I went up.

Well, for those of you who actually follow the whole 6 week mind set... you`ll understand that I just had transfers! YEAH!!! I’m staying in Villa Zula with Elder Kushlan (not too exciting). But the exciting news is that not only is Elder Trujillo receiving a Latino companion in our pench... but I went up. For those of you who don’t know what "going up" is... it means I "went up in the missionary power scale." I don’t know. It sounds like a whole lot of tish tosh to me. Pero... para que sapen: When a person goes up they first become senior companion, then district leader, then zone leader and then assistant. Somewhere in there there is training and going to the offices. Most people don’t make it up to Zone leader or even district leader. I just got moved up to senior companion. What does that mean... NOTHING!!! But it made me feel cool. Of the 20 some odd people I came here with only 2 have gone up. Elder Jones (he also jumped to district leader because he is amazing) and me. Really, I’m just excited about it because Elder Trujillo and Elder Kushlan were getting me all excited about it. The fact that I’m "going up" so young could mean X, Y or Z. It is pretty fun to try predicting the future mission life of missionaries. Well... now that you all know the gossip, we`ll return back to our program.


This week was amazingly... um... amazingly... a week. I don’t know how to give you a one sentence description on this week. It was a little all over the place. We worked a lot... and by a lot I mean a lot. We talked to more people this week then I’ve ever talked to in one week. We also taught more "other" lessons than any other week in my mission. We also bought bikes and took out a baptismal date. Things have not really been "oh my gosh did you feel that spirit crush over us" but more of... "We are working so hard that the spirit is the only thing keeping us alive". For those of you who know me well... you know I am loving it to death! I’m not so sure about the bikes yet. I’m surely not use to it in the rear area... if you know what I mean.


I’ve got some more stories though because I know you`ll all dying to hear them.


When I got here I looked through the ward list to find some likely people to go by. One named popped out at me and I read the description written next to in put there by other missionaries. It said "Sons have assaulted/robbed the missionaries and will do the same to you". That didn’t bother me one bit, so I mentioned it to my companion who flat out refused to go. The same thing happened when Elder Kushlan came. But the mother`s name kept on coming up and I just put down my foot and said we were going by... "Don’t worry, I’m big... just stay behind me (unless we are running away). So we went and found the mother. She talked to us for an hour at her door. It turns out her sons (all 3 of them) were taken to jail for supposed murder. Needless to say, she wasn't exactly in the happiest moods. We warmed up her heart and came back a few days later. We gave her another Book of Mormon and when we did she said, "I’ve been praying to God that he`ll send me his Church. That he will send me whatever church he wants me to have." We sang and read with her. She said that she`d pray and has been doing a little bit better every day. I love when God sends ME to places marked with a "you will be assaulted" sign on it. That`s why I’m here.

We`ve found some really wonderful people this week. People who have read what we`ve given them because they have been searching. People who know the truth without knowing where it comes from. People who just want us to come by. I don’t know. I’ll be honest. Things are getting exciting around here. But I really lost all ability to convey it to you all. I’m getting lost in the work... or at least I hope I am.

However, one thing that is pressing on my mind: The 10th would be Mother`s Day. That is not this Sunday... but the next. I’ll only be writing home once more before then. So... um. Just don’t worry about it. Don’t call us... we`ll call you. I’ll give you more details later. I’ll probably be calling home sometime around 2 and 8 here. So that`d be like 8am-2pm at home... SOMETHING LIKE THAT! I don’t know. Just letting you know. Oh, and another scary thought that hit me this week is that at the end of this transfer I’ll turn 21! SCARY!

Well, I love you all. I’ve really got to go though. I’m short on time... as usual. I’m sorry I’m writing so short. I’ll write more when something more firm happens

Take care of yourselves,

Elder Tommy

I got my socks knocked off me in Spanish Scrabble

This feels like the longest week in history. So many things have happened... but they are really nothing that would interest any of you. Sorry. I mean, you don’t know who any of these people are and it would take too long for me to explain it all. Not to mention, it would be rude of me to put personal information in here about people I love. I think that is why so many missionaries don’t send much home to their families. Oh, and the fact that the fun things we do really shouldn’t be known by the world... if you catch my drift. But I do have a few fun facts for you all.

This week we went out into our "villa" or ghetto area right by the edge of our area. We saw two little kids in front of us with a slingshot. One of the kids picked up a rock and pulled the sling back (being his size made it so that he was basically spreading his arms out as far as they would go). He aimed up and released. We saw this poor bird just chilling about 30 feet above him just have its head kick back and fall. The other birds on the line didn’t move at all. And the kid just picked up the bird like nothing happened, like he does it every day. I was very impressed. I’m sure he would be a great hunter if he tried... I’m just glad he had a homemade slingshot.

We planned an activity this week for the two branches that attend our building. It wasn’t huge, but it was fun. We are going to start doing that more and more. We got inactive people to come as well as investigators... more like investigator, but still. It was cool! We watched Wall-E again (I’m glad I bought it). I crushed some people in chess. I got my socks knocked off me in Spanish Scrabble and ping pong. We`ll do it again sometime soon. I’ll get a little better every time.

I bought an MP3-4 player last weekend. But it is kind of cheap and I’m not sure how I feel about it. But it has been fun to use for one week (with 3 CDs on it... I need something new). I can also download the photos people send me and put them on it... so that`ll be nice if I end up keeping it.

We are also going to buy bikes soon. We got them picked out and everything. The bike guy just needs to put them together. I’m really excited because my shoes are getting a little thin. I take great care of them... but the bottom is just not steel. And the fact I basically only wear the black ones.

Um... that`s about it. Life is good though. I’m working really hard and trying to do my best. I’ve recently realized how sucky my Spanish is... so I’m making a new effort at perfecting that. I’m making a scarf because it turned into late fall over night (literally... over night). I found a cool sweater vest in the old fridge outside the apartment. OH! OH! I taught myself to cook burritos today! The only problem with them is the corn. I made a bad move with the corn idea. Um... Um... yeah, I’m out of news. Sorry.

I can however tell you all how glad I am to be out here. I’ve realized recently that it really is a blessing to be out here. I’m not terribly tired or anything anymore. One gets accustomed to things. I just haven’t realized until recently how blessed I’ve been over my time here. I’ve also realized how long I’ve been out. It feels really long ago that I went to the MTC. But my trainer Elder Sagripanti is about to go home. He has one week left. Wow, how weird is that? I like looking back after a long time and seeing all the ways God has put what I need in my path. I’m honestly in love with being out here. I want to be the perfect missionary, but I’m not. So I want to stay out till I am. Sorry family. I might not be coming home for a few more years then you were expecting. We`ll see what I can pull off.

I want you all to know how much I love you. It is such a blessing knowing that I have people rooting for me and praying for me every day. That I have true friends and family concerned about my welfare and trying to help me out. That there are people who listen to me and have gone out to help the missionary work. Thank you all. I love you more than my feeble words can describe.

All my love,

Tommy

PS I’m luckly still fat... for those who want to know.
PPS I finally broke a shoe lace too. They were the first things to go.

"Winging it" is not a missionary term

Well, this week was interesting. We had a lot of success... but also a lot of hardships. But thus is life. I really don´t know why this week impresses me like that, but it feels like one of the longer weeks of my life (but not the longest). Well, let’s start at the top.

Monday we were not going to go out and teach because we had preparation day and then a meeting with our district. But that meeting got cancelled, so we went out anyway. It was interesting working without a plan. Normally we have plans and go with the plan. "Winging it" is not a missionary term... but we did it anyway.

Tuesday we went to the temple. That was a trip! For those of you who have ever gone to the temple... you know that the feeling is amazing inside the temple. Well, the feeling was the same and I understood the Spanish better. But for some reason it felt even more wonderful to go and feel that peace. It had been so long. The best part was visiting the sealing room and seeing two huge mirrors reflecting each other. I just stood there and felt like I was seeing forever. I love the power of mirrors. I’ll send picture later.

The rest of the weekdays passed fairly uneventfully. Not to say that things didn't happen... I just mean that all the days run into each other, so I can’t remember exactly what day things happened. I just know when "p-day eve" or Sunday is... then P-day. Every other day just runs into the other. Haha... thus is life.

Some great stories for all of you out there wondering what we do.

The man that looks like me (I sent pictures). He asked for a blessing some... months back. And his daughter also. I gave the daughter hers. I felt impressed to tell her that her arm would heal, so I didn't argue and just said it. We left and I didn't hear anything about it until this week. The Hermana told me what happened. It turned out that after we left she returned to life and about a week later told her "ya know... I haven't had a problem with my arm since those boys came". I love hearing about how the priesthood has blessed people’s lives... especially when I was there to witness it.

There are a few people around here who are not having the easiest time. We sometimes randomly visit inactive people on the ward list. We had been trying to go by this one lady for some time. We finally got her number and called her. We set up an appointment and went over. She had just broken away from her abusive husband and was still struggling to get on top of things. We shared something briefly and she told us that she had thrown away everything from the gospel... Book of Mormon, folletos, all of it. So we set up another appointment to come back. When we came back she was upset and asked us to stop coming by. I think it was the next day that someone failed on us, so as we were going by her house on the way to another person... her husband ran up calling us over. We came over and he said "My wife isn't doing so well. Can you stop by?" We swung by and she was bawling her eyes out. We came in and sang. She felt the Spirit once again. So we gave her a Book of Mormon. We read and she felt really good. When we left she was basically giddy with joy. The next morning we came by again and watched the Restoration and sang some more. She was radiant with happiness. So we set up an FHE to come back and teach the family. And all of this happened in one week. Talk about a crazy roller coaster she must be going on. But in reality... she is doing great. We have learned that some people receive the Gospel... get baptized and then the missionaries get changed. Then they never hear from the missionaries or members again. It is SO important that they have the three required things (nutrients from the good word, a friend and a responsibility)... and continued visits from the missionaries.

We are also working with a member who is having troubles coming back to church. This week we went by and found her arguing with her mother. We heard them outside and clapped anyway. They let us in and we could tell they were in bad tempers. We read and prayed with them. We tried our hardest to bring the gospel light into their house and finally, right before we left, they felt it. They cheered up and started laughing. Oh the power of the laughter. Then on Sunday she came to church... for the first time in who knows how long. Dressed in her Sunday best too!

The funny thing is I'm almost out of time to write about all the others. Basically this is what we did all week. We went to people’s houses and brought the Spirit back. Especially to in-actives. We as missionaries are called to "invite others to Christ". But really, we are supposed to teach and baptize. But in some areas, the members are the ones who need the invitation. We work just as hard here in Villa Zula with the members as we do with the investigators. This week many more have realized the need to come back to church and have committed to come. People who have stopped going to church for years and years. People who have almost lost the light they once had. Though it doesn't look as wonderful as baptismal photos, it certainly does feel just as wonderful.

Little note about Easter. Here Easter is really Catholic based. A lot of people fast and stuff... and the whole Easter egg thing is kinda weird. They have chocolate eggs full of little candies. I actually learned how to do them... but it really is a lot more work than it is worth. I don't know why people do it. One interesting thing about Berisso (the actual city I'm in) is that they do a fake Crucifixion every year. We missed it because we were helping the other elders prepare for a baptism. But apparently a guy goes around town all day dressed up like Christ and carrying a cross. Then at night they tie him up to it for a few hours. Not exactly what I call fun... but interesting no...

Anyway... I’m off. Take care everyone and remember the REAL importance of why we have Easter... please.

Love you all,

Tommy

PS I’ll send picture next week.

I’m so glad I can be here.

Well, I’m um... tired. This week was crazy. It FINALLY got cold enough to make me feel cold! For the first time in about a year... I got cold. I’m loving it. I’m assuming that is the reason for why I’m so tired. The cold gives me more energy and so I’ve been working harder (in truth I don’t get more energy... I just feel more energyful).

Well, this week we worked our little tails off and found a whole ton of people. We also went around and taught with members! Really, people can’t get baptized or have a true desire to stay active if they don’t know members. So, we have really helped our investigators this week. The best part was when L. Tom Perry dropped the hammer on all the people in conference about how they need to find. I loved that. And also the part when we looked around and saw all the members squirming in their chairs. I think we`ll be getting more references and lessons with member from now on... ¡Ojela!

Well, I must admit... I didn’t see much of conference this time. We were not allowed to see anything on Saturday because we didn’t have any investigators with us. We did however see priesthood (Sunday morning recording) Most of Sunday morning and all of Sunday afternoon. It was so cool. We had a lot of inactive people come. We had a lot of success and a few really long days. I’m really trying to lose myself in the work now. I’ve realized that I can actually speak Spanish... so I’m working more and more at teaching and committing. So far... it really has been good.

Quick story because I’m short on time.
April Fool’s day... we went out tracking like always. Someone failed us... so we went to my brilliant back-up plans... which also failed us. So we were left with nothing to do for about 30 minutes. We were heading off to do contacts when we passed by an inactive members house. I had never talked to them... but I knew they were members anyway. We clapped and heard something that sounded angry. So we said thanks and started to walk away. Then we heard it again... and asked him to repeat himself. It turns out he was saying "Here"... so we came in and started talking. He is the son of a very old lady. She is a member, but he isn’t. He was sitting at a table in dim flickering lights... smoking and drinking mate. He looked like a wreck. We started talking and he told us about his problems. One thing I’ll always remember is him saying, "I’m closer now to my gun then my guitar". We taught him and gave him a Book of Mormon. We came back the next day... the day after and the day after. He progressed every day just a bit. He has not mentioned suicide in a while and is really interested in the gospel. He wants to stop smoking and change his life. We`re heading back soon and will teach him about baptism. I believe there are just some times when the Spirit calls you to a house where someone just needs a friend. Sometimes they just need someone to save them. I’m glad to be the one to come and do that for them. I’m so glad I can be here. The Spirit constrains me to say more... but know that I am loving helping people. This week I’ve realized what a sacrifice it is to be a missionary. And I’m glad to do it. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I love you all. I really hope everyone is doing well. Staying safe and keeping close to the Spirit. The Spirit is our only way back to real joy.

Take care... And don’t forget I love you,

Tommy

Lead and I will follow

Okay... I know this will be the worst weekly report ever... because it will be completely random. But I’ve just got a lot of good stories to tell. So listen up.

Lightning Bug: This Tuesday I was on intercambios and we basically got rejected all day long. BUT we had a dinner appointment that night, so we had something to look forward to. Well, it gets dark really early here now, so about 7 we were walking around trying to do contacts in the pitch black darkness of Argentina. We passed by a large black field and I saw a light flicker off in the distance. Then again. So I told my companion and we ran out into the field to discover what it was. He could not see anything and was tripping all over the uneven ground. But because of my colorblindness... I see really well in the dark. Long story short. I caught it (when it was not light-up). It was the coolest catch I’ve ever done. It involved me jumping off a hill and snatching it out of the air way above my head... good times.

I received my packages this week!!! So all of you who have sent me packages... thank you. I finally got them. And Meghan, I love that music. We have been listening to it non-stop in the pinch. And people around here love the Japanese candy. Not to mention... Nasty homemade root beer never tasted so good! And the letters where just what I needed. Thank you all so much. I’d give you a hug, but with the way things travel around here... you won’t get it until I get home anyway... so just wait.

Update on "grandpa" or the guy who looks like an older me. We went over to his house to talk to him this week and he explained to us a few problems he was having. And so we set an appointment up to come back. When he was explaining his problems a thought entered my mind... you see: Last week an angel sent me an e-mail. This beloved Child of God sent me the "Message from the First Presidency" in English. It struck me as something to share with this family. So we returned and read it together in Spanish. His wife started to chock up and Hermano Huarte (my twin) really stopped and listened. It was amazing to see the Power of our first presidency at work within the lives of these my dear friends. And all I can say is thank you to my angel, the first presidency and God.

Every once in a while I go through the list of ex-investigators and pull out a few names of people that look like we might be able to teach them. Some papers say "Left on vacation, go back in 3 months-2004". So we swing by and the people who were once ready for baptism had completely forgotten about the Book of Mormon. I had a name in my lists that was kind of out of the way. But this week I just decided to go. They reason for dropping him was as follows, "drunk-2006". So we swung by looking for his house (we didn’t have the exact address). So I clapped a house and a man comes out with long hair and a scruffy beard. I said, "Hi we`re looking for someone... is this *address XYZ*"... Yup... "Do you know Mario"... Yup... "Are you Mario"... Yup. So we come over and he pulls out some chairs. The man was basically dead drunk but he still wanted to listen to us (when we left, my companion and I both agreed that he was the smartest drunk man we`d ever met). He pulls out a Book of Mormon in a white case with pictures of Jesus all over it. Right on the top it says in English, "Please Baptize Me!!!". We opened up the book and he read a chapter to us. Afterwards he says... I need to change. So we take out a baptismal date right there and then... The next day we come back and the man had not only shaved but got rid of all his alcohol and cigarettes. We taught him about the Word of Wisdom and he committed to follow it. So hopefully in 2 weeks we will baptize him. Lead and I will follow, right.

We are also teaching a girl named Mikaela. She is wonderful and we should be taking out a fecha with her soon as well.

Also, a nice mother of one of our recent converts told us she wanted to get baptized. We taught the member about temples and The Gospel of Jesus Christ. During the lesson, this lady told us she really wanted to be baptized. Then she came to the ward activity and church the day after. We had invited her there... but she then came all on her own... without her daughter. She reminds me a lot of my Grandma. Full of energy and always improving herself. I am really looking forward to teaching her (she is just afraid of Water... we`ll see how that goes).

Well, I’ve got more... but not more time. It is fun working here with my companion. We both drag each other around all the time and we really get the work done. We get rejected 10 times more and walk 10 times farther.... but we have about 20 times the success. I love it here and really feel like I’m making a difference. I’m so glad to know that I’ve got everyone of you behind me supporting me. It is great to have people to rely on when times are hard. Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to pray.

All my love,

Tommy

PS This weekend is conference. The wonderful thing about that is that I’ll know exactly where you all are during that time. And you`ll all know where I will be. So... see you at conference.

Yup... Beach

Hey everyone... I’m sorry that this will be so short today. I have a rather busy day ahead of me. But believe you me, this week could take weeks to explain. I don’t know why, but this week seemed like at least 3. It seems like everyone has said that to me as well. Hmm, well, I don’t know what God is doing, but I think it involves slowing time down for some reason or another.

Well, one reason might be because they changed the time this week. Now we work in the dark for an extra hour. It is weird. They changed the schedule for all the people who work early in the morning (all 5 people in Argentina)... but that means that by the time we go home at night... we were in the dark for about 2-3 hours. It really is odd.

Well, Elder Kushlan. A lot of people want to know what he is like. I’ll tell you, he is like a missionary. I like him. He is from Utah, sadly. And really likes to work. He can’t waste five minutes of time... so as annoying as that can get when you need to pee... it really is good. We have been getting a lot of work done in our area and I can already see the area getting better. We have been working our tails off to find people and to reactivate people. We really are getting a lot of success and are planning on taking out a few baptismal dates this week. A funny side note about him... Elder Trujillo was with him in the MTC. So when I found out I was going to be with him, Elder Trujillo yelled out "HAHA, the Russian Assassin". I was totally lost... but now I understand. I’m not sure why it fits him... but it does.

An interesting story about our area. We have an area that is about 20-22 kilometers long... or about 12-14 miles long. We took a bus this week to the end of the area to see if there was anything there. It turns out... there is very little. Well, the bus driver basically told us, "well, you`re already here. Might as well take a look around. I’ll be back in about an hour." So we took off and still found nobody. But there is something very interesting about our area. It runs right into La Rio De La Plata. For those of you who don’t understand what that is... I’ll explain. There is a river between Argentina and Uruguay. It is the widest river in the world. It basically all runs into the ocean. So basically it looks like the ocean. ANYWAY: We chilled at the edge of the area (the water front) for awhile... then went wandering around. It just so happened that our friend/investigator was life guarding there. So we sat down and taught him and his wife. Then they gave us a ride home and we continued working. That night a missionary who is done with his mission came to visit a family with HIS family here in our area. So we went over there and chilled with a Californian family that speaks NO English. It is interesting to see how far I have come when I have to translate for others.



Another cool thing... That crazy contact I did with Elder Harmon right before he left... well, when we returned his daughter in law was like... Hey, I’m leaving right now... when are you coming back. So we came back and taught her. She is very receptive and progressing nicely. AH!!! I’m loving it. Progress feels so good.

Um, my companion got sick this week so we spent some time chilling in the pinch. I’ve played WAY too much chess and it turns out no one in the pinch can beat me. :D My companion used to play in state competitions... just goes to show that my Dad and I could take on everyone in Utah without breaking a sweat. Well, except Ryan of course.

Okay... I’m jumping off now... Take care everyone. I’ll write more soon..


Love,
Tommy

PS the weather here is super hot again. I hate it. It cooled off for like 2 days. Now we`re back to sweating up a storm.

"You Mormons?" "You betchya!"

Well, this week had been a load of fun... but also a load of work. My companion Elder Harmon is at this moment waiting for his plane to come so that he can return from 2 years on a mission. Yes... that does feel weird. I am now companions with Elder Kushlan. He has about 4 more months then I do and is RUBIO!!! Sorry... blond. Um, we will be staying in Villa Zula and working here harder then ever before. He seems like a cool guy and I like him (again, VERY IMPORTANT). Well, because my companion left today... my last week was somewhat odd.

Monday I went to a little out of the way area and slept there for the night. I was with my Zone Leader Elder Smith because Elder Harmon and the other Zone Leader went to Capital. We didn't get together again until after district/zone meeting on Tuesday. Elder Harmon and I then returned to our area to work. We had the goal of doing 30 other lessons this week to help him finish strong. An "other lesson" in our mission is any time that we teach a principle from Preach My Gospel, leave a challenge and they promise to do something (in our area, buses and stuff don't count). 30 is about 3 times what a normal companionship does in our zone. To top it all off... it was raining almost every day (I loved it... Elder Harmon hated it). Anyway... we worked until Thursday night, when we took off and switched companions again. I went to the Zone Leaders area this time and the leaving elders took off to the temple... a special treat because we don't get to go much. We got together late Friday night and worked again Saturday. Then all of Sunday we traveled trying to find old investigators/members again before Elder Harmon left. We spent all day traveling around our mission and visiting people. When we finally got home we both just crashed. Then this morning at 5 we took off again for the transfer meetings. Needless to say, I'm tired. We didn't quite get 30 other lessons... but in only 3 days, we did get about double the norm. Well, I'm sorry if this message is a bit crazy. I blame it on the tiredness.

Cool stories: On our way to church from the train station... a man called out "you Mormons?" I stopped, realized we were in front of a Catholic church... turned around and basically said "you betchya". It turns out he had recently found a Book of Mormon and wanted to be baptized. So we invited him to church and he started walking with us. We started teaching him about what he needed to do before he could get baptized. As he was smoking, we told him we don't smoke or drink. At which he threw his cigarette on the ground and chucked his package of other cigarettes. "Fine, I’m done" he stated. We got to church and he stuck around almost the entire time. He was really cool and the Elders there will be going to teach him soon. So, that was cool.

Cool Story 2: There is no form for contacting... you have to realize that before I go on. Well... we contacted this lady who told us to come back. So we were coming back to our "finding appointment" and she wasn’t there. So we turned around heading to another destination. I turned to my companion and said, "I think we should clap here... Good people live here". My companion just laughed and said, "Sure, but its yours". So I clapped and a man came out. I said this in Spanish, "Hi, we are representatives from The Church of Jesus Christ and we pass by your house all the time. But today we want to talk to you and share a message about prophets. Is that okay?" The man just stared at me for a second and I could feel my companion already starting to turn away... at which is said "Bueno, passen". Or in other words... cool, come on in. So I walked in and turned around to see my companion standing with is mouth slightly open staring at me. We came in and taught him. Cool guy, good family. We`ll go back soon. Sometimes the simple words work best.

Cool Story 3: Transfer meetings are basically a huge gathering of about 250 or more missionaries. About half end up taking one train and the other take another. We all have it timed out as to how long it takes to get to the mission house. So, we normally all end up on the same train... even if we live miles apart. Anyway. We got on the train at about 6 today and had a 3 hour ride to the mission house. During the ride an elder pulled out his Ukulele (little guitar from Hawaii... I can’t spell). Because of the fact that there were about 100 missionaries on the train... we started singing and passing out pamphlets. Five of us were doing it and because of that... about 1000 people on the train all got to hear a little of the gospel and all the other missionaries had people coming up to the asking them about the gospel with a pamphlet in hand. It was amazing. I felt good. Oh the power of a few tired, bored kids with a message and musical instrument. :D

Okay... those are just some good stories. I’m not sure what else to say. Any questions? It has been some time since I’ve got any.

Well, I’m going to get going and start the long trip home. Wish me well... Sometime when I get home I’ll tell you all about traveling in Argentina... it is pretty fun stuff. But alas, there is no time today... nor will I remember next week. That is, unless someone ASKES me about it.

I love you all. Keep your Spirits up,

Elder Tommy Steinkuhler

PS Boom Digidy.

my Mother tells me to "shine"

So this week was CRAZY!!! I want to tell you all about it... but I’m on intercambios and REALLY short on time. I did manage to get a lot of pictures up from this week. So, check them out... hopefully they will make up for my shortened time. I might have time to write tomorrow because I’m not using all my time today and my companion will be needing to use the Internet tomorrow because he is in Buenos Aires currently. ANYWAY... Some big points:

Summer break just ended down here... so everyone started back up at school. Here that means there are a ton of little kids and teenagers going around in white clothes. It kind of looks like little doctors going around everywhere... but I like it. I think it is both funny and cool. It also reminds me of Harry Potter a little bit.

We did end up going to the Capilla or church building here in La Plata. It is a HUGE Catholic chapel. We got the tour and everything. I loved it and actually was very impressed. It reminded me of the dedication early pioneers had for their temples... that so often got burnt down. This chapel was quite interesting and I ended up taking like 30-50 pictures. I feel like I’m turning into my Mother. Perhaps I’ll send more some other time.

There are also pictures of a man in our ward, Brother Huarte. The first time I walked into the building people started telling me I looked like him. So, I ended up getting over to his house (he hasn’t yet been to church since I’ve been here) and taking photos. He reminds me a lot of Grandpa and looks a lot like me. I also got some photos of his younger self. I think without the whole chin clef, we could pass for twins... if we were the same age.

Uncle Huarte when he was my age

Uncle Huarte .. or me in 50 years

A lot of people make frequent mention to my smile. Why, I don’t know. But they do. I started taking notice of it. I think my Mother tells me to "shine" every time I hear from her. So I just smile and hope I’ve brushed my teeth recently. I love to smile and my companion rarely cracks a grin. ANYWAY... this is all leading up to a story that I want to tell... because I haven’t been keeping you all up on the Spiritual part of my Spiritual 2 years. So, here is a wonderful story for you all...

We recently went to a member who hadn’t been to church in a long time. He was the only member of his household and so we ended up teaching the entire family. They loved it and asked us to come back. We were passing by before our next appointment because some other menos active (less active) families live on that block. We passed by the corner as normal and I felt the odd feeling to talk to them... as normal. But I saw the beer and decided to keep on our way. We ended up clapping like 3 houses within 50 yards and getting rejected 3 times in 50 yards. We normally only do one clap per street... so we were leaving the street the way we came and ended up passing by the same house. I wanted to talk to them really bad and glanced over at them... with a huge smile. I slowed my pace a bit and nodded (as is my custom). Someone blurted out something and I stopped... I was really only looking for an excuse to stop. My companion was just following me around, so he stopped also. We ended up standing there for about an hour and a half (not normal) talking to this family of 7 adults and about 10 kids. They were rather loopy drunk seeming at first. But really wanted to know what we had. They ended up not actually being drunk (but yes, drinking) and after teaching/talking to them for over an hour and a half... they invited us into their yard and we had about a 30 minute discussion from the scriptures.

All of them started out with the mind-set that if we had ever clapped their house... they wouldn’t even come out (they straight up told us). After finding out we were normal and interesting... they listened. Then the Spirit touched them and they invited us back. I love how the Spirit changes people. ANYWAY, we ended up teaching them Lesson 1, 2 and 3... along with 10 commandments, Word of Wisdom, Law of Chastity and "O.L.A." (Orar, Leer and Asistir). We never do that... but they wouldn’t let us go and wouldn’t stop asking questions. We`ll go over it all again because we didn’t challenge them to any of it. But they all know the principles and promises. Oh, I did very much enjoy that night. They even asked to take pictures with us.

There is a little Spiritual blup for the week.

Okay, I’m off... Next week is transfers, so I’ll have a new companion for sure (mine is going home). I love hearing about all the news out there. All my pregnant/new parents/recently wed/recently engaged friends. You`re all so wonderful.

"I’m doing good. I’ll write more later. Write me. Love, The Elder"

Take... luck.

All my love,

Tommy

I've turned British ... when I finally learned to smoke a pipe.

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