Last week of the Transfer!

This last week just flew by super fast!! First off, with Catolina Gonzalez there is a story. She is still progressing and she started inviting all of her kids to listen to the lessons too so we have like 8 investigators out of her family alone and now most all of them have gone to church twice so they only need one more to be baptized which is awesome, but we found out 2 days ago that all of them are moving into a house together....that is 3 streets outside of our area. So they are still taking the discussions and still want to be baptized but now other missionaries are going to finish the last two lessons with them and baptize them which is exciting it`s just sad/frustrating because we did all of the teaching and now other missionaries get the baptism so we look bad, but it`s all good as long as their family gets baptized!! It`s kind of sad too because they were one of the only two strong families we had because this week we had to stop teaching a lot of people because they didn`t want to talk with us anymore or they weren`t progressing. 

But, on a happier note, we had a Christmas activity in the ward this week with a nativity by the kids, Christmas music, and all the empanadas we could eat, so it was an awesome night!! Also, we are in the choir for the church so we can sing songs that aren`t in the hymnbook which is a nice change! haha 

The only last thought that I wanted to share that I liked was to acknowledge the gift that Christ gave to all of us, especially in this time of the year. He gave us a great gift, so what gift can we give him in December. An idea that I like is to, with your family, write on a piece of paper a present that you can give Christ, fold it up, and put everyone`s paper into a box. Wrap the present in gold and place it underneath the Christmas tree at the front so that every time you look at the tree you will think of the gift you are trying to work on or give Christ. Then, on Christmas, open that present first and read everyone`s present together to see and talk about the things we can give Christ. I just think this is a fun idea and helps us remember why we celebrate Christmas. I love everyone and hope to hear from all very soon! Thank you for the continued support.

Les Quiero,

Elder Joshua Clarine

 

 The small flowers that Andrea, the daughter of Catolina Gonsalez, gave me.

 When we made cow stomach empanadas with Poly last week.

The nativity that was set up at the branch activity.

 The spider we found in the church this week.

 Some giant worm that was in the street one night, the tile behind it is like a 

normal one foot tile, it was seriously like the size of a small snake.

Week 5 in Sáenz Peña

Hola everyone.

This week was a good one. We had our ups but we also had some downs. We had to stop teaching Jessica and Patricia, Melina, and Claudia because all of them can´t progress right now for different reasons, but we are still praying that Poly can get married. We also found some really prepared people this week. A lady named Catalina Fernandez saw us and said ¨Mormones, pasen¨ And said that she has been waiting for her church to send someone because her husband and son both dies in the last year but when she saw us she knew that God sent us because her church wasn't true and she needed our church. This experience was awesome and she is on a trip to Rosario right now but we should baptize her at the end of the month. Also, we met a lady named Catolina Gonzalez who is super prepared and following through with all of her commitments, along with her daughter Andrea, and they both love church so we should baptize them on the same day as the other Catolina or sooner. Also, she isn´t with her boyfriend anymore which means that we don't have to worry about marriage which is good because NOBODY gets married here and the office to get married closes in two weeks and wont open again until mid February which is really upsetting for us because we cant resolve that issue in this time. 

But, with some good news, I had my first incredible Argentine meat this last week and it was absolutely amazing and just so natural tasting. It was awesome! Also, we found out that we will be getting more money every month to buy food which is nice because we can actually buy stuff that isn't the absolute cheapest thing. Also, the schedule is changed now so that we work in the morning and study in the afternoon during the siesta instead of in the morning because in the summer it is too hot too walk in the middle of the day and everybody just goes to bed anyways. 

A couple of weird things this week, I found out that the people just throw away their toilet paper instead of flushing it which I think is weird and I will just continue to flush it haha Also, one girl this week was talking to us from inside her house and when she came outside and saw that we were Mormons she refused to talk to us and would only communicate with us by shaking her head and we found out through our questions that it was because her pastor said that anyone that talks to Mormons will go to hell. I just thought it was weird. We´re just normal people, we don't send people to hell... And, one night I ate mondongo for the first time. Mondongo is cow stomach, so I made cow stomach empanadas, they weren´t all that bad. Also, Andrea, the daughter of Catolina Gonzalez gave me a little present this week of fake flowers in a pot which was cute. 

All in all everything here is good. The only other thing I wanted to share was a quote that says, ¨And supposiing you have tried and failed again and again, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing called ¨failure¨ is not the falling down, but the staying down.¨ I like that this points out that we choose to pick ourselves back up but at the same time, we are also the ones that choose if we stay down and are defeating. I just think it´s good to think about that in our own lives and how we are choosing to stay down. Thanks for all the support and I will talk to everyone next week!

I couldnt get pictures to work this week, this stupid computer is broken. But that just means that there will be more for next week with this week and next. Sorry again and I hope to hear from all soon.

Les Quiero,

Elder Joshua Clarine

2 Months - I Don't Sound White

Hola everyone, 

I have officially hit two months in the mission. Crazy how time flies!!! My week was pretty good, it went by super fast. Our investigators are all great and we have 18 with a baptismal date right now but a lot of them have big obstacles to overcome, don't come to church, or have work and we can't teach a lot. The ones we are excited for are Jessica and Patricia who are a mother and daughter but don't know if they can receive an answer. Melina is 14 and her dad isn't too excited about us but her mom just died 1 month ago and she wants to be able to live with her mom again so she really wants to be taught. Claudia just moved here from Columbia with her boyfriend and 2 kids. The problem is that people here never get married and just say they are together and the office to get married closes for 2 months in 3 weeks so she needs to get married before they close!! Poly is awesome!! He has every lesson and has read the Book of Mormon and he just needs to get married before they close and we will baptize him right after. Please pray for these investigators as they are the ones that have the most potential right now and need certain things to go their way!! 

This week I found out that my last name is a newspaper in Buenos Aires so that's always what people think of when I introduce myself. Also, this week I had a dog pee on my shoes, drunk people always yell at us and throw stuff sometimes, and one group of 12 year olds kicked a soccer ball into the back of my head but I just smiled, picked the ball up, and walked it back over to them and apologized that I got in the way of the ball and it was just funny to see their expressions. 

This last Sunday there was a big conference for the church and of the 80 that attended 28 of them were missionaries which was just funny to see so many missionaries. Also, in our zone conference during the week, my companion and I won a prize for the companionship with accents the most like we are from Buenos Aires which I think is awesome because a lot of people tell me I don't sound white I just sound like I'm from Buenos Aires. The food is awesome, if you want to look these up I have been eating asado, milanesa, and some pasta type thing that you pronounce nee-yo-kees. 

I wanted to put a quote in here since I haven`t done that for awhile. "Adversity may sometimes come because of others' poor choices and hurtful words and actions." With this we know that our success and happiness are dependent upon OUR responses to difficult things in life. I just hope we can always remember that, no matter what happens we can choose how WE react. Thanks for all the support and the emails, they really do help!! Talk to everyone soon.

 

Sincerely,

Elder Joshua Clarine

 

 Panorama picture before the storm we had this week, clear on the left and death on the right.

 This was the street by our apartment the following morning, 

it was more of a river than a street since cars couldn't use it.

 This was the skyline one of the nights.

 

 These were the clouds one day.

 This little guy lives right over my bed, but at this point I don't even care about spiders anymore.

 My companion and I with our award for our accents.

 All of the missionaries at the zone conference, I am at the top right 4 people in.

2nd Week - Ensanche Sur

Hola.
I don´t have much time to write but I´m going to try. This keyboard at this internet cafe has been used so much that I can´t see any letters on the keyboard so that plus the fact that every word is spelled wrong because the computer is in Spanish is why I'm sure these letters have a ton of mistakes. My branch is ensanche sur (that is the name of the area that meets together). We finally got AC so now I can live!!!! Elder Burnham is from Arizona and just hit his 6 month mark. We have a lot of good investigators but they are all too lazy to go to church and since they have to go 3 times we keep on having to change their baptismal date which is annoying. We have church in a chapel and I have been getting to play the piano on Sundays. I also don't know what Ive said so sorry if something is a repeat. We are 4 hours ahead here. It is normal to have chickens and goats in the streets and they just go in and out of houses and no one really cares. One day a spider made its nest in my pants so I went to put them on and it crawled out which was freaky. So I killed it and its web and stupid eggs it layed. No one has real chairs and they just sit on plastic lawn chairs or buckets. Babies learn how to drink matte before they can walk or talk. Kids have a break in school from 12-4 for the siestas where all the stores close down and everyone just takes a 4 hour nap. The water isn´t good to drink so everyone just drinks soda and nothing else. Also the ground in houses is usually dirt but they sweep it anyways which I think doesn't help but whatever. Dora the explorer here teaches English instead of Spanish, and I can´t remember anything else I wanted to say about the week. If you have questions just email me, it is easier that was, also if anyone wants to be added to this emailing list just send me their email. Also if you want to send me a hand written letter here it takes about two weeks and my address is as follows--

Elder Joshua Clarine

Misión Argentina Resistencia

Entre Ríos 435

Resistenciam Chaco 3500

Casilla de correo 1

Argentina

Thanks to everyone for the support!! Next week I will try to have more stories and a quote or cool thought, sorry I didn´t have more time!!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Joshua Clarine

Gravity controlled shower that doesn't heat up automatically.
 

This is what you put you put your garbage in for people to pick up.

Address to the Mission Office in Resistencia

Hi everyone, this is an address, from Elder Clarine's Mission President, to the Mission Office in Resistencia. I'm not sure how much it costs to send a letter but he will receive any mail sent here. In his last email he said he'd send his address of where he is living, but this address below is one you can always send mail to throughout his entire mission, no matter what city he is serving in.

Elder Joshua Clarine

Misión Argentina Resistencia

Entre Ríos 435

Resistencia Chaco CP 3500

Argentina

1st Week in Argentina - Saenz Pena

Monday, November 11, 2013

Hola everyone!!! 

These last 10 days have been crazy. My pday changed when I got in the field so I will now be writing on Monday´s for the next two years instead of on Thursdays. The flight over was super long and uncomfortable since I was in between two giant people for 13 hours, but I made it here! 

First off I want to say two things. First, the computers are in spanish so the spell check says that every single word is misspelled so I am sorry if I don´t catch a few words while I am writing. Second, I only have an hour every Monday so I won´t have as much time to write because I also have to do other tasks with the internet in the hour they give me. I got to Argentina and I realized that the people are half what you expect and then the other half are white and they could live in the US and you would think they knew English, it´s crazy.

We got to Buenos Aires on Tuesday then flew to Resistencia that night where we stayed in a "nice" hotel. It was considered nice because it had tile floors, the cockroaches were smaller than normal, they had A/C, and free breakfast. The only problem was that all the tiles were broken, the A/C didn´t even turn on, there were still cockroaches, and the breakfast was only small rolls. The only good thing was that the rolls were the best bread I have ever had in my life. The bread here is better than any homemade or fancy bread in the states. That´s why they have it with every meal. 

MY trainers name is Elder Burnham and we will be in Saenz Peña for the next three months. This is one of the hottest areas in the mission and we are about to start the summer months in December since the seasons are reversed here. The only place that is hotter is Formosa so I´m glad I´m not there right now. And the heat isn´t even that big of a problem, it´s just the fact that it is so humid that it´s just like you are walking through water. You are ALWAYS sweating. It doesn´t matter if you are sitting, walking, sleeping or anything else, you are always sweating. And we also walk everywhere so it is hard with the heat but it is worth it when we teach others and they accept what we have to say. The people here are super humble. Only the really nice houses have walls on the inside. Most just have curtains for the doors and to separate the kitchen and bedroom. They also wash their clothes by hand and then dry them outside. We are lucky enough to have a member that washes our clothes. She is Super nice!! I understand a lot of what they are saying if they don´t talk too fast. My goal is to be basically fluent by Christmas which I think is possible with the amount of Spanish I hear and say everyday. 

I don´t have time to tell everyone all the stories I want to so that will have to wait for after my mission and you will have to come to my coming home party haha. I will tell one story though. This last Saturday we went to the house of a young boy that was supposed to be baptized this week. His mom is an inactive member and he has a younger brother who isn´t old enough to be baptized. But, her boyfriend is abusive and evangelical and hates the missionaries and prays to God for the demons to leave every time we come over and then beats her and the kids after we leave, but she still invites us over because she knows how important it is for her son to be baptized. But on Saturday he made them all hide in the house while he stayed outside, he wouldn´t really talk to us and we were just trying to get the mom and sons to come talk to us to see if we convince her to move back to her Aunt´s house. Then, one of the neighbors that is a friend of the boyfriend came over. He had a tattoo of san de la muerte which basically meant that he worships satan and trades the lives of others in exchange for earthly items. He started shouting that we come to that barrio (or town) too much and started swearing at us and said that we had to leave and if he ever saw us there again then "mataré" meaning that he would kill us. We normally wouldn´t care but we was waving his machete at us and if we hadn´t kept backing up and left it would´ve hit us. So we aren´t going to go there for awhile which is really sad because Ezequiel was so close to his baptism. I don´t know why people hate us so much; we are always super calm and polite (even in this situation). 

Thanks for all the support I get from home! I couldn´t figure out pictures this week with the computer and I have so many that I couldn´t even send them all, but I will figure that out before next week. I will have the address to write to in about a week but I won´t be able to write back a lot because it is expensive. Emailing is better. If there are questions just let me know, I know I didn´t get everything into this email and it is a lot easier to remember what to write if you ask me questions directly so I can answer you. Once again, thank you for all the support and I can´t wait to hear from everyone.

Love,

Elder Joshua Clarine

Safely arrived in Argentina!

Elder Clarine made it safely to Argentina. He left Salt Lake City, Utah, on Monday morning, November 4th. Here is a picture of him in Resistencia, Argentina with his companion (trainer) Elder Burnham along with his Mission President and his wife, the Heymans. The first area he is serving in is Ensanche Sur in the province of Chaco. Can't wait to hear from him!