Not Much News...Just a Dog Bite and an Illness

I'm sorry I don't have too much news for you this week. Tuesday was Argentina's bicentennial. I knew nobody would be working so I was excited to go out and find lots of people. With lots of energy we went out to work and found a dead town. But I talked to people in the street, knocked a couple doors then had a Pumba sized dog grab onto my ankle with some force. As I brought around the left foot for a good, swift kick the dog ran away and cowered inside a fence. That bite, however, sucked a little animo out of me so we decided it was time to return for lunch. While in the store purchasing lunch I got really light headed and felt like I was going to pass out. I made the two block trek back home and spent the next couple days in bed. No, I did not have to take any medicine. I finished my gummy vites :( so maybe I'll buy new vitamins but they won't be as good. No need to worry I did not get anything from the dog, just coincidence that it happened the same day.

Those two events make up my week. Today I taught the district how to play Shanghai (our family card game) and they all enjoyed it haha, but I need help remembering the scoring system.

That's my week. I am feeling better now and even helped a member chop some wood...and I'm a little sore, haha. I walk all day, apart from that my body is pretty inactive.

Hope everyone's weeks went better than mine :)

Chao,

LMX

Tools of a Missionary - Handkerchiefs and Fanny Packs

Happy p-day!

Hope you enjoyed your temple dedication! And yes I have purchased a handkerchief and feel way cool. I think I will be handkerchief user all my life. I have definitely bought into the life style. I also use a fanny pack to do missionary work everyday. Some missionaries choose to make fun of the fanny pack, but it has had a lot of success (I'm the third Elder to use it and the first two were legendary missionaries).

Usually talking or hearing about Mexican food makes me hungry, seeing how nothing similar is easy to find here and when you do it's almost always disappointing. Today, however, I am ridiculously stuffed with like 15 empenadas (six is usually plenty) for our branch party for the bicentennial of Argentina (which is actually tomorrow but we celebrated this afternoon with lots of food, some games and the film Old Dogs). An interesting fact...all movies in this country are American with subtitles or dubbed.

Well this week I had two really good experiences with some less active members and some of them came to church and church was three hours of inspiration and I have this strong urge to grow a mustache. Sorry there aren't too many stories we knocked 999654135579513 doors and talked to like 12 people. It's cold so people just tell us no through their closed windows and are not out in the street.

Love you all, take care and I'll catch ya next week.

ELMX

PS - Since I have been supplied with jokes and facts periodically, I felt I would repay you, and help you get a feel for what it's like being a missionary:

You know you're a missionary when...judge the quality of each door you knock.

Winter Weather Has Arrived

Some stories from the week: it got too cold too fast. I was (not) sleeping without a blanket because our apartment did not have enough, we don't have heaters and I didn't have too many warm clothes. I'm tryin to find me some thermals, but no success yet. I traveled to a town called Cura Brochero to visit and work with the family who speaks English who lived in California for a period of time. While there I saw a four year old pooping in the street and when four large gringos (four white missionaries) turned the corner and saw him and what he was doing he was terrified and ran off. I knocked more doors than I ever have in a week and had less success than I have ever had. I tried a wayy good homemade alfajor. And the ice cream nazi struck again!

That's crazy to think Harrison is home and so many of my friends are out serving(Hunter, Andrew, Alex, Robert, Jeremy, Stuart, Weston, D-Rise, etc).

Anyways, I love being here and am super grateful for this chance to serve. I am grateful for the support I have and for the five of you :)

Love,

ELMX

*Posted two pictures that Levi sent along with his e-mail. Found some graffiti on a wall which just happens to spell LDS (Latter-day Saints) so he couldn't pass up a great picture opportunity. Great pictures along with a buzz haircut. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday

In Argentina they have some interesting birthday traditions. They make a cake and put candles on it and sing a song and make a wish and blow the candles out and you get presents. However, being in the position of a missionary you stop people in the street and tell them it's your birthday and they listen instead of reject, especially when you say you are giving out gifts for your birthday (like a song or testimony or lesson pamphlet whatever it may be). What we did that's a little different will be manifest in photos you shall receive. I might have cake with a member next Sunday, if not then no cake :(.

We were cooling down but the past two weeks have been way hot. I don't know what happened. But the leaves are falling off trees which is cool to see, seeing how I've only been stuck in one continuous summer since May of 09. I did buy an overcoat off an elder who was going home, and it's come in handy a couple times seeing how I am in a country without heating. We as missionaries have electric floor heaters (just the hot air fans), and they do not work too effectively.

I traveled to Merlow again last Wednesday and I happen to be back today for the last p-day of the transfer. I'll have transfer news Sunday when we talk. My camping adventure was fun. I have no idea if other people do it. We are all relatively young in the district. And we got the idea because it was nice outside and we wanted to sleep under the stars..it's a natural male instinct.

I am eating lots of pasta and a new interesting meat called locro. Locro is cow stomach. Different but not bad. And in the pasta category there are these things called ñoquis which I have come to love. They are mashed potatoes then mixed with flour then rolled and cut into little potato noodles then thrown into boiling water and when they float in the water they are ready and they are one of my favorites and something I can bring back to the states seeing how it's just potatoes and flour then
whatever sauce you want.

I am always speaking English (more like Spanglish). We are four gringos in my house. We are also now teaching English classes on Saturday nights so some people like to practice English in church or lunches or whatever it may be.

Well thanks for wishing me a happy birthday and sending me all your support and love. Love you all. Take care. Talk to you soon.

Chao,

ELMX

Enjoying the Cooler Weather

Hola,

Yeah...seven days till I'm twenty. I'm not ready for it, my youth is slipping from my fingers slowly and it's not cool. But you know what is cool...the Gila Valley Temple. That's grrreat.

I am enjoying the cooler weather during the day for sure. But at night we are lacking blankets and heaters so it's not quite as enjoyable. However, Elder Flaherty (Gilbert, AZ has Lamoreauxs in his ward back home) and I camped out on our roof last night. It was cold and we woke up soaking up from the dew but it was as close to camping as I'll get and it was fun and I slept in one of the hat's Hannah made me to keep the ole head warm.

So this week was way cool because Elder Hyder (one of the assistants I lived with last transfer and his companion Elder Zarate) came out for a day to exchanges and it was good seeing Elder Hyer again for the last time before he goes home (in two weeks). He is an awesome Elder and friend so that was a fun day. And we were able to have a couple inactive members come back to church this week! And yeah, I love my area more every day. And this work and this life and you all. Cannot wait to talk to you next week! Take care till then.

Love,
ELMX

A Week Full of Travel

This week involved a lot of traveling. I was in Merlo last Monday and returned to Villa Dolores Tuesday only to board another bus for five hours to make my way to the city for zone conference. I stayed the night in Arguello and got to hear about the members and investigators and hang with Elder Haacke a little bit. It was fun and a little weird being back. Then the next morning Elder Bushnell and I went to zone conference. It was a good conference and I learned a lot. After conference and we get back to the bus terminal to go home we find out the only bus leaving for Villa Dolores was leaving at 11:30...it wasn't even nine. So we had to just chill in the terminal for awhile but I ran into a familiar face. Some young members came and starting talking to us. One of them looked very familiar. I asked him where he was from. He is from Oncativo. He is the branch president's son who was serving in Texas while I was there. That was pretty cool.

Every Thursday we eat lunch with an inactive member. He asked us what we learned in ZC. The first thing that came to my mind was journal writing of all things (Sis Olsen told us to write in our journals). Just saying journal writing sparked a big gospel conversation and he agreed to having us come and visit with him and his nonmember wife for a family home evening. Way capo.

Funny side story in Córdoba city. The bus terminal is downtown. There is a Subway restaurant there, and five of the six elders in our district wanted Subway and I knew where it was since I've had the privilege to spend a little time there (unlike the other five). We get to Subway and the two men working starting saying the ingredients in English as I would ask for something. "Quiero queso," "Cheese" like that, so I thought they spoke English. I said something I do not remember what in English and they both just stared completely perplexed and stopped saying ingredients in English.

As for Merlo, it was us four missionaries from Villa Dolores. Merlo is a hardcore tourist town so it was like money. I had the best pizza of my life (which I never ever would have guessed would happen in Argentina).

And yeah next time you hear from me by email and the next time you hear my voice I'll be twenty. Pretty sweet, and weird. I am not ready to be an adult, after the mission I wanna be eighteen again.

So work wise, we found a couple new people even with our couple days of travels. And that's my updates.

I love you all and I'll write you when I'm twenty years old.

Chao,

ELMX

Saw More of Argentina

More about Argentina:

I eat the same food here as everywhere fried chicken and pasta. Argentina does not like cooking complex meals or anything that takes time...with the exception of ñoquis (pronounced nyokee). It is mashed potatoes then mixed with flour and rolled into noodles and eaten with some sort of pasta sauce. They are wayy good and in my top three favorite foods. Not only are they good but the twenty ninth of every month is ñoquis day and I plan on continuing this tradition in our family and after the appropriate amount of years in my own (I just trying to freak you out Mom, your son is almost twenty and one day you'll be a grandmother).We have lunch probably three/four times a week with members (dinner is eaten at nine or later, when we are supposed to be home).

And I am pretty close to a mountain. I hiked up a lil mountain today. I am actually in a town called Merlow for the day which is out of the Córdoba province but too far from the Mendoza mission so it's in my district, and it is at the foot of a mountain.Well Villa Dolores is still moving really slow. We have nobody and I do all I can and the work is still moving nowhere. However, a new member moved to our ward from Buenos Aires who I truly feel is going to help the branch. They were temple workers back in BA and have tremendous faith so I'm hoping things can pick up soon.

According to the elders in the office my package is waiting at customs to be picked up, which means I am going to have to pay to get it out, but I don't know how much yet. I have zone conference this week so I'll be doing some travel and losing a working day and a half but I still wanna get out and find some people and help the branch.

Thanks for the updates on everyone. Sorry I don't have too much to update, hopefully next week will be full of good news!

Love you all so much. Take care and have a good week.

Chao,ELMX