2-25-13

Hey family!

 The mazda will need some rest before I get`r rollin! lol. THat is a good idea about the passport, and for the point for hunting as well. I don`t want to commit myself if I have no idea where I`ll be in the fall. I am thinking october will be the perfect month to come back to Argentina. It`ll be spring, so good weather, but not scorching hot.

This last week went well. Just really chill. We finally got some blessings from all our tracting, and found a family, and another guy. The family is awesome. They are catholic,but are just listening because they are new in the area and want to get to know people, plus they like to learn about other churches.  They are really nice though, and a typical Argentine family. Actually they are very out of the ordinary because they are actually married! That like never happens. they have a little 3 year old daughter and she reminds me EXACTLY of Gracy when I left before the mission. I showed her a picture of the girls and she was in love, she wouldn`t put the picture down and she kept inviting them over to play.

That was like the best part of the week. We went and finished the service for that lady and finished chopping down her tree. There was a lady named _____that we met doing contacts and all ofher family is mormon, so we talked for a bit. And she is from Paraguay so I started talking in Guarani with her,and she was sooooo happy lol. So she invited us over for this last week. We went and I gave her a book of mormon in Guarani and she was super happy. She was so happy she gave us sooooo much food. She made like all these tartas and gave us cookies and stuff lol.It was funny.She`s not interested at all, but she just liked that. Hmmm.... what else happened....

Did I ever tell you guys that I am like the new pianist for the ward? It`s crazy, I have gotten so much better att he piano now. I can touch like a ton more hymns now, it`s cool.

I have beenlike super sick for like 2 weeks with like bronchitis or something, and this morning Iw oke up with huge tonsils and an earache. Good thing I live with the mission nurse, so he told me what to take. Also good thing in Argentina you can buy ANYTHINg over the counter and I got all my antibiotics and decongestants for like 8 dollars. (40 pesos) What a steal! But hopefully I can get better soon.

Well I love you guys! Hope you are doing well. :)

Elder Gardner

 

2-18-13

Hey family!

So things are going super well. This last week was an extreme amount of walking and clapping houses, but we´re sure that things will pick up soon as long as we stay diligent and obedient.

Let´s see... this week I ate tongue again, and it was really good :) They made it the same way and everything, and I loved it this time. lol. It has a ton of flavor, and is super soft and falls apart easily.

We also have been doing a lot of service this week because we haven´t had too many lessons. So for example we resealed a roof of a member so it won´t leak anymore, and we cut down a tree of a lady we met in the streets like 4 months ago. When I first got here we just clapped her house and she was super nice so every time we pass by I just stop to say hi, and last week she explained to us that she is having a lot of problems and her husband doesn´t have a job, and then she said that her tree had fallen down in her backyard and didn´t know what she was going to do because she couldn´t afford to pay someone to cut it up. So we offered to do it for her and of course she accepted. It was fun. I have cut lots of trees down here with machetes, but never with like a huge ax like that. lol. Needless to say, I was very sore the next day. But now I know how to use an ax!

______ and her family gave me a suit! Their son _____ had a suit that they bought, and he never used. And they were thinking about giving it away to someone in the ward and they kept thinking that it had to be someone tall and skinny. Then they all just turned and looked at me. haha. I took it home, and it fit perfectly! So now I don´t look like a homeless man when I go to church with a suit that is probably 4 times as big as it should. It´s a cool color too, like a greenish tan color. Kind of like the mazda?? But yeah, I´m excited. I am still trying to send you pictures.. but the computers here are terrible and don´t work at all... sorry. I am trying!

Well I am glad things are going well! I love you guys, and can´t wait to hear from you next week!

Elder Gardner

2-11-13

Hey family!!!

So this last week went by super quickly! We passed by another transfer... today is transfer day but elder Siler and I are staying together. This trasnfer that we started today is the weird one that they are changing, so it`s only 4 weeks instead of 6. And then from then on, everyone goes home two weeks earlier. After this transfer, I only will have 4 months left! That is so crazy. I have no idea how it has all passed so quickly! These last three months have FLOWN. Today is another random Argentine holiday. AKA everything is closed... Argentina is like the exact opposite than the states. lol. Yeah, October and Novembre are the best months I think. It`s warm, but not HOT like right now. It is terrible! We`ll have to hit it just right. I`m guessing staying in a hotel will be the best bet for us, and the most comfortable. I`m sure people would let us stay at their homes, but the homes here aren`t meant to accomodate other families. Plus the public transportation is really good here so we can travel REALLY easy. With the subway, train, and bus systems. And in all my areas I know it in and out. Luckily I have a Sube card which is like the electronic way to pay for your travel fares so it will be super easy for us to travel.

I am down with going to Nauvoo. I`m not going toworry about school until I get back, so I won`t be able to go until January. It just seems easier that way than trying to worry about it right now and money crap. So I`ll just wait and have a good six months to get ready in whatever way necessary. And Dad I am still thinking medical. I just want to do something that I enjoy, and I like a lot of things, but medicine just interests me a lot, and it would be a great career. We`ll see how everything works out though and which school I am going to end up at. I really like the U, but I have been thinking a lot lately about BYU. So we`ll see how it all works out. BYU would be a lot cheaper; tuition wise, and for living as well. Living in Salt Lake is a bit more pricey.

_____ is doing well! She paid her tithing this week, so that means that she REALLY understood everything.  That was a big step for her. She also supposedly got a job last night! Which is another big step for her.  Now she is changing her life and she is doing amazingly!
_____ is doing well as well. We are working hard to start teaching her kids.

Nothing too new to update you on. Things are going well!

Well family, I love you all! And I hope you guys are doing well. Talk to you soon :)

Elder Gardner

I am trying to send pictures as well.

2-4-13

Hey family! 

 

Thanks for the email, and for the picture. lol. I see old pics of me, and I don´t even think it´s me anymore. I look completely different now. And plus I have lost a lot more weight. I am down to 160 now. 

_____ did get baptized :) It was amazing! And she barely showed up to get confirmed. She had everything possible happen to her so she wouldn´t come to church on sunday, but she came runnin in 10 minutes before it ended and we were able to confirm her. She is so awesome. She loves the church, and she loves to learn. 

Other than that, the week was pretty normal and chill. Just lots of walking, and yeah. We did have a lot of people fodge us, but That´s in the job description. We did find two new families on sunday. It was a good weekend :) 

today for pday, I am making ñoquis. MMMMM They are going to be super good. It´s my first time doing it ALL from scratch. So we´ll see how it works out. I will send you pictures next week, deal? 

I am pretty tired all the time. In about six months, I´m going to take a nap for like 3 weeks. Deal? 

I´m glad you are all doing well! That is so crazy about ______ and ______ getting married lol. That was a shocker. And yeah, jade sent me a picture of Brandt and he is huge! and has a deep voice now :) I remember him being a lil boy blowing bubbles behind the piano when we were playing under the sea at the piano recital. 

When are you guys thinking about coming back to Argentina? I´m thinking November would be a good month. Or October. What are you guys thinking? How long are you wanting to stay here? Where do you want to sleep? 

This is kind of a short email, sorry. But there´s not realy anything new going on lol. It´s all just the same to me. We do the same things all day. We wake up, and leave and go work! And yeah! Just clapping houses, and maybe teaching people if we are lucky. Teaching is a lot easier, especially with the language finally down. I´m really excited to be able to look for a job speaking spanish or something like that when I get back. That will be super useful. 

I think the best thing I´ve received from the mission is my newly-established relationship with Christ. That is the most valuable thing I think that I have received and developed during my time here. I can´t imagine where it will be in 6 months, but I´m excited to see. 

Well family, I hope all is well, and that you guys are doing fine and dandy. I love you lots, and appreciate the love and support. 

 

Love ya lots.

 

elder Gardner

1-28-13

Hey family!

 

I`m glad you guys had a fun time with the fam. I miss everyone. I bet there was lots of good food:) The Mayer coupleis going to make us sloppy joes tomorrow. I am super excited. 

I am down with the Nauvoo trip. Tiff said she is trying to talk you guys into staying a couple extra days in KC with her. What are you guys thinking about for thta? I`m down :) 

I did get Deeners package. REmember I showed you the ties she gave me on christmas? They`re really nice ones. Good for Grandma thinking about skirts and stuff, maybe I can help them a little bit. That`s so crazy about all the homecomings already. Especially Shellie! I was  in the MTC with her. When does Layken come home? I ate lunch with her a couple of times in the MTC. And Katie Palmer too. That is nuts. And I am excited to go fishing. I`ve tried to go a couple times out here,but there`s never enough time on pdays to go. to bad so sad. 

 

Things are going well here in Adrogue. We are staying pretty constant with the people, gaining and losing people constantly. BUT We do have about three people who are looking good and progressing. _______ is so awesome. She is getting baptized on Saturday, and is super excited. She loves learning, and reads a lot. Shehas already read the whole Lorenzo snow manual that we just got like two weeks ago. And she has read 7 ensigns and we have gotten her started well on the BOM as well. We told her for every 50 pages of the bofmormon that she reads, we`ll give her an ensign lol. Because she likes reading the ensigns a lot more than the bOM so yeah. But she is really smart, and knows the bible well so it`sfun teaching her. She has already asked when she can get her patriarchal blessing,and receive her endownments lol. She is on a roll. She even broke up with her boyfriend on Saturday, and she went to the temple with the ward temple trip to walk the gardens and stuff. She is awesome. 

 

Today we are spposed to have a zone activity and cook pizza and watch a movie. it`ll be fun. 

Well I love you guys! Tell everyone I love them.

 

Elder GArdner

1-21-13

Hey family!

This week went actually pretty well! We found some new people to teach and have our older ones starting to progress. --------- is awesome and came to church yesterday, and told us that she felt the spirit super strongly while she was reading the new manual of Lorenzo Snow. So she has agreed to be baptized on the 2 of Feb. YAY! That was a good day. And then to end that day, Marcela made is tortillas from potatoes and it was reallllll good. I am super hungry right now! I could use some lunch.

Nothing really too new. Just that we are good, and happy and things are going well! Ali is getting excited to leave, and Sara Mcquivey and jade leave soon as well! That is cool for them.  
Well I hope all is well! I love you guys a lot, and we´ll talk next week!

Elder Gardner

1-14-13

HEyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy family!

 

Howis everything going? We are doing well! Hot and sweaty. Today we are supposedly going to go to a barbecue in another zone. So we`ll see how that goes and turns out :) Play eem some volleyball. 

 We did have some luck this week though with finding new people, and with people progressing. We got two of our investigators to church yesterday so that was super cool. We did have to pay for the car to go pick them up... but it was worth it :) We told her we`ll pay the first time, and then she has to pay for it lol. But yeah. one is progressing and taking the lessons. The other one is  an evangelist but is willing to listen to us. We had a good lesson with her on saturday and she felt like it was good for her to visit the church, so she came. I think she liked it. 

This week we walked a lot. We are just looking for new people still and we just made a huge long list of old investigators and passed by them. But some invited us back so that was good. 

We also found some Jehovah`s witnesses who invited us in to talk and they just wanted to bible bash with us. We have another lesson with them tomorrow. Hopefully it goes well. 

So the best news of the week... I found cream cheese!!!!!!!!!! I am excited. Sooooo, to celebrate, I am making my alfredo sauce tomorrow night :) YAY!!! We are going all out and cooking dinner for the MAyer couple (the house we used to skype on christmas) and Imma make them  chicken and broccoli penne with ceaser salad and garlic bread. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I can`t wait. Although this week ALL i ate was pasta, but I can eat that alfredo any day. :) 

Hopefully you all have fun at Bear Lake! That will be fun to see everyone. 

Please tell grandma and grandpa thank you for the letter, and that I love and miss them so much and that I am so thankful for them and their support. 

Well love ya lots!!!!

 

Elder Gardner