Stevie the dog

Alright so this week has been...... a week! so it started off with transfers! I received a new comp, his name is Elder Anderson, he’s from California and he’s a stud! he has 23 months in the mission, I know that’s a long time! but anyway we’ve been working a lot this week we have been doing a lot of contacting and it been really great work! we’ve been finding a whole lot of great new people that are ready to receive this Gospel! we have one guy named Eber that is getting ready for baptism he is just having a hard time kicking is smoking, but he is really trying, really hard! then we’ve been teaching this family, Familia Torrejon they’ve been Catholica all their lives but they have been looking for God more recently and they really like what we have to share with them, seeing the light of Christ in people is so rewarding. 

So we were out knocking on doors or rather we were clapping because that’s how you get someone to come outside here. well we went up to this house and they had 1 or 2 dogs out front nothing too big it was calm it was "tranquilo" 

and then we clapped........

this herd of misfit dogs came running out from every direction (luckily, they had a fence) the two that were of most oddity was this one that had this gigantic growth where its dewclaw should be and this other one who I’ve taken the liberty of naming Stevie, who was the last to arrive to the party only had two legs. well it had legs but it was like they didn’t have bones just two limp noodles. and I have to give it to him he got around on his front two legs really well! the only real problem was that every time he moved his bowels released so you know there’s that.... 

I have a new love; her name is Peruvian food. I’m not kidding if you haven’t had this yet I need you to stop reading this and just go get it, my letter will be here when you return. its literally one of the best things that I’ve ever partooketh of in my entire life. get the LOMO it’s so good! 

but other than that, it’s been a really good week! I missed church yesterday because I was dying and I slept until 3 in the afternoon but I mean I’m good now and the Peruvian food I ate for lunch made my belly happy so I can’t complain! 

Love you guys lots hope that you all had a great week! hope you all have a great

have a great national ice-cream sandwich day! August 2nd! Love you lots! and you also can’t forget about the less important national Mustard day! august 5th!

Elder Rios, Outie! (unlike my belly button which is an innie)

Birthday Week

Oh man!! I think I ate my weight in food this week!  The members took really good care of us! Monday we had some really good Asado Tuesday night we made empanadas in the apartment then I can’t even remember all of it but food and I could use a break for a couple days or so LOL!

Yesterday I had three birthday parties, it started off at the Cabrera house and they made really good Asado (we don’t eat that too much) and then they made me a cake and sang happy birthday! I’ll try and attach the video! 

Then after that we went to the Lematchi house and they made me two more cakes! Again sang happy birthday, then to the apartment where 7 other elders had thrown together a huge birthday party! It was freaking awesome! We had pizza, cake, ice cream, and just junk food haha! The batman decorations were the best part haha! Overall it was an awesome week! I can’t complain! 

I was sick for a couple days, that was fun…not!  But really it wasn’t anything too bad!  Oh I ate this really weird Bolivian food this week too. It’s a potato, but they let it rot in a freezer for months, then they take it out boil it, then freeze it again then they cook it… it’s as gross as it sounds! All blue and black, I don’t recommend it at all.

We have a new contact named Eber and hers a stud! He gave us all his cigarettes and was like here! I don’t want these anymore they’re bad for me then the next day at church he told us he went and bought some after we left haha, but he said he’s trying! So that’s what counts

Love you guy’s lots!  Thank you for all the birthday wishes!  ​​​​​​​​

I can’t believe I’m 20!

Prepare The Ark!

Things down here in good ole´ Tina are going well!

It’s been nothing but cold, windy, and raining the past week! It’s been so cold, but I already said that. It’s been pouring like crazy here! It’s awesome! My shoes barely have enough time to dry each night before we go out the next day! It’s sweet! 

oh, but anyway so yesterday we were in church yesterday and we were taking the sacrament and they brought the water around and you know it’s just the usual little water cups and I partook of the water, as usual, and it had dirt in it. And I’m not talking just a little it had a lot. My initial instinct was to spit it out but then I thought that the members might think that I was possessed so I had to just drink it. As I swallowed the thimble of water I reminded myself that it was blessed so I shouldn’t die from it. It’s been 24 hours so I think were in the clear!

The members here are taking really good care of me for my birthday this week too! Today were going to eat some Asado (steak)! And then we have a big birthday dinner Sunday with more Asado! And then another member is making me a cake and then a bunch of elders here are throwing me a birthday party with brownies and pizza and popcorn. So, it’s going to be a great week! I can’t wait! I can’t believe I’m going to be 20!!!!! That’s crazy!

We have been working hard as usual for the past week! We got quite a new of investigators and some great contacts! Were really busy! It’s kind of nice; it makes the days go by way faster which is a bad thing and a good thing! It feels like we don’t have enough time in the day for anything!  

I read this really great talk from L Tom Perry about goals this week too! ”where There Is No Vision” it’s really good! You all should read it! It talks about aligning ourselves with our naturally given talents and how we can have more success that way.

i hope you all have a great week! 

photos! elder Stowell and I

elder Stowell elder Caren and I 

you can’t tell in the other one but i have about 5 layers of clothes on and that’s how I slept last night, without the scarf of course, I’m scared I’d find some way to strangle myself in my sleep and I don’t need that lol 

LOVE YOU LOTS!

I LOVE AMERICA July 10, 2017

All right so this has been a great week, however for some odd reason, someone forgot the fireworks on the fourth of July, and there were no hamburgers, no hot dogs, no nothing! so I hope you celebrated enough for the both of us! however I did wear blue pants and a SHNAZZY red and blue tie so i looked very American, however no one here thinks that I’m American so that’s a downfall. then they hear me speak and they say " oh I didn’t know you were from Brazilian I guess I look Brazilian! 

           Argentina has been nothing but cloudy skies and lots and lots of rain the past week! it’s been nuts!  it’s also made it really interesting in my area. all the roads are made of dirt so it’s been a challenge to not slip. luckily, I haven’t fallen...... this week! I wish I could say for my companion. he had one of those cartoon style slip on the banana land on your back with your feet in the air kind of falls, I couldn’t help but laugh! 

It was my pleasure (saying the words "my pleasure" made me think of chick-fi-a) to be able to step foot in an argentine hospital this week. let’s just say, that if something happens to me here I’ve requested to be left in the street. they are really, really sketchy! they aren’t clean, you can only visit your family members for 30 minutes in the morning and an hour at night. they have guys that walk around with shot guns. it’s just a really interesting place. 

       I’ve notice that my knowledge of the scriptures has grown a lot because I’m able to make scriptural inspired jokes. for example, we had an elder that made some really, really salty popcorn, like the Great Salt Lake would have been jealous! 

 any way to the punchline of the joke. I said, "WOW ELDER DRUMMOND, did you decide to put all of Lots wife in the Popcorn this time"? for those of you who don’t know who she was, she was turned into a pillar of salt. I got some pretty good laughs from that one. the other doctrinal roast I did was again to elder Drummond (I promise I don’t hate elder Drummond, he’s just the only one that is roasted scripture style. the other day he was throwing some serious sass at me so I told him "If I could cast you out from my presence, I would" you know really writing these out. they aren’t as funny 

 oh well. you know what has become hilarious to me while I’ve been out here? Sponge Bob quotes. you really begin to be thankful for the little things out here! 

so, this week in the mission we have been working a lot with the less active members whose kids haven’t been baptized, it’s cool because we aren’t only helping out the kids but we are reactivating those members that for some reason have stopped going to church. you can really see that they have a desire to go to church sometimes we as natural human beings lose our way. and we forget to as Lehi Said, "Hold to the Rod” the other day on the bus I contacted a deaf woman, it was a very spiritual experience, and just so you know, American sign language doesn’t transfer over too well to Argentine sign language. we ended up talking through her daughter. I transferred my thoughts from English to Spanish and she transferred hers from Spanish to sign language. Kind of cool, right? the lady was very receptive I wish I could find out more about here but sadly she lives in a different mission. my area borders the Buenos Aires south mission so sometimes we bump into people from over there. I’ve really been thinking a lot about the deaf community down here is very large. I see 1 or 2 deaf people here every day or so. 

I read a great talk that my uncle Randy (SHOUT OUT TO UNCLE RANDALL) had suggested its entitled " Remember Lots Wife" it talks about the past and how we need to look forward its really interesting. definitely a good missionary read! but i urge and invite you all to read it!" the future holds everything for us" and there isn’t any point in living in the past. 

the week here has been really fun! sometimes it’s hard to think it’s been a week! it feels like i was just at this computer talking to you yesterday! 

Love you all! hope you have a great week! we will talk in a few!

Link to the talk Remember Lot's Wife-   LINK TO THE TALK: Remember Lots Wife

I am Orlando Castillo July 3, 2017

What a week it has been super-fast! I feel like we just talked yesterday! I guess that’s a good thing, right? everything here is going really well! we’re learning more and more every day! I’ve been trying to talk totally in Spanish every day! which is hard because I live in a house with a bunch of white people. so, I do really well during the day but at night it’s like we threw the baby out with the bath water. ha-ha! does anyone my age actually use that saying? 

this last fast Sunday as a mission we fasted to be consecrated in the work of the lord. it was really powerful and I think that a lot of good will come from it.  

So, about the title of this email, we were looking for this man, we had his address so we go to his house and we knock on his door and no one’s there. so, we walk away and this guy happened to be walking by the house and he kind of hesitates and I asked him if he was Orlando. he said no, then he walked a bit out of the view of the house and like motioned for us to come talk to him. so, we go over there and he whispers to us " i am Orlando Castillo he started telling us that he couldn’t meet in front of his house because the other people that live there are some other religion and they’re crazy or something. but then he said, " you are Testigos are you"? (Jehovah Witness´) and we told him no. and he started going off about how this guy that was a Testigo started taking his wife to church and now his wife lives with this Testigo guy and he was just going off and quite frankly i found out a little too much of this guy’s life. well we gave him a little card with times of our church meetings on it and he asked " okay, is there a secret entrance to the building, and do I need to show this card to someone"? I held back my laughter and just told him to walk through the front door and not to worry about the card. it’s funny what some people think our church building is. we had one lady tell us that our church was owned by the CIA. and they’re trying the get information on the world. and we had another lady tell us that she heard we get paid for every baptism we have! ha-ha, we get a lot of weird thing! but all and all its really fun! ​​​​

these pics are from today! we went bowling and then I attempted to walk on my hands, I was about as good as I am walking on my feet (not too good) lo! love you guys have a great week!