ESCOBAR, WEEK 51: ASADO

Well, we just finished the halfway mark to this transfer. The time sure flies! 

We had an asado (BBQ) last week which was great so pictures are included

This week we had interviews with the President. They went really well. The assistants (one was my District Leader when I came to the mission and the other was my zone leader at the same time) explained some great concepts that my companion and I are going to apply. Things on how to use our planners and agendas better, numbers, goals, etc. It was really great. The interview with the President was pretty much the same, talked about applying the vision that the Lord has for us in the mission and how to measure success. All very good. We received some very interesting news. In February 45 missionaries will finish their missions. In March 39 missionaries leave. And 6 weeks later in May another 20 or so missionaries leave. And in those three transfers we will receive about 25 or so. Depends on the Lord. So that's very interesting. Right now we are at 250, more or less. So we will loose a lot of missionaries in the late summer, spring time. I heard that a lot of areas are going to go "dormant" or close/combine. So it will be interesting to see what happens there. 

Also another announcement we received is that we are going to have an Apostle visit us in November in about 2 weeks. They didn't say who but the Stake President in our ward says that it is going to be D Todd Christofferson. Awesome! I am excited for that. I hope we don't have to travel too far. But it would be worth it. :) 

Anyways, we had another down week. Found a few people but with Stake Conference being in another town, they didn't want to come. Stake Conference was really good. I feel like I have been in a Stake Conference or some type of conference every transfer but that's okay. It's cool to see how different the stakes are. 

It's getting hot already. Breaking records and every missionary doesn't want to admit it but they are all nervous for the summer. If it's already getting this hot and we haven't started the summer season yet, then in one or two months...yikes! I have been putting sunscreen on my delicate skin. Definitely have somewhat of a lobster style looking tan. But that's okay. :) 

Hey, I saw my first turkey here in Argentina. It was young but it made me think of Thanksgiving, and mashed potatoes, and roast beef and peas and all that. I was heading towards a lunch appointment so maybe that's why it came to mind. 

I love you all!  Pray for missionary opportunities! 

Love, 

Elder Moore

"Families are eternal" cap

Kyle's companion

The Asado

Some of the sisters.

Some of the elders, right before Kyle ran to go play soccer.

ESCOBAR, WEEK 50: ROUGH WEEK

Today started out great! We watched the Priesthood Session as a zone. Which was amazing! I look forward to reading it in English. Afterwards the 2 Argentinians put on an asado for us (BBQ) and it turned out great. Meanwhile we were playing soccer with teams of 5 or  6 and we ran and ran and ran and ran. It was great. I love p-days. I took pictures but sadly the computers here don't have a slot for an SD card so I will have to bring my converter next week to send many pictures. So wait for those! 

This week was one of those weeks that made it into the journal. My bicycle popped its tire 3 times. My companion's bike broke at the joint where the front part of the bike that turns and the stable part join together. Luckily he didn't get injured. Every day the member that was going to accompany us didn't show up, or canceled 5 minutes before, or something like that. Right before a meeting with the Stake President and with the sisters and ward missionary leader a  bird decided to leave a huge present on the shoulder of my companion. All our investigators mysteriously dissappeared. None came to church so we decided that we are going to drop them, and we finished a week with 7 lessons. The week before we had 26. The zone leaders called to ask what happened sunday night. That was a little depressing. I am not going to lie, a few times during the week I thought to myself. "What am I doing here?" " Why did we even come to this part of the area?" "Why is this happening to us?" "Are we being punished?" Well, we finished the week, I came here and I opened up my email and read some great blessings that my loved ones received this week. Some great things that I had been praying for. And I thought to myself, "That's why I am here. And also that the week wasn't wasted." Although I look forward to having a much better week I also will have a different outlook on the trials that come my way. 

Well, lots of sun, and lots of biking and walking this week. Thats about all I can say. 

Oh, we were waiting for a member in his garage when a lady comes out of the house, and starts talking super mean about us and the religion. She wasn't outright mad. I looked at my companion to see what he was going to say and he just looked at me and shook his head and put his finger to his mouth to tell me to just not talk. So I said "sorry sister for intruding." Then she just started tell us that we are related, we aren't siblings. So I said maám. She then started to say that us Mormons blah blah blah. I took it in stride, let it run off. Then she looked at me and said and you Americans blah blah blah, which didn't really bug me until she started talking about the Constitution. For some reason that affected me and I let my annoyance show. Not in any way but I put my hands on my hips and put my tongue in the corner of my mouth. That shows that the person is ticked but trying to not let it through. Anyways, my heart was pumping a little bit more and I was just about to say something back that may not have been Christlike. But then she started laughing. Then my companion started laughing. It was a sister that always pulls these jokes on new companions. She apologized for what she said, assured me that it was all a joke and then invited us in and we ate with the family. Remember the guy I told you about that tied his daughters together to teach them? Well, it turns out that the lady that just pulled the prank is his mom! Anyways, very interesting. I learned a lot about myself there. I am glad to say that I endured about 15 minutes of snide remarks about my religion, and country, and who I am, what I do, what I look like, etc. but it just slowly ate at me. Almost said something I am sure would've destroyed any possible opportunity for future missionaries to pass by and talk to her IF she was a real investigator. Anyways. Interesting. 

Until next week! 

Oh...yesterday was the Argentinian Mother's Day. So I love you, Mom! 

Love, 

Elder Moore

ESCOBAR, WEEK 49: 2nd WEEK IN ESCOBAR

Alright! My first week is safe behind me. I love it here! 

It's a very beautiful place and a lot of space too. I like it. The roads are bumpy and muddy and perfect for the mission experience! I am oddly happy. Definitely there are ups and downs (pun not intended) but the journey is great. We've found tons of people to teach but when Sunday came around we couldn't find ANYBODY to go to the church. So that was a bummer. So know we have to start again with the end in mind. 

This week I was witness to some of the best creative parenting that I have EVER seen. We were in the house of a member talking to the father in the backyard. (He is an Ex Professional Boxer and Psychiatrist). Anyways, he has 9 girls at home. 5 live with him. They were all arguing and the wife told him to deal with it. He said, "well I can hit them with the paddle again but that doesn't seem to work so we are going to have to think about it creatively." So he called the girls and put them in a line, side by side. Grabbed a rope and tied the left hand of one, left a space, tide the right hand another, left a space, tied the left hand of the next and then the right hand, then went and did the same thing to the feet. Then he said "basic psychology, you HAVE to talk to each other in a good way in order to work together efficiently. Now, go clean your bedrooms." It was amazing. The all had to walk in a synchronized way in order to clean. It was awesome. The were counting together and everything. It was very interesting and creative and just downright awesome. 

Anyways, the President asked us to answer some questions about our goals for the future and send them to him and so I sent that and that ate up a lot of time. Next week I will send a lot of pictures. 

I love you all! 

PRAY, READ AND ATTEND CHURCH! 

Pray for me!

 

Love ,

Elder Moore

ESCOBAR, WEEK 48: TRANSFERRED

Alright,

As you all have probably already guessed. I got transferred! I am now in an area that is called Escobar. It's apparently the first church in Argentina or in Buenos Aires. It's definitely not the city but it's pretty nice. The most awesome thing about it is that I am on BIKE. Yes, it finally happened. Which is fine but I just know that the first week is going to kill me. Sore body, exhausted, sun beating down and everything. That's what it's like but it's okay! It will help me get in shape and enjoy faster and cheaper transportation. I am just nervous about the sun. I don't want my rare and delicate Oregon tan to get ruined. But I will adopt an Argentine missionary tan. Definitely going to buy some sunscreen if it exists here. Pray for me!

My new companion is, Elder G*. He is from Chubut, Argentina which is in the south. It's interesting that he also has 2 nieces and one on the way just like I did. So that was an immediate connection that we made. Pretty cool. He has one transfer more than me on the mission. 

Well, today we went and played soccer which was pretty awesome but SUPER hot. It was cool to see the zone. I am with Elder G* (MTC companion) again. Which is definitely a blessing. Also with Elder L* who was my companion in Soldati. Which is cool too because he is a great friend. Also, you can tell a lot about a person by the way they play soccer. That's a fact. 

Packing for transfers is always a humbling time. Also frustrating but that's besides the point. I don't know where the stuff comes from! Books, scriptures, ties, shirts, pants, winter gear. I swear it's multiplying in the suit case. I am thinking about cutting down on some things that I haven't used...

Anyways, That's all the time I had! Conference was AMAZING.

Love you all

Pray for me. 

Love, 

Elder Moore