November 28, 2016

Another week. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I can't explain how excited I am to eat turkey next year.

Monday- Normal p-day

Tuesday- I did divisions today. They went pretty well. I don't know what it is but i have just felt so violated by women lately. I literally can't walk 5 blocks without getting whistled at or messed with. Its been super annoying. I don't know if it's just I have gotten more attractive on my mission, gotten really good at coordinating my ties, or if I have just been doing too well of exercises haha but its ridiculous lately.... within a thirty minute time period today my companion and I caught 5 girls looking at my back side... 

Wednesday- Normal day. A lot of walking and a lot of contacting.

Thursday- So our lunch fell through and for several reasons it was a pretty rough hectic day. I only got to eat some left over rice before I went to bed...

Friday- Today I did a baptismal interview for a 25 year old guy that is going to get baptized and married to his girlfriend. It was the best. It was so cool to see how his life has changed since he started going to church and how much hope and joy the gospel has given him and his future wife. Their future is so bright and happy. There really is nothing better.

November 21, 2016

Well I hope everyone had a great week

Monday- We went to go look at a new apartment we are wanting to move into. It was super great. Where we are living now is just not the best... our shower is a weak stream of water that comes out of the wall... So we are hoping we can do everything we need to so we can move at the beginning of December. We will see what happens. The new apartment we saw was pretty nice. Its sad because it was almost so nice I felt uncomfortable being in it because I am just so accustomed to different things now.

Tuesday- In the afternoon we passed by the house of one of our 17-year old girl investigators that had a baptismal date for the 26th of November. And we caught her smoking with some of her friends. Super depressing.... We talked with her and tried to teach and share a message with her and her friends but it was just a wreck. I absolutely do not enjoy teaching young girls here. I understand I am their age, blond, and from the United States but its just so annoying and ridiculous how they turn into a giggly, girly mess when I try to talk and teach....

Then later in the day we had a lovely interaction with an older gentlemen. He was even so kind to spit in my face after we were done talking

Wednesday- Today I did divisions with some missionaries in the offices of our mission (they are regular missionaries but just assigned to work in the offices for a short time and take care of things like technology, visa paperwork, and stuff like that). It was a pretty good day. I got to ride in a car so that was great... I seriously miss driving so much... The whole day we just did tasks in the offices and then at the end of the day we went to their area and made some visits. The life of a missionary in an office is very different. They have so much weird stuff to do. The elders there even jokingly threatened to give my mail box to another missionary because it has been more than 5 months since I have received any letters or mail from home.... so thats awesome....

Thursday- We were lied to in our faces so many times today. So frustrating. We had absolutely no success.... But on the bright side, in the night my companion got his patriarchal blessing. I was able to be there and it was a super special experience. He was so anxious and nervous he felt really sick before he got the blessing and it reminded me how I pucked a few seconds before I got my own patriarchal blessing haha.

Friday- In our ward there are 2 companionships of missionaries. Me and my companion have the south part of the area of our ward and the other companionship of elders are in the north area... So in the morning today, the other companionship of missionaries got a call from our mission president and he told them that they were both leaving on Saturday, and that my companion and I were going to have both the areas for 2 weeks, and then at transfers we would both get new companions and I would get taken out of my current area and put in the north area.... So basically after several weeks of so much stress, hard work, and long hot sweaty hours in the sun to fix and build up my area, I am losing everything and being taken out and put in a new area and I have to start all over again...

As I missionary, I have really come to understand more what it means to be a son of a loving Heavenly Father. Sometimes its hard to understand why God requires us to sacrifice things so important and dear to us, why he allows the words and actions of others to hurt us, and why he continues to give us trials in the moments we are struggling the most. But its all because he loves us. He is teaching us to be patient and to trust in him because he has greater things in store for us. He truly is a God with a divine plan for each of his children.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving close to family and loved ones.

Elder Townsend

November 7, 2016

Pretty great week. I don't have much time to write but the highlight of this week was definitely on Friday when I did divisions with another Elder in a city called Ciudadela and we went to ¨¨el fuerte apache¨¨. That place is so crazy. I literally cant explain the things I saw haha. Its basically like a 20 block neighborhood of straight up ghetto, government housing. In the thirty minute time period we were there I was offered drugs 5 times haha. And they were even so nice they showed me the drugs up front and everything. 

Well I hope everyone has a great week!

Pictures:

-argentine night life

-I managed to get a picture of a small piece of ¨¨El Fuerte Apache¨¨....don't ask me how I took the picture...

October 31, 2016

Well it was my first week here in Santos Lugares. It was a good week but pretty crazy.

My area is the city. Its the first time I have every worked in a very city-like area so thats pretty exciting. Its super different. The people are so much more sophisticated but crazy at the same time. There are some things I like about it because there are a lot of great, healthy families that would make great members of the church. But at the same time, I am already kinda annoyed by all the weirdos haha.

So our area currently has like no investigators...so thats awesome. This week we basically just spend 8 straight hours everyday in the streets contacting and getting the work in this area moving.... I am tired....

I don't have much time but some facts and highlights from this week:

- I am currently living in a 4 person apartment again so that is super fun

- My new companion is Peruvian

- The ward I am in is super awesome and very strong. 

- This week I am probably doing divisions and going to work in a villa that is called the la fuerte apache.( I can explain what that is but If you actually care you can just google it). Needless to say, I am super excited.

- Girls in the city are very annoying... I cant even count the number of times very inappropriate invitations were extended to me this week....

- I like Peruvian food

Well I hope everyone has a great Halloween! 

October 24, 2016

Honestly I don't have my agenda that has all the stuff I did last week so I cant remember much of what to say haha.....BUT we got transfer calls last week and I am leaving. I am going to an area called Santos Lugares. I don't know much about it. The only thing I have heard is that it is city and that ´´it's not very santo´´ haha so I guess we will see how it is.

This week was awesome but also super sad. I am going to miss all the people I have come to grow and love here the past six months, but I guess I'm just going onto the next adventure.

I hope everyone has a great week

Extra from Mom:

Santos Lugares is a district in the southeast of the partido of Tres de Febrero. It is part of the urban agglomeration of Greater Buenos Aires in Buenos Aires Province, northeast of the Buenos Aires city proper.Wikipedia

Weather: 67°F (19°C), Wind E at 21 mph (34 km/h), 75% Humidity

Local time: Monday 12:32 PM

Population: 17,023 (2001)

Province: Buenos Aires Province

Partido: Tres de Febrero Partido

October 24, 2016

Honestly I don't have my agenda that has all the stuff I did last week so I cant remember much of what to say haha.....BUT we got transfer calls last week and I am leaving. I am going to an area called Santos Lugares. I don't know much about it. The only thing I have heard is that it is city and that ´´it's not very santo´´ haha so I guess we will see how it is.

This week was awesome but also super sad. I am going to miss all the people I have come to grow and love here the past six months, but I guess I'm just going onto the next adventure.

I hope everyone has a great week

October 17, 2016

Another week

Monday- our pday was an absolute disaster. It was a holiday so everything was closed and there wasn't any transportation so we wasted some good hours walking getting the stuff done we needed to do....thats the mission.... but on the bright side we had a great night doing proselyting. We taught this new guy named Daniel we found and he is totally going to get baptized so thats awesome!

Tuesday- Normal day....

Wednesday- So many visits and lessons today. Which is good but exhausting haha... At night we saw our investigator the Gomez familia and they are doing so well!! I can already hear the water in the bautismal font running

Thursday- Another full day

Friday- It was my companion's birthday! We had a great lunch and some great visits! At night I made hime a cake!

Saturday- Super huge storm in the morning. We had to travel to another chapel in our zone to go to a stake activity that they asked the full time missionaries to participate in. So that was a fun hour of walking in pouring rain and wading through super flooded street in boots to get there....

Sunday- Great day at church. It was mothers day here so it was pretty crazy in the streets. My companion and I are on a good streak of walking in on huge dinner parties every Sunday afternoon.... but its all good because we get a ton of food and new investigators haha..

Well I hope everyone has a great week

October 10, 2016

Another great week!

Monday- Good day. Nothing crazy. But good day

Tuesday- In the morning we headed to the offices of our mission and had a training and did some interviews with our mission president. It was pretty fun! The lunch the gave us there was pretty good too! At night we back in our area we went to the farewell of a youth in our ward that left for his mission which was super fun. The only sad part is that right when they brought out the food it was too late and we had to run back to our apartment to be back home on time... I swear that always happens....

Wednesday- Great day full of several visits. We had a great lesson at night with our investigators the Gomez family. They are so great and are doing super well!

Thursday-Another day full of visits. At night we had a great lessons with a member family and their friends that are a young couple that loved the idea of eternal families I talked about last week. Our lesson went super well and we have another lesson planned with them this week.

Friday- We did divisions today and I went to another area and was with an elder from Peru. At night he taught me how to make bread on a grill! Super fun!

Saturday- Normal day. At night we had a dinner with a great less active family we are working with. They made us matambre a la pizza! Which is basically pizza but instead of bread you use just a huge, thin piece of meat haha! It was so good!!

Sunday- So many miracles today. Our day went so well and we found so many great new people to teach. Its hard to explain everything that happened but it was just a super awesome day

Well I hope everyone has a great week!!!!

October 3, 2016

It was a great week.

Monday- We played soccer and ate pizza as a zone! It was super fun! Im actually getting pretty dang good at soccer.... I am feeling super latino...Then at night we had a family home evening with our recent converts Jony and his mom Silvia! They are doing so great!

Tuesday- We went to another area and did divisions. Divisions are always an adventure... 

Wednesday- We had a regular day full of lessons. And then at night we had another lesson with the Gomez family! They are doing so great and are in the process of developing their testimony in the book of mormon and receiving answers to their prayers. We made them brownies and it is so ridiculous how much argentines love north american deserts...

Thursday- Another full day of lessons and some service. At night we met an awesome young couple that are friends with some members that recently moved into our ward. They are super nice and show great interest. They have plans to get married and start their family soon. With them we briefly talked about how families can be eternal and we can be with our spouse and children as a family after this life. It was so great because sometimes the concept of éternal families´ is so a hard to explain and help people understand outside of the church. But they toltally understood and literally were in tears after we told them. So great. 

Friday- Lots of great lessons

Saturday and Sunday- We got to watch conference in the stake center here! It was super great! Super special! 

A member that went with us to conference

The pork I cooked! I am turning into an argentine...

I hope everyone has a great week!

Elder Townsend