October 27, 2014

Hola mama y amigos (Hi mom and friends)

Dear Mother and family and whoever else that reads this.

In reply.

So that's crazy you are friends with President.  You prolly have more contact with him than me but hey that's cool. He is a cool guy.  Fun to talk with in the English that he learned and he has a thick accent so that's fun. Yeah I keep track of how many days I've been out.  Today is like 75 or 76 I think. But I'm not trunky, That's what they call people that are ready to go home.  I'm here for the long run so don't think me keeping the date is bad.  It's just cool to know. 

Devin Devin Devin............. You should prolly get your work in when it's due.  No one is gunna hire an employee that waits till the due date to turn stuff in.  Teachers will be a lot easier and willing to give you an A if you just turn it in and they don't have to grade late work... Easier to brown nose is what I'm sayin ha.

Still no packages.  They say it's like 4 months mom! But I haven't gotten any mail like letters or anything so yeah.  There could be stuff at the mission home that we have to wait till the zone meetings to get.  Which the next one will be like the 15 of November.  They're usually at the beginning of the transfers but not this one. So I'll let you know if I get anything then. 

Oh I also bought a jersey so that's why I don't have any money... It's nice mom and I'm a sucker for cualidad (quality), 

Suits fit fine.  I was smiling weird in that pic and it made my cheeks look fatter than they are.  I'm really not that swollen. Nothing is too tight.  This nice work out plan will keep me lean.  Even if I ate a tub of ice cream today.... That killed my stomach haha bad idea but we have 2 more haha.

Well mission is going good I guess. It's still a bit nerve racking to talk to people in Spanish.  Just cause I freak out when they talk to me.  When they talk to other people I can understand them fairly good I think but then they talk to me and it goes right over my head. But it's good. I like it. Struggles are good for me right now. I learn more I think.

We have a bunch of people we are talking to but none came to church so that sucked. Elder Biggs said it's always been like that so I guess we will just keep working on them.  The Lord can definitely soften there hearts though.  I wouldn't mind that at all. But no the mission makes you realize a lot of things for sure. Cool to have a better understanding of what life is really about. Well hey hope all is well with the family, let me know if anything new happens. I'll send some pictures now. 

Love 

Elder Lindsay 10 

Hanging with members. I'm pretty sure this 

picture needs enlarged and on my wall!  Love it.

Elder Lindsay and Elder Biggs

Elder Lindsay making friends. :)

Touring a Museum on Pday

The work out plan is working.  He is determined to not 

come home chubby. LOL  We'll see about that.

Hanging out with members

The pench owner's dog.  His name is Oso (bear) and they let him in all the time.  

Elder Lindsay on Pday

Elder Lindsay and Elder Biggs with their Zone Leaders

Back in the day they had a bomb factory and one day some went off and blew up

some of Rio Tercero. It killed 7 people and this is one of the bombs they found

Our District

A boxer's trophy collection in a Museum.  If only they could see 

Elder Lindsay's room full of trophies and medals.

Loving His Pictures

Elder Lindsay and Elder Biggs - First Companion

Elder Lindsay and Elder Coombs

Elder Lindsay and Elder Coombs

Dylan's Mission President - President Ruben V. Alliaud

Arriving at the Buenos Aries Temple

October 20, 2014

Hello family!!

This first part is in reply to mom's message.

Holy Moses! That's crazy to think that football is already over!! Ha I'm glad because I've missed sports here. The most sporty I get is hitting jumps on the bikes.  I gotta stop though because I always have a flat tire and messed up handle bars. Also the corn maze sounded like fun. Ha I hope we can have a little candy or something for Halloween here but prolly not. Its all good tough.

So with the ancestor thing, that's super awesome. Ha I have to print off the pictures so I thought you were just going to email them but I think I can still make them work, thanks. We just need pictures of them and not big ones just a face shot but I can print and cut those so thanks. I'll look on the family history thing too and see what they say about them.

So are there any gardens in Argentina? They have like flowers and then one member family has some trees behind their house that will have fruit but.... No, they have no idea what a real garden is like. It's like Roosevelt but a lot more compact and with just crap whole houses.  I'll see if I can send pics this time.  I bought a little usb thumb drive and also an adapter thing so if the computers will work this time I will get you some. But yeah there is a part of here called Center and it's the shops and stuff and there is a super market there.  Not a ton of options.  So I just get eggs and cereal and yogurt.  The yogurt is really good with the cereal so that's what I eat.  That and pancakes with some jam. Ha I can't wait for good food that I don't have to cook.  Haha mom that's your job.

So with the ebola virus I heard about it before I went into the MTC but yeah nothing after that. That's crazy though! Ha it doesn't surprise me how people get sick though, people are nasty here... Like they lick the spoons when they are cooking and stuff... Yeah hygiene really bugs me. But eh as long as I'm getting fed I don't really care ha 

For Christmas we should get to skype.  We will go to a member's house usually and use their stuff so yeah we will skype.

Oh happy mothers day mom!! Ha yesterday was la dia de madre here in Argentina, so happy mother's day! Guess you get two of them. 

Everything is going good.  I'm making my companion talk to me in Spanish so I can learn it better. He said he thinks I'm catching on fast. I had a hard time the first few weeks because I didn't know how to conjugate but after I studied those I have an easier time.  I don't know Spanish by any means but it's coming better. I can teach all the lessons in Spanish but that's just cause I know the gospel words.  Now it's just small talk and general talk that I'm learning. I guess just real world talk. 

Mission seems like it's going by fast right now. At least while I'm with Elder Biggs.  We are pretty similar ha so we have a good time. Transfers are like the 3rd of November so I hope he gets to finish my training.  We have a couple investigators that are getting close and I'm pretty sure we'll get them baptized so I hope he can stay and help.  Training is for 12 weeks or for 2 transfers so that's why. 

It's crazy how real the devil is. Like he always puts inconveniences in our way. Like a taxi driver that is crazy or like the loudest freaking mopeds in the world drive by during the sharing of the first vision. Ha oh and everyone here drives motor bikes and scooters! Its crazy! well it's about half and half.  They have a bunch of foreign small cars too. Ha all the cars would be perfect for the derby too, they sound like derby cars.

The zone leaders are coming ever tonight and going out with us tomorrow so I'll have a different companion for tomorrow. But then after I'll be with Elder Biggs.

I bought a mate cup and bombilla, idk how to spell them but I got a nice one for a souvenir. 

Mission is going good. Miss all you fellas at home but I'm in the work so it's going good.  Scary how fast it's starting to go.  I'm sure some weeks will be slow but this week was fast.  Oh and I just got done watching Planes. Yeah the Disney movie Planes. After I ate 6 hotdogs.  The hotdogs aren't as filling... I hope ha but I made a work out schedule for me and Biggs cause we are gunna ser guapo.. Be hansome, or what I'd like to think to be sexy but eh we will prolly not make it ha it's pretty tough,

Well good to hear from you.  Keep me updated on the Basin and stuff.  Still don't have any mail just an fyi. But it's all good.

Tell The family hello and talk to you next week.

Te amo mucho y bien tarde 

Elder Lindsay 10

After getting our new dos.

This little dude went with us, he is funny, his name is Fransisco but we call him Fran.

Our Pench.

Our District

Mate cup and bombilla

October 13, 2014

Dear family.

Ha so it's crazy dad actually got an elk.  Like what is this ha but don't be too proud it was just a baby.... Nah it's good ha maybe he will actually let me get one when I get home.. Ha but no that's good.

Hope Dev does good at region.  Just remember it's mental Devin.  Just think of how bad it sucks while your running.  And remember if you're behind someone there is always the chance that they poop themselves and it gets on you.  So just run past them and all of a sudden you'll be at the finish line. Ha enjoy the activities while you have it cause i think I'm gonna be way out of shape when I get home. 

So while you say it's cold at home it's getting super hot here. I am starting to get a little tanner so that's cool.  Send me some pics of the snow so I can look at them for Christmas haha.  We had like a picnic kinda get together thing today with the sisters in the district and also a family Colaso. Colaso is the last name.  Instead of saying the Lindsay family here we would be the familia Lindsay.  But yeah family Colasa was there and they fed choripán so it was good. We did our shopping today also and I am starting to get more healthy stuff.  Oh and milk doesn't do anything to me here! Haha I've had bags of yogurt and nothing happened so yeah that's awesome!! The humidity sucks when it's really bad. Like right before or the day after a storm. We are suppose to be going into the rainy season here so we'll see how that goes.

I've got to ask Dylan to be sure but this is what I found when I searched for choripan.

Ha how's about you can hang one of my mullet pictures and then when I get home you can put up my after mission picture.  That would be cool.

And no we don't get to use iPads.  We have one cell phone that Elder Biggs has to call members and to talk to the other missionaries.  We are like one of the only ones that have a washer.  President is trying to get washers in every penchion. That's what our house thing is called. I cant wait for a dryer!! Clothes aren't as nice when they aren't fluffed up.

Ha the awkward guy named Javiar that we teach learned English for 9 years in his house, so we teach him in English.  He was super surprised when I said I was 18.  Also he was super impressed that we aren't all caught up in sex and drugs and that we are serving a mission and only get to talk to our families 2 a year.  So yeah he is gonna get baptized.  We just got to get his catholic wife on board and I'm pretty sure that'll be easy.

Oh and I haven't even got the letters that you guys sent.  Packages take many months so yeah.... Ha I'll be lucky to get it for my birthday I think. But hey it's all good.  I'll let you know what and when stuff makes it.  Ha just plan on me having a Christmas in 2016.

So about divorce... they just passed a law here, well they all voted on it. But there are a lot of famalies that are living together but can't get married cause they were married before.  To get a divorce you had to pay a ton of money, so they would just not get divorced.  But now they passed a law that all you have to do is send in a peice of paper and then they pass it off, then you can get remarried. But yeah if they aren't married they are breaking the law of chastity and stuff so yeah now people can start getting divorced and remarried so we can baptize them!!! how about that ha.

But hey that's about all for now.  Stay humble always cause this is crazy compared to the USA, Love you all tons and talk to you next week.

October 13, 2014 - Oh Yeah...

Hey so the Mission President wants us to email our families and have you send like a picture of our family back to our great great grandparents.  So if you could get a picture of you and a picture of dad, and then grandmas and so forth, back as far as you can find them I guess. We have to make these little books of our family history so we can show people and get them excited for the temple work with the new temple in Cordoba.  But yeah like a picture and a little description of the person. I forgot to tell you last week.  I know you're good with that stuff ha so yeah do what you can and thanks 

Love you bye

Elder Lindsay 10

October 6, 2014

Hello family!!!

So I dont have a ton of time. We are in the terminal at Rio Cuarto waiting to get a ride back to Rio Tercero. Ha I had a ton of mail so I'll for sure have to finish reading it all later. That was crazy about Hanberg and Brooklyn. Poor kid. He is pretty chill. 

A map to show the distance from Cordoba to Rio Cuarto

Hope everything is going great back home.  Mission is going pretty good. We have a lot of work to do here. Some days it's frustrerating cause the people have a really hard time following through with commitments or we will ask when we can come back and when we get there they send their kids to the door and say they aren't home. But it's not bad. Only when we walk or ride or bikes along ways.

Ha so the other day we were eating at The Colasa families house and it was like this stew stuff but not really.  But anyways I thought it looked kinda really weird and had some interesting textures in it but I downed like 3 big plates of it.  They had talked about what it was while we were eating but because I don't know Spanish, I was like chowing down.  When I got done they asked me what it was and I had no idea.  I was like the insides of a cow so yeah that was fun. I just deciding I'm gunna eat everything and until i don't wake up in the morning I'm gunna eat everything.

Conference was good. We watched the first two seasons in Spanish which was hard but the next day, because bishop loves us, he set us up with English on so that was good. Made me think about just chillaxing when I get home with some female (Shonia) and you guys watching it. We should all prolly watch those ha. 

We found this guy that is very awkard to talk to.  He is super honest and shy and you guys would laugh soo hard at him.  Cause I mean it's very hard not to. I know that's mean. But he is a blessing because he has learned  English for 9 years and he is very interested in the church. But his wife definitely wears both pairs of pants in that relationship and she is super catholic so yeah hope that goes good.

There is another lady that I'm sure we will get to baptize. She is from Brazil I think.... ha I say think cause I don't speak Spanish but we have been to her house a few times and they are richish. It's super weird cause there is no middle class.  They're either super poor in a shack or rich and stuck up. So it's good to find the humble rich people. But yeah she is at Buenos Aires now voting for Brazil's president and then when she gets back we will teach her more. She had a dog that got hit by a car when we were there and she was crying and it was sad. We didn't know why till after. She had me pull up my facebook and so I showed her a picture of spud and told her what happened and idk maybe it helped her. Anyways yeah I don't have a ton to say right now. We left at 8 last night and got to Rio Cuarto about 10 so yeah we have a 2 hour bus ride here soon back. but it's good.

The weeks go by pretty good but at times a start thinking about home.  That's just the gringo in me. Thanks for making home perfect. Yeah it'll be super cool to meet back up with everyone after the mission and all the new friends too.

I didn't have any mail yet.  The only other time I think I might get some is tomorrow.  We have interviews with the president so maybe he might have some.

Yeah tootsie rolls, candy corn, idk I crave that stuff here ha.  So don't take anything for granted. 5 min showers suck and yeah joys of the mission. I still gotta love it but I like it now. Well I hope everything is going good. Tell Dork hello, and Devin. Dork is Dakoda, also give Kim a high five for getting his hands on grans house.

Love everyone 

talk to you next week.

Elder Lindsay 10