253 Days To Go...

¡hola familia!
> hows it goin? i had another good week. we taught a lot so we didn´t
> have to stay outisde in the heat all day. the sun is getting really
> strong and the air is really dry and warm too. i think some good rain
> this week will be welcome. saturday night, the youth came home from
> efy in bariloche and they had an awesome time. they bore their
> testimonies in church yesterday and it was an awesome meeting to be
> able to hear their testimonies and see how just one week can help them
> so much. it was impressive. leandro told us that while he was there,
> he felt strongly that he needs to serve a mission too. he asked me a
> whole bunch of questions about getting his papers together and how to
> get his patriarchal blessing, and he is putting a whole bunch of hymns
> on his mp4 player. he is doing really awesome. he showed us some
> pictures on facebook of efy and i saw a bunch of youth that went that
> i knew in máximo abásalo and in zapala!. leandro talked with them and
> when they said where they were from, he asked them if they knew me and
> they said that they did remember me and told stories of cool stuff i
> did when i was there. that was surprising to me because it has been a
> long time since i have been there but it was awesome to hear.
> rodrigo received the priesthood yesterday and was able to bless the
> sacrament with his brother. bishop detlefsen gave him a white shirt
> and one of his ties so he would be able to do it. rodrigo had the
> biggest smile on his face and we were really proud of him. watching
> the two of them bless the sacrament together was a dream of mine since
> october and it was incredible to actually be able to see it yesterday.
> they both have come a long way to be where they are now and i know
> that they are going to continue progressing. rodrigo also told us
> that he will be attending efy next year and eventually serve a
> mission..
> aixa left yesterday to head back to buenos aires for school. she was
> really sad to leave but we promised to keep in touch with her while
> she is away and we will be friends on facebook :). i was just
> thinking, and it has been one year since i started in zapala, my
> second area!! fa! time has been going by so fast. we are going to
> find out this saturday if i am going to leave rawson or not. i really
> want to make this last week really count.
> silvia is progressing a lot too! she came to church yesterday and we
> talked about the holy spirit and how we get it. the lesson made a huge
> impact on her and she was really worried that the church would tell
> her that she can´t assist more because she isn´t married with oscar.
> i told her that she is always welcome to church and she was really
> happy. she really wants to marry him now so she can finally be
> baptized and receive the espiritu santo.
> we found two new guys to teach this week, marcos and jorge. they go
> to the adventist church and they are here in rawson selling books
> about physical health, and they are giving away books from their
> church for the spiritual health too (but only if the people want it).
> that´s what they told us. marcos is a really cool guy that plays the
> blues and jazz on his guitar, and he was playing when we found him.
> they never heard of the book of mormon before and they both are really
> interested in it. we are meeting them tomorrow to see if they have
> read anything. marcos said that his only doubt was about how pedro,
> santiago, and juan gave jose the priesthood because of the tema of the
> resurrección... i didn´t know how to respond to that one. i told him
> that i will research it a little more before responding but i guess it
> all comes down to the book of mormon and if it was translated by the
> power of God or not. i haven´t found much about it to know if they
> were resurrected beings or not but i´m still researching. any
> additional help would be appreciated on the subject :).
> hey che- i heard whitney houston passed away. truth? oh, and by the
> way, my rooney shirt did help me a lot on saturday. i´m rocking the
> cancha. i forgot to take a picture but this saturday i will for sure
> (cuz it could be my last time playing in rawson). i have been
> thinking that i should play at byu. i don´t know how that would be
> but i´m sure it would be fun.
> my scripture for the week comes from mateo 25:34-40. i finished the
> new testament this week! it has a lot of really good things that i
> loved reading this transfer, and one of those things that i found
> comes from these scriptures. it talks about how all the things we do
> to, or for, others, we are doing it to the savior. it made me think
> about my relationships with the people around me and how i can treat
> others better. especially with elder escobar, my companion. i have
> to spend all day with him everyday and i don´t want him to feel
> unappreciated or maltreated (?). poor guy has to deal with me no
> matter what. pero bueno, está bien.
> i love reading the scriptures. the hard part is the application but
> it´s something everyone needs to work on. i love being a missionary,
> and helping others find the joy that we already have. before the
> mission, i never understood how hard it would be. i thought that my
> companions would have the same desires as me to want to work hard but
> you might not be so lucky. you got to be the sheriff! the motor to
> keep the companionship functioning and to be an example. it gets hard
> when you are fighting that and the majority of the people reject you,
> but the few that you do find to teach are worth all of the efforts.
> it has been very rewarding for me to see how people change and how
> much happier someone can be, just by learning about the savior´s
> atonement and how to apply it in their own lives. i know that all of
> these things are true because i know that the book of mormon is true.
> i read it, and i received my answer. i am grateful for the
> opportunity that i have to be here, a missionary in argentina.
> i love you guys and thank you for all of the support that you give me.
> every week, getting your letters, pictures, and packages, gives me a
> huge boost in ánimo and i love to hear about what you are all up to!
> until next week, chau!
> con mucho amor,
> elder summers