they look at my smile and break down

I had a QUESTION!!!! What is the country like...? They say that our mission is "the armpit of Argentina". Whenever we tell people where our mission ends and starts, they tell us that we happen to be in the ugliest part of Argentina... geographically speaking. There are no mountains, one river (that I still think is the ocean), no hills and lots of trees (you can just throw seeds out your door and the next day have a garden). It is not Washington, Utah or New Hampshire... that is for sure. And currently it is VERY cold. I don't know how it changed on me like that... but I like it.

ON that note: It rained here a few days ago... and with the cold I wore my long trench coat (I’ll send pics). Dogs naturally hate missionaries and this one in particular. It came up to us and I started whipping my coat at it (if you play with the dogs they like you more). It started acting like I was a bull fighter and he was the bull. It was pretty fun for awhile. He`d lunge at my coat and I’d pull it out of his way... we played for awhile as we walked... until a girl took a few kicks at it for the noise (she missed).

ON that note: The day before we went out trying to find someone late at night. It was dark and cold and we were thinking about just going back to the pinch. I pulled out the name of one last member and we headed off. The house did not exist. So I clapped another one to ask what happened. A boy came out and I asked him about this member. He asked us to wait and took off back inside. THEN... it started to rain... HARD. My companion always, ALWAYS, has his umbrella.... except that day. The kid looked out the door and yelled at us to come in, we would get all wet. We entered the house and found a young family. We chatted a bit and they wanted us to come back... so we set up an appointment and left. As soon as we walked out the door... the rain stopped. Oh... how amazing the mysteries of God.

Elder Trujillo received a package this last Tuesday and inside was a bunch of balloon animal balloons. None of us have a clue how to do it... so I picked one up, practiced and ended up going with a monkey (I’ll send pics). It was awesome. I want to call him Jerald... el mono. I found that I like balloon animals, go figure.

Something EVERYONE always says is to keep smiling. I would like to once again comment on it. My first baptism (Martin) sent me a letter this last week. It was dearly wonderful and I got my animo back from it. He commented, "I’ll never forget your great smile that you always had." There, my friends, is proof I smile. I like people watching when we travel. People here look like missionaries feel... tired. Everyone is frowning and glum... like they are afraid of something. I now understand why. But I find myself smiling every time I see that. I find myself smiling all the time. When I don’t... people mention it. People have let us in because of my smile. People think I’m a lot younger then I am and have pity on us. So they look at my smile and break down. I’m glad God prepared me from the beginning for my mission. He really is a wonderful father.

Wonderful news... we took out two more baptismal dates this week. We are really tearing up the area. I probably won’t be around to see all of the fruits... but I feel it now as I look back. I’m glad to finally report that I’ve made an impact here in Villa Zula. Here I was thinking I was a failure, but... go figure.

Last note... I probably can’t send it, but there was a kid juggling on the train today. HE WAS AMAZING. I videotaped it and will try to send it with the other pictures next week. Sorry. But he was AWESOME. I love traveling in trains here. I think people could live on the trains if you want. Food, comfort, and entertainment.

Well, I’m out. Sorry this is short. We played soccer as a mission today. It was fun, but it took all our time. Just so you know, I was the goalie and kicked some trash... And I now have a sweet Argentine jersey.

All my love,

Tommy