18 months!!

Hey everybody!!

This week was really good actually. So, first off, I officially hit 18 months in the mission!! That´s so cool and it´s crazy that I´m ¾ of the way done and that I´ll be seeing all of you soon. So, everyone who said that they would write me on the mission and hasn´t yet, you´re running out of time haha. So, as you know, we had P-day on Tuesday last week and then the new missionaries got here on Wednesday. I got to play the piano for that meeting and it´s always fun to see the new missionaries, especially the gringos, because they have absolutely no idea whats going on haha.

Then, there´s this family in our area that is from Columbia. They are really cool and they give us food all the time. They made us Columbian empanadas one night and they were incredible. They are my favorite empanadas I have ever tried. Yes, they are better than the normal argentine empanadas. They are all members except for the 15 year old daughter. She´s been to church a lot, but just wasn´t as sure about baptism. We are teaching her and she´s progressing a lot and has a baptismal date for the 18^th. Then, there´s another cool family. Nestor, Nancy, Shayla, and Frano. Nestor and Nancy are the couple. Nestor doesn’t want to be baptized, but he supports his whole family in whatever they want to do. Shayla and Franco are the kids. They came to church a few times over a month ago, went on vacation, and just came back. So, we refound the family and are teaching them and have a baptismal date with the kids for the 11^th of april. Nancy wants to get baptized, and we are working with her to get married. They want to get married, they just have to do all the papers and then we´ll have her baptism. Then, there´s a part member family, la familia Aguirre. They are all members except for the dad. They found him a couple weeks ago and we´ve been teaching him and he came to church!!! He has a baptismal date for the 12^th of April because of his work schedule, but hopefully everything works out. We went to the wedding reception of a member and a lady that was going to be baptized by the other elders in the ward. But, they showed up late and we had to leave before they got there to get home in time. Her baptism was gunna be the next day, but the reception went til 7am (not odd for Argentina) and she was tired/sick. So her baptism will be this week.

Oh, and like I mentioned. I am in a ward and not a branch. It´s the first time in my mission that I´m in a ward and not a branch.(A ward is just bigger and has more money and opportunities to do things). Other information. We have a water filter on the sink, so we don’t have to buy water and it´s not disgusting. Elder Murphy is going home this transfer. I will be his last companion and he goes home on May 3^rd. The other elders had a baptism on Saturday that we went to which was really cool. The ward has some really cool members and they are all willing to help. And, the other elders that live with us have a weight set. So, I´ve been have some good workouts and I´m trying to get back in to better shape so that I look like I did when I left. I don´t want to get home and just have everyone tell me I look old and fat haha. So, it was a really good and busy week and we´ve had a lot to do as leaders and I´ve really liked it so far.

Other than that, the quote this week comes from Thomas S. Monson. He said, Let us-all of us- have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle.” We give in so many times to the easier way or the worldly way because it is the conclusion that the world has come to. When we separate ourselves from the standards of the world we separate ourselves form the troubles of the world. Life only becomes easier and we become happier when we stand for correct principles. Thanks to everyone who wrote me this last week and I hope to hear from you soon.

Les Quiero,

Elder Joshua Clarine