Hello All,
This week was great! It was cold, but not super
cold so it was great! Its maybe 45 degrees but from hot all day everyday it's
quite a good change! It’s a good thing I have my sweaters here!
This week we had a baptism! So it was an
eventful fun week!!!
The first adventure of our week was on Monday night we
taught our final lesson to our investigator.
She is a 12
year old girl who is the daughter of a less active. Her
name is Pilar pronounced like pea laar. Best of all we had the chance to talk
to our families. It was so nice because her grandparents were
there and they are recent converts and so they basically taught the whole
lesson. They just got it before us! They
both really love the gospel and were so excited to have another family member
as a member of our church.
This week I was a little sick and trying to get better today, I feel
a little bit better. I am definitely not as sick as our district leader
apparently was. We had divisions all day,
one was to have an interview for the baptism.
After the interview, we had lunch and it was a soup that has been
breaded! Yeah really cool and delicious.
I am not sure how they made it but it was really good. That
night while we were walking home he decided to pass out. Hah, just flat out
passed out face first on the street while walking. After calling a few people we
took him to his house and had someone who knows a little more medical knowledge
then me look at him. I think he is doing fine now.
Then we had a baptism for our investigator Pilar! We filled the baptismal
font all day because the hot water is so slow! It was great, lots of investigators
were in attendance and less actives of the family. It was a great opportunity
to talk to them and for them to hear talks about the importance of baptism and
the Holy Spirit. The elders sang in a
choir, so us and 4 other elders and 2 sisters sang a medley of nearer my God to
thee in 4 different languages and it was pretty cool. Then
her grandfather who just got the priesthood baptized her and it was really
sweet. I was tutoring him on how to baptize all week
with the correct form of baptism and the prayer and everything. It was a very special time!
Then on Sunday was the longest Sunday of my
whole life! I gave a talk, a surprise talk may I add form my loving bishop. I talked about the prodigal son and how it
should be called the prodigals sons and how they both were lost the first one
with worldly things and the other son with more mental ambitions, wants and
greed. The day went so slow because I was so excited to call me family at night. I called on a laptop in the chapel and it
was so amazing! I talk to them and got to see my favorite people. I now feel like I have recharge my batteries. It was
so great!!!
Fun
Facts about my area in Argentina:
- · Most homes in my area have dirt floors. Some have pieces of carpet they put down.
- · Everyone sits on hard folding chairs.
- · People cannot afford extra chairs so when you travel you bring their own.
- · Often, people have nothing but a 50 inch,4k TV.
- · They love to pour new cement pads in their back yards every year.
- · Argentines love their mopeds, once I saw a family of 5 on one moped and the mother was nursing her baby on the back.
- · Our ward house is the nicest building in the town.
- · People are expected to move out and live with their girl/boyfriend when they are about 16 years old.
- · Families buy a plot of land and build a house in the back of the lot, kids build in front of their parents and so on until they reach the street.
- · 95% of the streets are dirt with cement curbs. Pave Argentina ran out of $.
- · Kids go to school 3 hours a day 12-3 pm. If you are a bad student you go to night school which is only 2 hours a day.
- · You can stop school when you are 16.
- · All public school is free even to become a medical Doctor. That takes only 2 years. Yes, full-fledged DR.
Love you all,
Elder Vance
