Another busy week

Hey family!!!!!!!

This computer just died halfway through my last letter, so I don't have as much time now to write, but I'll try and cram in as much as I can. First, so you know, it's on transfers and not zone conferences that our P-day is on Tuesday. I thought they were the same day, but now realize they aren't. This means that this coming week will be transfers, and my P-day will be Tuesday, so be sure and email me by Monday. Also, at the zone conference, the person getting our mail messed up, and no one got letters, so I'll have to wait another 6 weeks to read any of the dearelder letters, packages or letters I might have had waiting.

I'll be anxious to hear about Marisa and David's doctor visit and how everything went, and if they could tell if it's a boy or girl. I hope Stacey and Steve can find a new home soon, I can hardly believe their home sold that fast! And I hope Linzey and Dennis are enjoying their trip to Brazil.

The idea of having my camera card copied to a cd and sending the cd home is a good one, but we don't have any places here to do that kind of thing (or at least Elder Peterson doesn't know of any), but we may be able to get a member to do it. Most of our members are poor, but one family in particular has a nice home with air conditioning (small swamp cooler device) and a computer, and they're always trying to help us, so maybe they could burn my pics to a cd. I'll find out for next week. This computer I'm using today doesn't have the card adapters to download my camera card, but I also don't have any time today to download pictures anyway.

You asked about crime here, and so far we've been very lucky, and have not had any problems. People, especially the kids, yell at us all the time to give them money, or that we should buy them food, but no one has actually threatened us. They just think we're rich because we're Americans. We're pretty much living here like legit (real) Argentines, though. We shower out of a bucket with ice cold water (yes, hot water heater is broken again) or make a pot of hot water to pour over our heads, we have no air conditioner (it broke a while back), sleep in 100 degree plus temperatures, etc.

The little kids will also ask us to do magic tricks, but unfortunately we don't know any, so if you know any easy tricks that you've heard of missionaries doing or whatever, please tell me, because I'd love to be able to do magic tricks for them, and no missionaries here know any. The missionaries who were here before us always did magic, so that's why all the little kids think we can, too.

As far as the lessons go here, I don't teach too much. I bear my testimony on a lot of things, but will usually just teach part of a lesson, and Elder Petersen will do the main chunk. It's hard especially because I had to learn a whole new vocabulary to teach here. The way you learn to teach at the MTC doesn't really work here. It helped me to understand it for myself, but here we have to teach everyone like a little child, or they don't understand it. For example, many people here still think the world is flat, and that the world has like 4 countries total, and things like that. As hard as that is to believe, I am not making that up! These are actual things people have said!

Elder Petersen is better now, but I am still sick and I can't hear out of my left ear. It's been clogged since I got here. My right ear is always a little clogged but not as bad. That problem just makes understanding the language all the harder.

Things are going good here, although Cesar has become lazy and hasn't gone to church for the last couple of weeks, but hopefully he'll come back around. We found another guy named Ramon who really wants to be baptized, but once again, just like Cesar, can't get a marriage date. We even went with him to try to get one, and they're just plain backed up until the second coming! I hope he doesn't give up like Cesar because he has to wait so long. It's quite frustrating, but we're doing a lot of good here in people's lives, even though we're not getting any baptisms.

I'm out of time unfortunately, but don't worry, I'm loving it here still, enjoying the culture, having a lot of fun and doing lots of good. Will be able to tell you more next week!!

Love you all,
Eric


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