Tuesday.
In the morning, we went to have a cita with a kid named
Fabian, but he wasn’t home, so we went to stop by Mari, the lady that let us in
her house when Elder Loveridge was dying from Fasting. When we stopped by, she
honestly was trying to get us to leave kind of quickly, like she was busy or
something. But then I asked her about the little card that we had given her of
the 13 Articles of Faith. She said that she absolutely loved it. It was
awesome. She said that she had been carrying it with her just about everywhere
she goes and she loves to read it. So that was awesome. We started talking
about that for a little bit, and then she invited us inside again. So we went
inside and she offered us some milanesa sandwiches and we weren’t going to say
no, so we talked and ate and it was awesome. We talked about the card and then later,
we showed her pictures of our families and she absolutely loved that. I had
shown her my picture book of my family, the ones that we fill with our family
history. She was literally blown away that we do things like that. She loved it
so much, and asked if she could have one or two of the little booklets. We were
happy to say yes. Also, while we were talking, her sons came in and talked with
us too. They are both really cool too. The older one, Facundo, has 18 years and
the younger, Rodrigo, is 12. They are really funny and we just had a really
good time with all of them. Then, in the end, we just left them with the
pamphlet of the Plan of Salvation. We explained it briefly, but didn’t go into
too much depth because we knew that she would read it. After that, we had our
Reunion de Distrito that when pretty well. The other Elders were on divisions
with the ZLs, so Elder Walker was there with us. He is a super great guy from
Idaho and is going home, well, tomorrow. So he was a little trucky during the
meeting, but that’s understandable. After the meeting, we went to Las Vegas and
had a lesson with Jonathan. Well really, it was more of a counseling session
for him. We just talked to him and listened and helped him. We read a chapter
in the Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi 11 and it was pretty good to see just how much
he is starting to understand all that we read. We asked him about baptism, and
he told us that he is still planning to be baptized, but that he understands
that he has to be completing in line with the commandment of the Law of
Chastity. So, he told us that he is planning to propose to his girlfriend, but
is trying to make it a huge surprise for her. So that’s fantastic! After that,
we went to visit a few members and just talk with them for a while and share a
few scriptures. Pretty good day.
Wednesday.
It was yet another super good day in the life of yours
truly. In the morning, we went to do some service for an older couple, Hermano
y Hermana Marani. They are the sweetest, funniest, old people I’ve seen in a
while. For service, we were breaking some dirt and turning the soil in their
back yard so they could start planting a garden. It was pretty fun. They could
just talk and talk and talk and talk your ears off. It’s not bad at all, but it
is just funny to listen to. In the end of service, we had told them that we can
drink Mate in the pench, and they were so happy to hear that, so they gave us a
few little branches of some plants that they grow callen Burrito and Menta.
They both are kind of wild weeds that grow in random places, but if you dry out
the leaves and put them in your Mate, you get a different flavor in your Mate.
So, if you get tired of the normal taste of grass water, you can throw in
another type of grass and get a different flavor of grass. Yummy!! They also
made a little pot of dirt and put one of the plants into it and gave the plant
to Elder Loveridge so he can make his own little plant of Burrito. After that,
we went to have lunch with the Familia Sanchez, a really cool family. The lunch
was super good and it’s nice to be able to just talk to members and get to know
them better. After studies, we went to Las Vegas and had a pretty busy, successful
afternoon. We talked and taught a little kid named Dylan. He’s about 8 years
old and we found him when once we were just walking in the streets and he asked
us if we were from the church and if we wanted to go by his house and teach
him. He’s a really good kid, but it was actually a little hard for me to teach
simply enough that he would understand, and at the same time, speaking to him
in Vos form. In Spanish, we usually speak in Usted, but with some little kids,
they don’t understand Usted, so we have to talk in Vos, which is a more
informal form of speaking in Spanish. The problem is that I almost never speak
in Vos, so it was a little hard for me to do that. But he still seemed to love
it. After that, we visited a few of Elder Loveridge’s old investigadors. They
are named Aixa and Kime. They are sisters that have about 16 years and 13 years
I think. They have a lot of stuff going on in their lives, so we are planning
to go by more and help them the best that we can. Then! We went by Mari to drop
off the booklets that she asked for, and ended up staying for a few hours. It
was awesome!! She let us in so we could talk to her husband and get to know
him. His name is Luis. So, we met him and then just started talking to them for
a really long time and getting to know them better. They asked us a few
questions about our church and why we are called Mormons and everything and it
was pretty good. We explained that to them the story of the Book of Mormon and
about the Word of Wisdom and about being missionaries and our families and a
whole bunch of awesome stuff. Then, we offered us dinner and we weren’t going
to say no, so we had dinner with them and talked some more. They are super
awesome. They love us and we love them. I have some big hopes and plans for
them. But yeah, that was the day.
Thursday.
In the morning, we went looking for a less active member
named Ernesto. We had talk to him on the street earlier in the week and he
asked us to come by and talk to him about the Church and spend time with him.
So, we went to where he told us his house would be and looked for his red car,
but couldn’t find it. We went up and down a few of the streets that were near
where we thought his house was, but didn’t have too much luck. So, we stopped
and said a small prayer that we could be lead to his house and talk to him
because he honestly really needed a visit. And then we went looking. And guess
what... We didn’t find it. Nah! Just kidding. But that would have been an
interesting way to end the story. We actually DID find his house. And it was
awesome. He opened the door and was just beaming to see that we had actually
made it. He was so nice to us and treated us like honored guests. We talked to
him about all sorts of stuff. We told him where we are from and about our
families and about the Book of Mormon and all sorts of stuff. He told us about
his life and the things that he has been through, most of which were really,
really tough. He has been married twice, divorced in the first and his wife
died in the second, When he talked about that, he just started completely
bawling. It was so sad to see. But, we also were able to brighten him up by
talking to him about the church, now families CAN be together forever and
General Conference coming up and everything. It was amazing. Then, we ended by
giving him a blessing. In the blessing, I was really directed by the Spirit in
the words that I should say and the love and admiration that God has of
Ernesto. During the blessing, Ernesto was just crying and crying. It was a
great experience. I was so happy to be able to share it with him. Then, we had
a really good lunch with the FML Pasqual and after, studies. In the afternoon,
we had another lesson with Jonathan. It was pretty good, like always. He asked
some pretty good questions, one of which was "Why do you keep the
commandments? Because you want blessings or because you’re meant to?" It
was great question and honestly, I was taken a little back by it. I explained
to him that honestly, I used to keep the commandments because I wanted more
blessings or maybe just because of the way I was raised, but that now, I know,
that keeping the commandments is the best way to show God that I love him. He
really liked that. After our kind of long lesson with Jonathan, we went by
Fabian to see what happened the other morning, and he said that he actually got
really sick and had to go to the hospital, but that now he was a lot better. So
that was good to hear and then we set up another appointment.
Friday.
Holy crazy day. I mean, crazy. In the morning, we did the
Limpieza of our pench. We clean the pench every Pday, but at the end of the
transfer, we always have a morning set apart to do a thorough cleaning of the
pench. After that, is when we get our transfers and find out if we are staying
in our same areas or leaving or if we change our companions. Elder Loveridge
and I were actually pretty sure that we were both going to stay. But we were
wrong. Elder Loveridge is leaving and I’m staying. The crazy thing is that
Elder Loveridge is going to be a freaking ZONE LEADER People!! Did you hear
that?? My companion is a ZL! But, it does kind of stink because we were only
together for 6 weeks. But, my new companion is Elder Grandon, from Buenos
Aires. And, drum roll please.............. I’m District Leader! Yippee!
Honestly it’s not that big of news, but hey, it’s something. It will be a great
experience. So we learned about transfers then went out to visit a few people.
We went to see a few people, and had an English Class. Dante came again, but he
was a bit sad to find out that Elder Loveridge was leaving. But, we are still
planning to go over to his house and have lunch with him and his family and
teach them a bit of the Restoration. It’s going to be a good time, but we just
have to set something up when he actually can. We’ll get it soon. After English
Class, we went to the FML Amarilla to say goodbyes to them and talk about when
we were going to do more service. It turned into us helping and learning how to
make some really good food. I can’t remember what they are called, but they are
a Jewish food with potatoes and onions rolled into a kind of dough. It’s pretty
good. Then, we went back to the pench and that’s that
Sabado.
Basically all day Saturday, we were out visiting members and
other people so that Elder Loveridge could say his goodbyes. In the morning, we
went by our mission leaders house, Hermano Calderon, and talked with him and
his wife and just had a good ole time. We were able to get them a little better
and eat a little and laugh a lot. Then, we went to have lunch with the FML
Angulo, and that was really good. The food here is always amazing, but getting
to know members better is fun. They have a few kids and two of them are already
back from their missions. So we talked quite a bit about all of that and shared
a few funny stories and had a good time as always. After the siesta, we went to
talk to Jonathan and have a short lesson, but he wasn’t home, so we walked all
the way across town to visit Gianfranco, Elder Loveridge’s amazing convert. We
had a good time talking to him and helping him understand a few more things
about the church and all that good stuff. Then we went to the church to wait
for Gonzalo, Elder Loveridge’s other convert and hung out there while waiting.
But, sadly, he wasn’t able to make it. so, we went to the FML Varino, so Elder Loveridge could say his goodbyes to
them. It was a really good time. They are always super fun and the kids are
crazy but fun to mess around with. But we went back to the pench so
Elder Loveridge could pack everything up. It was a bit of a long night.
Sunday
In the morning, we went to the church and texted Jonathan to
see if he could make it, especially since it was Elder Loveridge’s last Sunday.
And he made it!! Jonathan finally made it to church baby!! Woo Hoo! And, he
loved it! So that’s freaking amazing. We had some good classes that he
participated in, and then Sacrament Meeting was just as good as you could
expect so he had a good time. After all the meetings, we took a bunch of
pictures and made sure that Elder Loveridge got pictures with everyone. It was
good stuff. Then, we had a super great lunch with the FML Casafus. They are a
younger couple that just got married about a year ago, or a little less. They
are super fun and have some of the best stories because both of them went on
missions. So we did that. We ate some stroganoff (I think that’s how you spell
it) And it was amazing. It’s like a kind of Brazilian dish, that Hermano
Casafus learned on his mission, and it was amazing. It reminded me a lot of
Moms Red curry. So good. Then we went out and visited a bunch of people. Elder
Loveridge was able to say goodbye to everyone that he wanted and we took a
bunch of pictures. Good times. Then, we had to go to Santa Fe so Elder
Loveridge could stay the night in his new pench with his new companion so that
the following morning, they could get up on time and got to the terminal and
make sure all the other missionaries go where they are meant to go. So I
dropped him off there, and left with the old ZL, Elder Walker, to a different
pench and spent the night there. It was a good night.
Monday.
We got up and headed to the terminal. It’s kind of funny
because when we get to the terminal, there are just a bunch of missionaries all
in a big group and it’s a bit crazy because is telling funny and crazy stories
and taking pictures and all that junk. So I stayed there for a few hours
waiting for my new comp and to take him back to good ole Santoto. While I was
waiting, I was surprised to see my good friend and “uncle” Adrian in the
terminal from my last area in Rafaela. We talked for a little bit and then he
had to go, but it was amazing to be able to see him for a little bit and talk
to him. He was in Santa Fe for a job interview, so that is super good news!!
When Elder Grandon got there, we said bye to all the people and headed to the
pench in a Remis. During the siesta, we just hung out in the pench so Elder
Grandon could unpack a bit and then we went out to visit a few people so we
could introduce Elder Grandon to a few members and also visit a few people. It
was a good afternoon. Elder Grandon is pretty cool. Super chill and a little
quite, but we are getting along just fine. He has been on his mission for about
14 months. Then, we went to Amelia’s to have a dinner with all of the
missionaries in the district and get to know each other a bit more. The new
district is me, Elder Grandon, Elder Delgado, Elder Cortez, Hermana Galbraith,
and Hermana Rosas. We are going to have a pretty good time this transfer!!
For Pday, we have been taking it pretty slow. We got up and
got ready then kind of just walked around in Centro then had lunch in the
Church with the other Elders and played some Ping Pong. Pretty chill.
But yeah, that’s the week. Pretty good stuff happened, but
even better things will happen this next week, for sure. Thank you all for
reading, even if it’s just skimming through. I hope you get something out of my
experiences too, that’s why I write so many of them!!
Also, my brother Drew gets to go HOME from the hospital
today after 18 days! I just know he is going to do amazing and not let this injury
stop him from doing all that he wants to in his life.
Love you all
Elder Haley
Chau
Jonathan
Service!
Walking every day
Facundo!
Ernesto
Dante
Food with familia Amarilla
Familia Amarilla
Jonathan at church
District-nice smiles
District-funny!
Stroganoff
Marani and Gonzalo
Surprise seeing Adrian at the terminal!!
New companion, Elder Grandon
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