Well, Elder Slaugh and myself are incredibly tired right now. This last week was intense. On a usual basis, people get on average 200 contacts a week, 6 to 7 new investigators, 30 lessons, and a bunch of other stuff. We did 317 contacts, 42 lessons, 15 new investigators, and it keeps on going! The last few days have been tough on our bodies. We take every opportunity we get to rest, which is maybe... 5 minutes. Haha. My feet are killing me, but it´s nothing inserts, or anything else will fix. It´s just walking the 10 to 15 miles a day at the rate of a slow jog. I´ve got a few pictures of my shoes. Yesterday, we were walking so fast, I have impressions on the top of the shoes where the big toe presses. Also, I already have holes in my socks... No way!! But the important thing is that we are working incredibly hard, and that´s the way it should be.
So remember Familia Castillo? If I didn´t tell you about them before, oh well. Anyways, they were a WAY inactive family, but e. Slaugh and I went over to visit them because Alan, their son turned 8 yrs old. We taught them, and we ended up getting him baptized!! His father was... sort of a wreck. Didn´t have any work, and the first time we came over, he didn´t even talk to us. After the baptism of his son, we kept visiting with them, and now, his countenance has changed dramatically. He´s always smiling, he offers to say the prayers... The whole family is active now. It´s such a blessing. And now, the father has TWO jobs. It´s an incredible blessing and miracle, and I know it´s because they attend church, and have become so happy as a family. The pictures are of us eating a cake they made. The frosting was a little more than flour and a tiny bit of sugar. These people are so humble. But I´ve come to love Argentine´s... They´re amazing. Also, the picture with the drill... That´s what they use for a whisk! Best day of my life! He had 2 pieces of metal that he bent and shoved into the drill. That serves as their whisk. It´s such a great, happy experience to see these people happy. He ís so proud of that whisk. :)
Iban Farfal... This kid... He´s 24 yrs. old. He´s the last one in his family that hasn´t been baptized. His sister is very successful, and every chance she gets, she´s at church. He´s the laziest kid i´ve ever seen in my entire life. Our last conversation was basically a What do you want our of Life? conversation. I am only 19 yrs old, but I feel so much older and responsible than him. He lives in the home of his parents, doesn´t do a thing all day, and takes light.. everything. It´s ridiculous. He knows the things we teach are true, but he doesn´t want to feel obligated to do ANYTHING. I asked him, does he feel obligated to life? He said yeah... I said, well if you don´t get baptized, you are condemning yourself to hell. Strong.. I know. But we don´t know what else to get this guy to realize how important this is! I asked him what he wants out of life, and he said; A wife, family, work, car... I asked, And what are you doing to achieve these things? He couldn´t answer. Frustrating.
Haven´t been able to meet with Fernando since... Darn. We´ll get him though. It´s started to get REALLY cold here. Holy cow. It´s so hard to stop people in the streets when the wind´s blowing and you feel like you don´t have a hand to shake others hands with!
Manuel.. This guy. He´s about 79 yrs. old. He lives alone... with about a billion cats. Every single one has an eye infection. Walking into his house is like walking into a hairball. But we´re planning on his baptism a week from Saturday. He´s so old.. It´s hard for him pay attention. He likes to talk a lot. He´s really short. On a side note, I have not seen one person taller than me since I got to Argentina. I love it.... ha. Anyways, We asked him to come to church on Sunday, and told him we´d be there to pick him up and walk with him to the chapel. He´s fallen through like a billion times, but this time as we were walking up the hill, wading through the cats, he came out the door with his pointy beenie, sunglasses, ready to go! It was so very cool! I couldn´t help but smile on the way to the church.
E. Slaugh and I get along great. We are a really good companionship. We laugh at each other´s jokes all the time, and just click well. I have a feeling that at the end of this transfer in 3 weeks, he´s being transfered, and I´m going to be put with someone else... Not as cool as he. I will bet you anything that my new companion and I will clash. E. Slaugh is preparing me for this, I think. Good work habits, a desire to get up every morning and do your best, and in general, being a good missionary.. I have a feeling I´m going to need that after this transfer. We will see. No convert baptisms as of yet. I´m trying not to get discouraged, with the knowledge that I am working as hard as I possibly can to make it happen. It´s going to happen. I know it. Tell Jared to keep his head up. Enduring stuff like that is rough.. But he´s got to remember to do his best. There is nothing that I would regret more than coming off my mission knowing I could have done more than I have. As of now, I know I have taken every opportunity to work. And I´m going to keep it that way.
Gave myself a haircut this morning. Just a buzz, it´s so much easier that way. Hahaha. There´s a picture with E. Slaugh and me with our buzzed heads. We have a fun time, and even though our bodies are about to fall apart, we still do it with a smile, because we KNOW this is the right work. One thing we´ve been doing to get into a lot of houses is singing hymns. We ask if they would like to listen to a hymn, and you´d be surprised at how many would like that. All in spanish of course, but we sing; Abide with me tis even tide, and I need thee every hour. The work is good. The food is great, the people are incredible. email me back if I´m forgetting anything.. Here´s the pictures, and I love you all! See talk to you next week!
Amor,
E. Cuthbert
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