Working on goals for the zone

Eric standing in front of the apartment he shares with Elder Calvert in Las Delicias area, Rosario

The back of the apartment

Another view of the back of the apartment

The McDonald's they went to today on Pday

The big store where they shop for groceries

The inside of a Catholic cathedral in Rosario

Eric with Elder Chapman, who is in his zone. (This picture was taken last week.)

Hey family, what's up!!! I'm glad to hear that everyone is enjoying themselves back home in the States, be it on business, cruises or with ice cold Argentine-like showers! (We had mentioned in our letter to him that his sister's hot water heater went out, so they had a day or two with no hot water.)

I will have to take a little longer on the computer today, because as I am starting this letter, I have already used up 55 minutes, and I still have plenty more to do. As zone leaders, we constantly are sending and taking enormous amounts of dats, goals, etc. We also made our first vision of the zone, which is like a paper with goals and plans for the zone. I think ours is really good and should help the zone, I'll send you a copy next week if I can, when it's finished. This Thursday we're going to have mission conference for all the zone leaders with President Villalba, and we all have to present our visions for our zone.

I wanted to mention I got some letters and cards, thank you to everyone!!! I got one from Nana and Papa, one from Aunt Lisa, some from Dad, and I got the pics you sent me with the family and my confirmation picture when I was 8, and the picture of dad on his mission, they were all good. I also got a letter from Holly and Scott with some cool gadget things, and the Christmas one from Marisa and David. Also, I got one from the Beehives from our ward!!! (Beehives are the class of 12 and 13 year old girls.) They are called Abejitas in Argentina! So please tell them thanks, because I really like getting all the little letters and paper cutouts and things they did. So thanks to everyone for all my great mail!!!

We should have a baptism this Saturday! We're pretty excited, her name is Katrina. She was taught by the missionaries a while back, but then disappeared like people sometimes do, and then when I got here to the area we found her again. We just asked her straight up as we were talking with her, "Will you be baptized?" She wasn't even surprised by the abrupt question, she just said, "Yes, I really need to, don't I." Well, she has her date this Saturday so we're excited for that. So that's good.

My eye infection is doing better, although I have gotten some kind of sickness bug, maybe like a flu, where you feel sick and sore and achy everywhere, also in the throat. Or maybe it is the same sickness coming back? So I've been pretty sick, although I think today I'm feeling slightly better. Either way, as long as I'm slowly getting better, I see no need to go to a doctor.

Today's Pday was pretty good. We hung out with the district of Elder Taylor, and we played some basketball and soccer, although I didn't because I feel pretty sick. (The rules must have been changed to allow sports again.) After that we played Scum, which of course I could play that, and so enjoyed that! After that we went and hit up the McDonald's and then went to Libertad (which is kind of like a Walmart type store here) and I bought only 2 pesos worth of groceries. (Thank you to Sonilda, our landlady!!) I also bought a cool ping pong paddle (with some of my Christmas money) that is beautiful, and the grip is awesome, like duct tape, so I expect to win the next time the ward has a tournament, ha ha!

The ward here is good, and so well organized that I just peacefully show up for church every Sunday and enjoy it. Which is very different from my old area where every Sunday I had to talk or teach with no warning. We just had our stake conference, which it's funny to remember but before my mission I thought they were boring, and now it has become the highlight which I'm very excited about, because we get so many people there!

The area is doing good and I'm enjoying all the cool things here. The zone is doing much better now and the dats for this week have improved greatly. I expect that as we continue calling and animating the people, and as we send out our vision of the zone through the District Leaders, that the zone will keep improving.

(We asked Eric if he had any thoughts to share with a missionary he knows who was not having as many baptisms as he would like.)

I have learned on the mission that you need to just love and accept the people. And you can't worry about the baptisms. The success of any mission is not dependent on baptisms. You should try not to let it get you down, because discouragement on a mission is Satan's greatest tool. Because of the state of progression you are at on your mission, he can't touch you with any of the other tools effectively (hate, lust, etc.) So he's going to use discouragement on you. So don't be sad, just make goals and plan for what you want. One good thing to try is to memorize a scripture daily, and work on the memorization throughout the day, thus keeping your mind focused more on the glory of God. It will help bless the people you meet, and will help keep you focused on the work, and will give you more spiritual power, plus it will help improve your memory! I did it all one transfer with one of my companions and it was really helpful. I think I'm going to start it up again! Always stay positive!

Anyway, I better get rolling. I love you all and say hi to everyone back home.

Love,
Eric

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