Missionary Monday

Well....that was a week!!  Haha! I'll just give a recap of what happened... There was a lot.. So Wednesday we woke up at 3:59 (just to be able to tell the other Elders that we woke up before 4) to be able to make our bus out of Arrecifes at 5:30... Well we went to Rosario which was about 3.5 hours from Arrecifes and then from there I split off with some others that were coming to Santa Fe and we took another bus to Santa Fe that took about 3 more hours. We got to Santa Fe and I saw my second companion Elder Millerberg. That was fun. Then I met my new companion. His name is Elder Muñoz, he´s from Nicaragua and left on his mission before he was 19, which is a little rare for Latins.. haha!  
So he has been waiting his whole life to be a missionary so he works really hard...we get along really well.  Anyway...so we were at the bus station.. I met him along with the other Elder that we live because his new companion came to Santa Fe with me.  The one that came with me is Elder Richardson he is from the same stake in Arizona as my last companion Elder Jones...and the other one is Elder Lopez from El Salvador, he´s 24.  They´re both really cool. Elder Richardson were glad because there are some Latins that aren´t that keen on having American companions, but both of them want to learn english and always say things like, "ohpunzeeduor" (open the door) or "clotheszeeduor" (close the door). hahaha  
Anyway, so there were us 4 elders along with like 8 big suitcases that we had and they had a member come to pick us up in his little 2 door hatchback Geo type car... it was so hot.. the back was open.. I'm surprised my luggage isn't scattered on the highway.. and we were packed tighter than sardines.. hahaha!  
When we got to our "apartment" I thought it was a joke... haha. I'm not trying to be a baby.. and at least now I feel that I can actually say, "Well on my mission I had to live in....." haha! But it's pretty bad..  It's in the back of a members yard. The kitchen sink drains into a bucket, the walls aren't complete so there are a bunch of holes in the mortar and everything to the outside, the floors are cement, and the shower is just a bucket that you open up the valve to let the water fall on you.... I'm getting used to it.. its a really poor area, poorer than I've seen in any other part of the area... but the people are really cool and there is a lot of member help.  

 So then the rest of the week we spent meeting investigators and members and preparing 3
people to be baptized on Saturday!! I obviously didn't know them very much at all, but I taught them each 3 times or so and we had the baptism on Saturday it was nice.  Here we have a ward and a chapel!! my first dedicated church building and ward! You can really see the difference it makes to have a ward.. everything seems to function a little better.  Though a
little kid that came with his investigator sister legitimately kept robbing me during sacrament meeting. I had to take coins for a bus for us and he serioulsly kept stealing them.  Trying not to be funny I said, "You're a robber."  He said,  "I stole a movie once," like he was proud.. oh I was so mad..... I finally got it all back once all of these ladies saw him doing it and threatened him.. hahaha! Whatever.... the Young Men and Young Women of the stake here are doing a trek next month.. (they have no idea what they are in for) so they are selling ice cream everywhere and we have eaten a lot.. every house we go to has ice cream haha.  There is finally a sister that washes our clothes and returns it in the same day..score!  

We basically only speak spanish all of the time except for when we try to have English practice time while saying prayers in which case the prayer ends, "in the Jesus Christ amen" We´re workin on it.. I know how they feel!! haha. So my Spanish is fine now but it gets better everyday listening to how a native speaks and what expressions he uses and stuff. We get along really well and have a lot of fun he is a great teacher and obviously can speak well.. haha.. I'm excited!  I like being Senior companion it's fun and I like the responsibility... I do better with it I think.

Well that was the week! I love you all! I'm so grateful for the gospel in my life.  I'm grateful to have been born in a place where the church functions so well and the blessings that we receive for living so close to temples and where I have friends and family in the church... I KNOW we are in the only true and living church. I know the atonement has power to heal all of the problems in the world, that it is infinite.