La vida de Avilleneda

THIS MESSAGE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY WAL MART

Sigh....

This week has been rough.

But I´ve grown a lot!

Whenever I get too comfortable someplace, that´s when it´s time to leave. Like I said earlier, God takes away the training wheels so we can learn to ride free. Unfortunately you still might fall down in the process. Especially if you were dependent on the training wheels...

I´m taking this metaphor too far

So Elder Valerin. He stands about a foot shorter than me with thick glasses and defined lips. The best description I can afford of him is that of Gonzo from the Muppets.
Avillaneda is a big city. A BIG CITY.

Tip of the hat today goes to, no not BYU football (although it is deserved. Go Cougars. Jonathan I won´t have time to write you this week, but thanks for the football season updates. Let me know how basketball is going), but rather globalization.

Yep, globalization.

Thanks to globalization, I have two Wal-Marts in my area, both of which have an incredible variety of international foods. I now enjoy things like pretzels again. And refried beans. Rosarita refried beans. Saturday I made my nachos and washed them down with a Twix bar. The unceremonious homogenization of contemporary society as we know it never tasted so good.

It´s like I can walk back to the states anytime I want.

Wal Mart. What a great place.

It is actually quite depressing.

I need to get a picture of the Wal-mart and McDonalds sign with the endless fields of Argentine shacks in the background. It´s such a cliché political statement, but suddenly has become disturbingly real.

Anyways. ENOUGH ABOUT WAL-MART.

This area is a big city. A BIG CITY. Downtown Buenos Aires. And not the good part. About half of our gigantic area has been red flagged, or deemed as too dangerous to enter. Pretty cool huh?

This place is actually struggling. In more than one way. When I got here, I realized that Elder Valerin didn´t have any plans for the night. A very bad sign. We spent most of the time wandering and contacting. Another thing about the big city, the people here are very cold. It´s either too much money, or devastatingly poor. There is no middle class here. Unfortunately, we´ve been red flagged around the devastatingly poor. So we´re preaching to the plata now.

I had to set in order the area book the next morning. I suddenly felt like Gordon Ramsey on one of those episodes of Ramsey´s kitchen nightmares. The area book was a random barrage of one time visit new investigators, the likes of which were completely lost on Elder Valerin. I finally found the only progressing ones that we had, which left us with a progressing investigator section thinner than a saltine cracker.

So this week has been about touching doors. And touching doors. And more doors. Doors doors doors. And walking. And rejection. A whole lot of rejection. You know the cliché vision of missionary work. The vision of missionary work I’ve had for my whole life.

Suddenly I had appreciation for the European missions. (Thanks for the letter by the way Jason! It straight up made my day!)

The worst part is, Elder Valerin is looking to me. TO ME to get something done in this area. For example he´ll ask, "So where do you want to go now?" As if I have any idea. I´ve been here for about two days, not to mention only three months in Argentina.

So it´s been rough. Real rough. I´m learning a ton though.

Thanksgiving day, I was thinking about the family as I was tracting through rain getting rejection. I thought of the big old turkey and the warm company. I thought about how lonely, stressed, and lost I felt at that moment. I looked down at my watch and it was about six o clock. I figured you were probably starting in on dinner about then. I thought about how we always prayed for the missionaries at dinner, and how at that moment on the other side of the world, my family was probably gathered together praying for me.

No sooner had I thought that, when we contacted a middle aged man who immediately invited us out of the rain and into his home. He offered us food and drink and intently listened to our message. He promised to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, expressing how much sense it all made.

As I left, I had the distinct impression that I had been led to him because of your prayer. I don´t know why, but I did. I knew I didn´t have a turkey. I didn´t have much. I was lost and a bit lonely. Very out of place. But I was also very grateful. Grateful I could be doing something on thanksgiving that was actually worth being thankful for. Grateful for a family that´s concerned about me. Grateful for a God that is guiding me. For the opportunity to be His servant.

I´m grateful for all of you. Thank you for your prayers in my behalf. I feel them all the time, and in a large part they got me through this week.