Update of the Week

Howdy,

Well I'm half way through this transfer and things indeed are going well. Like every area, every transfer, and every week there are ups and downs but I'm definitely enjoying my current situation. The work has its ups and downs, for two weeks we didn't find any new investigators who were progressing, but this week we found some solid people. We passed the mission goals for lessons taught this week (the goals are 8 with members and twenty others) but it's really hard to get people to the chapel. Sunday is kinda the test to see how well you did during the week, and we are only averaging three investigators a week in church. That's the only area where we're not meeting goals and where I feel we need to improve.

Highlights of the week. I taught three lessons in English (one to an a young man from Sierra Leon who has lived in Argentina for several months but speaks English better than Spanish, and one to Fernando on whom I'll have to update you on next week). And not so much a highlight but noteworthy, my Spanish is at a level where I can wing sacrament meeting talks when they ask five minutes ahead of time.

We eat lunch everyday with members and we do use the recent converts to locate new investigators, they are great to use because they love helping, but we haven't found anyone who is progressing yet through them. We find more investigators through tracking but we do receive references as well. And as for the children I spoke of last week, they are one brother and sister and their cousin, the mothers are members and the fathers do not want to listen.

That's sweet about the rain and snow for Arizona! I love rain...and cold...I miss cold. It's been summer since May for me, I'm tired of it. That's crazy about a tornado, I have to tell an investigator because that was the first question he asked me about the states is if I had seen a tornado haha.

Random - my companion likes soccer but his favorite sport is tae kwon do. I'm the best gringo in my zone at soccer.

Sounds like all of you are still busy and doing well. Thanks for the pictures. I'd write more but I have an appointment and I'm going to be late.

Love,
LMX

Pan de Salvación - Plan of Salvation Lesson

Okay I have much too write and no time to do it (today was crazy). Well first off Imma sending a birthday shout out to Lizz, Breezey, Seth, and Sarah Sawtelle.

Now, meaning of the subject line. Pan is bread but is a letter away from plan, and salvación is salvation. We have three young investigators of the ages 11 12 and 13. Well we taught a wayy legit lesson using banana bread and all the ingredients, I'd paint a word picture but again I'm short on time.

Crazy story of the week: Tuesday night I woke up at 2:30 to crazy strong wind and a little rain. I closed my window and went around the apartment to close the others. We have a large sliding glass door/window. The furious winds managed to remove the top of the window from its railings. At 2:30 in the morning, neither my companion nor I were firing on all cylinders and had no idea what to do other than hold the window in place so it didn't blow all the way out. Elder Pacheco ruled out my idea of putting a mattress on the floor so if the window came all the way out it would fall on something soft, but he wasn't feelin it so we stood there longer before I finally looked for a flashlight (upstairs our lights do not work), then both of us with flashlights in our mouths started trying to fix the window. As there are two young men messing with a window in the middle of the night with flashlights in their mouths a cop parks on the corner and watches us. Finally after 30/45 minutes we finally made it back to bed. Fun night.

Other cool story, we were working with a member who eats plants off the ground and offers them to us and acts like we were missing out when we don't want to eat them.

And finally I have discovered the answer to one of life's great questions: does the water in the southern hemisphere flush counter clockwise? Well world, it does.

Sorry that's all the time I got but Ill be here next week chao.

LMX

Great Transfer - Many Teaching Opportunities

Indeed I was and am busy with this transfer, I'm teaching more, working more, doing more but it's awesome. Cordoba is treating me with rain and heat, but she's being nice at the same time. My new area is in a word...awe...wait for it...some. My apartment is two stories, two bathroom, extremely hot and loud and when you first show up you think this place is way cool, then you live there for a week and it becomes less cool and then you remember you are a missionary and comfort is not part of the description, but it does have a pretty view out the second floor bathroom. My companion, Elder Pacheco, is awesome as a person and missionary, it is going to be a good transfer. He is the best yet and we're doing lots of work. With him, my everything will improve. My whole mission I will only cover one ward at a time, that's how we do things. Laundry...wait for it...machine! Yes we have our own washing machine, no dryer but I'm way happy I'll finally wash my pants. The difference between country and city: here is weird, everywhere I go I see these things called people. Other differences, here is prettier, but has less pavement so I'm dirtier, all day I'm walking on dirt/mud roads. The APs spend a lot of time with President so I don't see them much but it's better than I had anticipated. One AP is new this transfer so we have the same time in the area and he is pretty cool, the other is in his last transfer of the mission and bothers me but I can deal, and at least when he is doing the missionary work part of the mission he is a good example and teacher.

Speaking of teaching..I've actually been doing a lot of that. I'm teaching full time in a very awesome involved ward. We have seven people with baptismal dates coming up and it's awesome. I went from a branch of 20 active members to a ward of 130 active members. They also feed us everyday...sometimes twice a day. I'm going to leave Arguello a big boy. My chapel is on Vulcan street. I've recently given my first and several priesthood blessings in Spanish. And last random fact of the week, of the three companions I have had, all three have been district leader, interesting.

I did miss Dakar. [side note - Dakar is a world racing event involving cars, motorcylces, quads and big trucks. This year it is being held in Argentina and Chile. One day of the race they went right through Cordoba, where Levi is serving.] But I have talked to many people about Dakar, but a lot people don't really know what it is or that it used to be in Africa or that Dakar is even a place in Africa, so I've been doing some worldly as well as spiritual teaching. And as for real motorcycles I saw a CBR600 my last week in Oncativo (it was the same black and silver as the VFR).

Well, I love you all, and I am doing very well. I shall hear from and write you all in the coming week. Chao.

LMX

Has Levi's Quest Taken Him Someplace New?

Well first off I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Secondly, I would like to apologize for not being able to write last week, things were crazy with mission conference and a bus ride back to area and everything.

Talking on Christmas mine went well, I did get some candy, some socks, and a pin of the Argentine flag (speaking of the Argentine flag, when I get back I am buying sky blue vans and having the Argentine sun embroidered, tell me what you think) from members. Christmas was fun, just hung out till one in the morning and watched people shoot off fuegos artificiales (fireworks).
Argentines for New Years stay up till 12 and at midnight they all toast to the New Year and shoot off fireworks..really similar. I love New Years it's such an optimistic time. And nothing but the calendar changes yet it always feels like we're beginning anew.

In other news I have a new companion who once again does not speak my native language, but I'll be okay seeing how I'm starting to get the hang of his. Last transfer he was with Elder Goodman, pretty interesting. His name is Elder Pacheco and he is from Chile (near Concepción). Now as I've been feeding you the details about who I am with, I would wager you find yourself questioning where. Oncativo again? Or has Levi's quest taken him someplace new? Well, being the kind hearted individual I am I will inform you with the utmost haste. I am now serving in HQ (Cordoba). I live in the same apartment as the assistants (decent place too, better than the house in Oncativo). The area is called Arguello and my zone/stake is Las Sierras. It will be different serving in the city but I'm excited. However, the whole living with the AP's is not quite as exciting. I see President Olsen on a weekly basis now, and I'm trying to think of what I did to have this placed upon me...I guess we'll see how it goes.

I miss good Mexican food soooo much :( I found a place in downtown Córdoba that kinda makes burritos, it helped a little but when I said I wanted the spiciest sauce they had they made me try it first, lol.

In other news, I completed six months!
In other other news I do not remember everything I wanted to tell you all because I left my agenda in the apartment (I take notes on what to write).
Oh, more news, I filled up my first SD card! w00t!

Anyways, love you all and I'll write next week I promise.

Chao,

LMX

Merry Christmas

This week's news...well, not much happened really. Tuesday, Elder Frias and I had to go into Córdoba so he could take care of some nationality paper work. Turns out unless he returns to Chile for a day before January 14th he will lose his residency and have nowhere to go in a year when his mission is over, so we'll see what happens. While in downtown Córdoba I might have lead my companion down a certain street in which is located a stretch of music shops where I purchased a ... wait for it ... guitar! I've reforming some calluses and enjoying my Christmas present from my awesome family :)

Other events of the week include emergency transfers in which a good friend of mine left my district and zone (he actually received the phone call while I was working with him on exchanges). I've ran into quite a few esnakes (the Argentine girls who are into missionaries/gringos). I finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish and working my way through the New Testament. Three missionaries devoured three liters of ice cream. Oncativo and surrounding areas suffered from some slight flooding. And I have stayed the night in Rio Segundo (the other area in the district) twice for splits and both times I believe I was dinner for the mosquitoes.

I got sunburned really really bad about two weeks ago but now I'm working on my goofy looking tan. I met a lady who speaks English today. She is from Argentina but her grandparents are from England and she went to an English school. Speaking of schools, there are a couple of schools near me, and their Christmas break is three months long! (it is their Summer break too.)

Things are going well. My Spanish is finally reaching a place where I am mildly content and can understand what people say.

Merry Christmas,

LMX

A Little Rain...A Little Teaching

My week...I worked with Elder Fowkes (he and Elder Lamb are buds and from the same stake) in Rio Segundo for a day. We had an awesome zone conference in Cordoba, found some people, taught some lessons, and had two visitors this week in church.

While I was in the city I purchased some shoes and the official Argentina national fútbol jersey. Try to hold back the tears but I still don't have a guitar, still looking. The weather is hot, but I love the rain :) it rains a couple times a week (not hard but it's nice). But I don't love Christmas in the summer. Good memory--temple lights...and cold...and hot chocolate afterwards...sounds like a good Christmas activity.

Saturday I worked with a nineteen year old in the branch (Eduardo) and now that school is out I'll probably be seeing him some more. It reminds me of me before the mish haha.

Love,

LMX

Dunkage in Argentina

Salutations,

My second week of Latinism has come to an end. I'll leave it at this - North Americans and South Americans think in very different ways, luckily we have the same goals and desires so it all works out.

Saturday was, after a long wait, the baptism of Eduardo (Padre) Liendo. Elder Frias and I had the baptismal clothes in our house as well as our suits. We were returning to collect the clothes and to change into ours when we stopped and talked to a promising young lady. While talking to her we received a phone call from our branch president asking where we were the baptism was supposed to have started. We left Paola, ran to our place changed quick, grabbed the baptismal clothes and made it to the chapel late, out of breathe, and a little over heated. Nonetheless it went forth flawlessly from that point on.

The following day Hno. Liendo was confirmed and for his first time bore his testimony. It was incredible. Something else incredible transpired this week. We had 28 people in church! We had our plan, our backup plan, and our double backup plan fall through one afternoon. Of course this happened during the siesta when there is not one person to be seen, and you get yelled at for knocking on doors. So we stopped and prayed and asked for help finding a family. About forty two seconds later we found a family who came to church yesterday! It was incredible and it was a very rewarding week. Our average church attendance has been 18-21 for a long time now were at 28 and the chapel holds 36, I am going to fill this chapel before I leave (which I'm scared may be Jan 5). I could serve two years here. Also the branch really wants a real chapel and they were told if they could hold an average of 40 in sacrament for three months they would purchase the land for a building. I want it to happen way bad.

Another little note from this week, I sung my first Christmas song of my mission! In Spanish...and warm weather, but it's all good :)

That's all for now.

Chao,

LMX