led all day by the hand of God

I officially hate computers in Argentina!!! I just wrote something for like 30 minutes... and now... all gone. Right before I was about to send it. BOOM! My computer froze. The lady came over... and was all like... oh, that sucks. Then turned it off. ARG Argentina! Now I’m in a dilemma... It is a rule to use the computer for only 1 hour... but also to write your family every week. Since I’m over an hour with this problem, I hope God will forgive me. I’m just going to answer these questions again.... sorry guys.

- how’s the toilet paper?

It is the same. But really thin

- is there country vs. city the way it is here with the hicks vs. the suits? And if so, do they like each other? Do they have jokes about each other? Does everyone run around half naked no matter what station they are? Are there as diverse stations there as there are here? Is there more middle class?

Everyone here is just about the same. There are people who are more rich then others. But basically every city or town has rich and poor. For the most part everyone is poor. I hate to say it. But it´s true. Everyone looks the same... yeah, half naked... in the summer at least. And for the most part, no matter what situation they are in... people have pride for their area. Kind of like how people have pride for their football teams back home.

- do they have trampolines and hot tubs there?

no, but everyone has a small pool.

- what are some cultural characteristics? holidays? traditions? beliefs?

Sorta. I’m not really familiar with it yet. People are all basically Catholic... so they all have their saints. And they all have their own thing. But overall, it`s not too different then home. No, wait... it is. I hear Christmas is like the 4 of July here... only bigger and better.

- What is their standing on tattoos and body piercings? how young is it acceptable to get that sort of thing?

People get tattoos at any age and I think they are born with piercings. Everyone has them. Members, old people, babies. Well, okay... not many babies have tattoos. But a lot of people have them. And even more have piercings. Normally all over their ears and around their lips. Not many nose ones and some around the eyes. Sometimes people have those bar ones and sometimes they have buttons. It`s kind of cool if they do it right. A button stuck to their eyebrow... YEAH MAN!

- do they have the same condiments? if not what do they have?

Salt... end of story. Oh, and mayonnaise with ketchup sometimes.

- what kinds of board games/any games do they have?

None. Only what missionaries bring. So if anyone has anything they want to send me... please do.

- are you allowed to watch TV.? I would guess not, but I never asked before...

No, but you see some every once and awhile anyway. Most people watch Simpsons, Fútbol, soap operas and scary movies.

- do they like coffee?

Not much. But everyone drinks mate. It is kind of like a tea... but grosser. Sorry, I’m not going to explain it again, but look it up... it`s weird.

- where do you find the drunks and druggies that you teach? are they just on the streets?

They are everywhere. Buses, trains, streets, in the houses. Normally you`ll just be going on with life and one will pop up from nowhere. Normally they just want to talk in English or tell us we are wrong and they are holy people. Really, it is funny when a drunk guy is telling you how he is terrible but going to heaven because his father was a minister. But what can you do?

- do they have a good library there?

I honestly haven’t seen any

- we have 'English' as in literature...what do they call it?

Herr they call it Castillano... of their form of Spanish. They also all take English.

Well Family. Know that all is well here in Argentina. I’m doing great. We have our ups and downs. But overall things are on the ups. We have our successes and our failures. But when they day is over, all seems at peace as we pray and remember all the Lord has done for us that day. I’m just going to share one story from this week...

When doing house clapping, not every missionary likes to do it. But if we don’t have references... we need to. The worst part is picking the house, because we don’t clap every house on a street. We strive to be lead by the Spirit and only go to those who will accept us. This one day this week my companion said, "Man, I don’t want to pick any today. It`s all you." So I said a prayer in my heart and off we went. Every once and awhile a house would catch my eye and I`d feel like going to them. We ended up talking to 10-11 people with 10-11 return visits planned. I’m sure that not all... if any will be baptized. But at least we can get in and bring them that much closer to God. Every little bit helps... of that I’m sure. Just ask my Dad. He has a story he loves telling about how he was contacted. It is funny how often that happens. We go to a reference who is really not interested... but because we went we found someone golden. And trust me, there is nothing better than finishing a day knowing you were led all day by the hand of God... and that the Spirit is thriving in the companionship.

Well family, at least you’ve got some photos this week. I’ve learned that my videos won’t work on that site. So I’ll look for another way to send it. I’ll talk to you all soon... and you had better be ready. I don’t want another boring conversation like last time. Just kidding. Really I’m looking forward to talking to Merry and Ryan in Spanish for a bit. I want to see how much I understand of them. I know mine is horrible, but I still want to try. Well, take care. Keep your spirits up. I know you all miss me more then you can handle, but I’ll be home soon. And I’m expecting everyone to be happy when I get there... so go do something fun this week. Naw, seriously... take care.

All my love,

Elder Tommy Steinkuhler