sticky weather.

I want to be the best member missionary when I return (which I'm sure all missionaries say, but I really do want to do so).

So one adventure. Elder Haacke and I wanted to take a different bus one day to shake things up and have ourselves an adventure, well this bus eventually turned and took us in the wrong direction, making it more of an adventure than we had planned for, but it all turned out okay :)

Love you all! Take care and have a super d00per spring break.

Chao,LMX

March Rains

Tuesday: Flooding. Not very often do we eat in the apartment, but we did this day. At lunch time it started raining, and hard. Luckily we were in the apartment to prevent too much flooding. However, we were stuck there to protect the apartment and all our stuff for awhile and not working. But we finally got everything situated and ventured out into the storm. There was a cab parked in the flooded street and we pushed him out getting absolutely drenched. However, despite the rain and all we were so happy leaving having helped the people in the cab and the cab driver.

Thursday: I was almost eaten by a dog.

Sunday: Elder Civic (from the area presidency) visited our ward and I got to meet him and we gave him the last fifteen minutes of the testimony meeting, it was pretty sweet. Then that night we taught an investigator with some members and they asked us to give one of the children a blessing. We explained how blessings work and asked who she wanted to do the anointing and who to do the sealing. The young girl chose Elder Haacke for the blessing, so with less than three weeks in Argentina he gave his first blessing in Spanish and it was way awesome.

Monday: We ate Mexican food...kinda :)

That's my week. Fun and rough and awesome and I'm still loving it here. Thanks for the updates. Congrats on all your certifications. And congrats to Shea for braces and Tyra for her speaking part. You're all the best. I love you all and I'll talk to you next week.

Love,

LMX

Eight Months Out...Crazy

Yep eight months. One third. That's crazy, that's a large fraction.

I do not have any word on the Chile earthquake. Elder Pacheco tried calling his family but they did not answer because there are no communications, but they live in Chillon near Concepción so I really want to hear how they are. I still have yet to feel an earthquake (or at least recognize it) so I would say I felt nothing from Chile nor Salta, I wasn't even aware Salta had one.

Is there any temple news for Phoenix, Gilbert, or Gila Valley?

So this week was challenging. We are working way hard, talking to everybody (without exaggerating), and praying and doing all we should, yet we aren't seeing many fruits. Elder Haacke is great. We get along very well, and work all day long. His Spanish frustrates him but I've already seen him improve a lot. I still cannot believe I'm training when I have so much to learn still. We found a promising young man of seventeen years this week, however, and he made me laugh way hard. When we met him we asked if we could come in and he said he would like us to but his mother is a little "freaky freaky" which neither Elder Haacke nor I knew was an expression in Spanish.

I'm loving this mission, this time in my life. I'm excited that Tate is excited to serve because I would not trade this for anything. Regardless of how difficult some days are, everyday you go to bed feeling good that you did all you could to help people. I love you all and I appreciate your prayers, your letters, your love and your support.

Till next week,
LMX