Day 342

hola familia!
wasn´t conference great? i was able to watch every sessiona but i had some problems hearing pte. eyring on sunday morning because the satellite wasn´t working very well... but we went to trelew to watch all of it in english. the priesthood session we watched in rawson in spanish because we got special permission from pte peterson! our ward mission leader told us that he was going to be the only one in the building to watch it so we asked pte peterson if we could watch it with him and he said it was ok. i really enjoyed conference and i was surprised how many of the general authorities spoke directly to me as a missionary. it was a very special conference for me and it answered a lot of the questions that i had. i especially liked the talks from pte uchtdorf on saturday, pte monson, and elder cornish. the prophet had a lot of energy this weekend and i loved listening to his messages. it will be great to get the conference in the ensign!!!
we had an investigator come to conference in rawson but we weren´t there. her name is susana and is a woman that has been talking to the missionaries for a few years. the other day we went to her house and sanded two of her tables and then invited her to come to conference. some of her friends that are members in trelew already invited her so she was planning on attending in trelew with them but i don´t know why she came to the session in rawson. she got emotional listening to one of the talks because she felt the spirit and we are going to talk to her about it.
we officially dropped manuel because he told us not to come back, he doesn´t want to listen to us anymore and then told us to shoo. que mala onda.
but this week wasn´t too bad. it is really hard because we don´t have many investigators and the people we are finding hear stuff from their ´´friends´´ and decide the church isn´t for them. we only have 6 investigators. i don´t know what it is but the people in the south are really cold and finding those people that are ready is pretty difficult. we knock a LOT of doors and the members say that all of their friends are already in the church and it´s hard for them to get new friends... my companion asks me why i even bother asking the members for references because they never give them to us. i talked to president peterson and he said that we are going to have to receive our own revelation to find those people that are prepared. elder colombres and i are planning on teaching english in the church on saturdays and we are also planning an activity for the 10th, next monday for the youth to bring their friends. we are getting more excited. the conference yesterday was also a boost for us in our ánimo.
pte. peterson is also stressing the 15 family plan that the prophet made. we are searching for those people that the ward council gave us but it has been difficult finding them too. we did make contact with some and we already got a few of those families to come back to church.
this week, i ate puchero and i really liked it. it is just the meat off of a cow´s ´´forearm´´. the food here really isn´t that strange for me and i actually love all of it. food has always been difficult for me to understand because everyone has a different name for one thing and i get mixed up. i´m sure there are tons of names for puchero that i have never heard of but i thought it was interesting. it was perfect with mustard :).
my companion has been having a hard time sleeping lately and he says that i talk a lot in my sleep. 1/3 english, 1/3 spanish, and 1/3 nonsense. it is funny to hear the crazy things that i say and i know he isn´t making it up because some of the things i remember dreaming and i can´t believe i said the things outloud.
right now i am in trelew and we went to play some pool and air hockey with a district of missionaries here. i stay undefeated and i loved playing. it´s just too bad we don´t have foosball. it doesn´t make sense since everybody loves futbol!!! oh well... i think i need to do better taking pictures because we have awesome pdays. we are planning on going to see the penguins next monday but there are no buses to take us and we aren´t sure if some members can take us or not.
this week is full of birthdays! ¡feliz cumple! ¡que kpo! no puedo creer que voy a cumplir 20... pero estoy animado! it has been one really awesome year and i will never forget the days i spent as a 19 year old missionary in argentina, the best place for me. i really liked listening in general conference when elder waddell talked about how my mission here at this time was specifically set for my personal, eternal progression. everyone i meet, all of my companions, my mission presidents, and all of my challenges are exactly what i need in the moment that i need them. that gave me a new perspective to the work that i have been doing and gave me a new deternimation to ´´look up, step up, and cheer up those in need´´.
my scripture for the week is DyC 5:24
24 Behold, I say unto him, he exalts himself and does not ahumble himself sufficiently before me; but if he will bbow down before me, and humble himself in mighty cprayer and faith, in the dsincerity of his heart, then will I grant unto him a eview of the things which he desires to see.
it really stood out to me this week and i started working harder on my personal prayers. i guess that is why i really liked the talk from elder cornish when he talked about the personal relationship that we should maintain with our Heavenly Father through prayer. he also said that prayer was the passport to peace and i have personally felt that here with the challenges i have had.
i really enjoyed the talk from pte uchtdorf because i know that we are not invisible to God and He is always there. He has comforted me many times and i am learning to put more of my trust in my Heavenly Father. i also liked the story from pte monson when he put a lot of trust in announcing the first speaker that wasn´t even in attendance... he really is an amazing man and i know he is a prophet of God. I am very grateful for this opportunity to be here and the chance to listen to conference gave me an extra boost. thank you for all of your support, birthday wishes, and love this week. i won´t be letting you down and i will be working extra hard my last year here in argentina. i love my Savior and i love serving Him. i really love you guys too! I hope that this week goes great for you all, and i can´t wait to hear from you next week!
con mucho amor y ánimo,
elder summers