Hello family,
This week was pretty good. It was feriado (holiday) this Monday and Tuesday because it has been two hundred years since Argentina fought their revolutionary war with Spain. They had this sweet parade in the plaza with a ton of people there so we got a bunch of contacts from that. And there was a guy selling cotton candy so we got some of that and popcorn with sugar (they eat it that way here instead of with sugar and butter. You should give it a try and you will be so Argentine). We also had a ward activity where they eat this stuff called locro. It´s a tradition that they eat it every year on this holiday. We heard from a bunch of people that it´s really nasty and I was nervous, but everyone went to the church and they cooked it up in the biggest pot I´ve ever seen (it´s kinda like a soup) and then we all sat down together and ate it. To me, it tasted pretty much exactly like all their other food, but I liked it. And I will be here on May 25th next year so I will get to have it again. That´s kind of a weird thought.
I got a CD Player this week. Hna. Davis just has an MP3 player here so I haven´t been able to listen to my CDs, but Elder Drennan is going home this coming week and he said he would give me his CD player. I still have $20 from the States that is always in my wallet even though I can´t use it here so I said I would give that to him. He said that was too much so he threw in some rechargeable batteries with a charger. Sweet. I´m really excited to listen to my CDs finally. Hna. Davis has some good stuff, but there´s only so many times you can listen to a conference talk or Disney music in Spanish before you want something new. Also, can you tell Hna. Gubler thanks for the CD and the letter they sent to me in the MTC? I meant to write her, but then I left and life got crazy. I appreciated it though and I´m excited to listen to the CD now.
Oh, this week, we walked down a street called Pasaje 30 de Octubre. I´m not exactly sure what happened here on 30 de Octubre, but it made me think of Kortni, since that is her birthday. I´m sure they have some sort of holiday on that day. Argentines are super lazy so anytime they have an excuse for a holiday, they take it. Seriously, they celebrate the day of the mothers, fathers, grandparents, workers, grandchildren, boyfriend, girlfriend, friend, and then there´s the week of the student. It´s ridiculous, but also kinda sweet. Anyway, I´ll let you know when 30 de octubre comes what they´re celebrating, but the Argentines and I will be celebrating on Kortni´s birthday this year.
Also, Hermana Davis and I started teaching a 25 year old student this week named Tupac. Yup, like the singer. He said that even here, people think it´s weird and no one believes that´s his name. He said he has to carry his ID around to prove it to people. And one time, he told someone that was his name and the person said,"yeah, and I´m 50 cent". He´s pretty cool though. He´s met with missionaries before and knows a lot of stuff and he´s so ready to get baptized. He would be a great member of the church. We just have to help him figure that out.
I don´t remember if I told you last week, but I found out that Argentines don´t go to church if it´s really hot or really cold or if it rains. So last week, it looked like it was going to rain all last week, but it never did... until Sunday. So Sunday came and the chapel was super empty. Even the faithful members stay home when it rains so our investigators also stayed home. We are trying to go by and see all of our investigators and see if we can get them to come to church, but we are also always looking for new people. We know that there are prepared people in Toay, but we are having trouble finding those that are prepared enough to want to go to church and even fewer (like none) who actually go. Hna. Davis gets discouraged by the fact that we can´t help anyone progress and then I get discouraged and then we get excited again and then Sunday comes and then we cry and then we get excited again and find someone cool and then they don´t come to church and then we have a good lesson and.... this is the cycle in which I have found myself. Generally, I am very happy here. There are a bunch of people in the ward that I really like and I know that they are going to be faithful to the end. I realized this week that I am going to be in Toay for a few months and then I will leave, but the faithful people who live here will be here, going to church for the rest of their lives and they try so hard to make their ward great. So I have to work hard for them and try to make their ward stronger so that they can help and support each other here and teach their children for the rest of their lives. Sunday is transfers. I am going to feel like I have accomplished something once I hit one transfer. I have quite a few more, but I feel good about my mission so far and I know it´ll just keep getting better.
Toay is doing great and our zone is good and Hna. Davis and I are healthy (probably would be healthier if we didn´t eat so much, but I´ve learned how to make crepes and omelettes and how to turn on our oven to make toast) and happy. The life of a missionary is a strange one, but I get to meet lots of interesting people and I do feel like I am helping some of them. I pray for you all. Be nice and help the missionaries where you live. :) I love you all! And I know now, more than ever, that the gospel is the most important thing in this life and it can bless and change the life of every person.
Besos,
Hermana Seegmiller
P.S. Sometimes the men here give us kisses on the cheek before we can stop them and it really freaks me out. It´s just a custom they have here, but it feels super scandalous to me. Don´t worry though. I´m being a good missionary.
No comments:
Post a Comment