Goodbye Rafaela, hello Santo Tome

Well, this past week has been a little crazy and we were all over the place trying to get some lessons taught, go to Santa Fe for tramites, and in the end, say goodbyes to lots of people because after close to 8 months, I left Rafaela. Yeah, that’s right. So, I am now writing from Santo Tome, a smaller city closer to Santa Fe. From the few hours I’ve been here, I can see how much more humble the people of Santo Tome are. So yeah, it has pretty fun here already. 

This past week, we were trying to find a lot of our investigadores, but we weren’t able to keep much contact with them or find them for a lesson or two. So that was pretty frustrating, but it gave us more time to find other people to teach and meet. We didn’t have too many lessons this past week, but we did get to meet with Franco and teach him more about the Restoration and invite him to be baptized. He accepted, and them came to church this last Sunday too. Such a good kid. But other than that, we only had a few times when we were able to talk to other people. Oh wait, we were actually able to go to a lesson with the Familia Palota and taught them about the Word of Wisdom. It was a really good lesson, and in the end they gave us their cigarettes and then we gave them blessings to help them have the strength to stop smoking and drinking. After that blessing of the mom, she told us that she could feel a fire or a tingling on her back during the blessing. So that was really good that she felt the spirit. Then, during the rest of the week, we couldn’t find them at home. Because apparently, they moved without letting us know, but Elder Robinson is going to find them and baptized them with his new comp, Elder Thelin. 

Other than that, we had tramites for Elder Robinson on Thursday, so we went to Santa Fe and had a pretty good time there, I was basically stuck in the offices the entire day, but it was still fun. I got to hang out with Elder Rasmussen. Good stuff. 

Friday night, we had a good activity of a Talent Show with all the members in Rafaela. It ended up being pretty dang fun. We had lots of talents and he laughed a lot and were able to admire the talents of other people. I took loads of videos, but they would take forever to load, so I’m not able to send them this week. But it was a good time and we were able to have Adrian and Liza come too! They seemed to like it and had a good time too. 

Santo Tome is awesome so far. We have two wards and about 80 members attend each ward, each week. So that’s a whole lot different than Rafaela. It is super calm and humble here, so that’s a whole lot nicer. It’s a pretty small town compared to Rafaela, but we still have 6 missionaries here. We actually live in basically the same pench as the other Elders. We are next door neighbors in our departamento. So that’s been pretty fun so far. The other Elders are named Elder Mario from Buenos Aires and Elder Delgado from Peru. Pretty fun so far. My companion is Elder Loveridge and he is from California. 

Saying goodbye to everyone from Rafaela was pretty tough. Really tough. Saying goodbye to Emiliano was the hardest. But that’s how life is. I’m hoping to keep in contact with all the other people, like Hermana Palota, Ariel and Alma, Adrian and Liza, and of course Gabe. I’m going to talk with all of them after the Mish, that’s for sure. Saying goodbye to Adrian and Liza was hard too.  They helped me so much with my teeth and became great friends. They have all taught me so much and I am so thankful for my long stay in Rafaela. I could barely speak Spanish when I arrived and now can understand everything and say anything! Many tears were shed say goodbyes.  I can’t wait to see them all again. I love them all, and I am ready to meet even more amazing people here in Santo Tome.

I don’t have too much to mention from this last week, and still don’t have my typer thing, so this one is going to be a little shorter. But thank you all for reading and I hope that all works out for you guys this week.  

Can’t forget to mention, the shoes are good and thick in the sole. I’ll get a picture for this coming week. They are nice, but I have to re-break them in

Love you all!

Ciao,

Elder Haley

Rodrigo and family

Emiliano

Gabe and Franco

Gabe

Familia Palota

Hermana Palota.  This angel washed my laundry every week and fed us regularly.

Familia Quiroga

Sister missionaries, Zone Leaders and Hermana Soledad

Ariel, Alma and their madre

Liza & Adrian

Goodbye to Elder Robinson.  We will still see each other throughout our mission.

New companion, Elder Loveridge

A few of the texts from Adrian:

                    "Hi guys!! To be honest I am sad, I really love your boy.  And we will miss him.  I hope we have a chance of being in contact in the future. They were here in moments where it was hard for me to find the light.  Today I have been talking with my mom about Morley and the last night we spent, trying to face some tears.  I will keep the memories on my heart, and I wish him all the best in the new area."

                      "Yes, it was hard to say goodbye.  As a foreign friend, I am proud of him and his work.  I am sure he will be working hard and continue spreading light for someone who needs it more than me.  I think some people appear in your life, in the exact moment you need them, and leave us when their mission is complete.  I continue reflecting about that."